Description
Technical
Specifications
Processing
| Bit depth | 16 bits |
|---|
Surface
| Control | Console utilisateur dédiée : clavier de touches assignables + molette jog/shuttle, moniteur couleur. |
|---|---|
| Motorized faders | No |
| Touchscreen | No |
Recording
| Onboard recording | No |
|---|
Networking
| Networking & protocols | AES/EBU |
|---|---|
| Redundant PSU | No |
| Redundant networking | No |
Other
| Tracks | Jusqu'à 24 pistes en lecture/enregistrement temps réel, verrouillées au timecode. Version MFX3 Mini : 4 ou 8 pistes de lecture. |
|---|---|
| Mainframe | Mainframe 6U : processeur maître, horloge, timecode, cartes d'E/S, disque dur maître, sauvegardes amovibles MO et/ou Exabyte. |
| Editing | Montage non destructif ; archivage, ADR, bruitage (Foley), création d'effets. Technologie FAME. |
| Annee Note | Lignée : MFX (1987, base CMI III), MFX1 (1990), MFX2 (1992), MFX3 (1994). Année d'intro retenue 1990 (premier MFX Fairlight ESP dédié) ; le backlog mentionnait 1989 (fondation de Fairlight ESP) — à vérifier. Débit d'échantillonnage précis à vérifier. |
Accessories
Surface / module
- Console utilisateur MFX
Dedicated-key keyboard and jog/shuttle wheel driving all editing functions.
Other
- Sauvegarde MO / Exabyte
Removable backup drives (magneto-optical and/or Exabyte tape) integrated in the mainframe.
Editorial & artists
Our take
History & design
The Fairlight MFX (Music and Effects) is an integrated digital audio post-production workstation: it combines, in a single system, a hard-disk recorder of up to 24 tracks, a non-destructive audio editor and an automated digital mixer, built around Fairlight's FAME technology. Born in 1987 as a CMI III fitted with a new control keyboard adapted to the Cue List sequencer, it was then developed by Fairlight ESP into the MFX1 (1990), MFX2 (1992) and MFX3 (1994).
The core of the system is a 6U mainframe housing the master processor, clock, timecode and I/O cards, plus the master hard drive and removable backups (MO and/or Exabyte). It is driven by a dedicated user console — a keyboard of assignable keys and a jog/shuttle wheel — and a colour monitor. Its tracks (up to 24 in real-time record/replay, locked to timecode) support sound archiving, ADR, non-destructive multitrack editing, Foley and effects creation. An 'MFX3 Mini' version offers 4 or 8 playback tracks. The system is 16-bit up to the MFX3.
- Kim Ryrie — Cofondateur / président et responsable produit (Fairlight ESP)
- Peter Vogel — Cofondateur / concepteur informatique
Notable users
Links
- Press article Out of Phase — Histoire de Fairlight (section MFX) outofphase.fr
- Archive Wikipedia — Fairlight (company) en.wikipedia.org
- Press article MIX — Fairlight MFX3 (review) mediaandmarketing.com
- Archive MATRIXSYNTH — Fairlight Series III MFX Hard Disk Recording System matrixsynth.com
- Forum MOD WIGGLER — Fairlight MFX3 modwiggler.com
Related consoles
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Documents are archived locally for preservation. Source credited. Takedown requests: [email protected]