FALCON 3 update

UVI has just updated their flagship workstation/synthesizer Falcon to version 3. This update adds a couple new oscillator types, some new effects, and quite a variety of new sequencing tools, as well as new presets. This will not be a full review of Falcon, just a small review of a few of the new items that I find particularly interesting. The new oscillators seem to be focussed on physical modeling, with a bowed string emulation, plucked string emulation, and vocal simulation. The plucked string includes a nice coupling system for creating inharmonics. The bowed string is probably my favorite addition, they really let you “break” physics a bit here and get some gnarly tones. It’s not the most realistic string simulation, but some of the noisy tones of the “bow” gripping and skipping on the strings is really neat. This one also gives you some inharmonic control. As for the midi sequencing, it appears UVI have added midi out to Falcon, which means you can use these and the previous midi generators to sequence other synths. The “snow” sequencer is almost like granular midi, as it takes any note and randomly sputters up to 10 instances of the same note with various velocity. My favorite of these new sequencers is probably the motion grid, a grid of arrows with multiple note starting points. Each column corresponds to a different note in the selected scale, and each grid space has an arrow which directs the current note position to a new grid space. You can create some interesting patterns using this system, with looping sections that run in parallel, or a whole pattern that plays out before looping. It’s just a fun and creative way to come up with new melodies.