DC600 Data Cassette
DC600 data cassette. The cassette is marked 'Robin Scott "Giddy" 1' on the label.
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The Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument is an early digital audio workstation, often referred to as an “orchestra in a box”. It combines a synthesizer, sampler and sequencer in one unit, and was used extensively in the 1980s in popular music and for film scores. Tapes like this one were supplied with the Fairlight CMI.
This particular Fairlight CMI was acquired for use in a pre-production suite at Abbey Road Recording Studios, approximately 1986-89, in a joint venture between Robin Scott and Abbey Road. It was used by various artists and producers in the early stages of record production, including the Pet Shop Boys working on Liza Minelli’s Results in 1988 (see https://www.brownsound.net/abbey-road-fairlight-room/).
The Fairlight was largely superceded in the 1990s by smaller, less expensive, and more user-friendly devices, but it is still coveted by enthusiasts, and its sounds are still commonly heard through samples and sound libraries.
- Measurements:
-
overall: 102 mm x 152 mm x 16 mm,
- Materials:
- plastic (unidentified) and metal (unknown)
- Object Number:
- 2017-5357/23/1
- type:
- cassette
- Image ©
- The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
