Eight pieces of gear for the ultimate luxury studio

FAIRLIGHT CMI-30A
£14,500

As a kid, any band that used a Fairlight was seen, amongst my particular music-loving group, as super-serious and ‘on the edge’. This ultra-expensive early sampler, from 1979, was rather more than that as it also included synthesis and a sequencer. It offered plenty of revolutionary features but that price tag put many people off. Nevertheless, many excellent albums from the likes of Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush and Tears for Fears were produced with it.

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