Fairlight CMI Synthesizer, used by Herbie Hancock
date: label: Date made
content: ca 1982
label: Date made
content: ca. 1980
label: Date made
content: ca. 1983
name: label: user
content: Hancock, Herbie
label: manufacturer
content: Fairlight
notes: label: Description
content: Piano-style keyboard, monitor with pen light and workstation keyboard for a Fairlight C.M.I. Series II electronic synthesizer and sampler. This model was manufactured in Australia circa 1982, and this unit features the Serial Number 0782110. It is built from all black wood construction with metal components, along with CONTROL and SWITCH controllers and a numeric keypad on the front. Fairlight CMI units could bank a library of sound samples and was used for sampling, a music technique increasingly adopted by composers, producers, and musical artists during the early 1980s. This set of Fairlight workstation objects, donated by Herbie Hancock, was used by him to compose Rockit (1983)
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Electronic Musical Instruments
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Herbie Hancock
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2004.0055.02
label: accession number
content: 2004.0055
label: catalog number
content: 2004.0055.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: synthesizer
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: keyboard: 3 3/8 in x 47 1/2 in x 17 1/8 in; 8.5725 cm x 120.65 cm x 43.4975 cm
label: Measurements
content: synthesizer: 2 3/4 in x 16 3/8 in x 6 5/8 in; 6.985 cm x 41.5925 cm x 16.8275 cm
label: Measurements
content: monitor: 13 3/8 in x 18 1/4 in x 14 5/8 in; 33.9725 cm x 46.355 cm x 37.1475 cm