Learning Falcon 101: Loading and Tweaking a Preset
Let’s start by loading a sound from the Falcon Factory. Double-click the part name (“Empty”) in the Parts List to open the File Browser.
The Falcon Factory will appear in the Soundbanks section in the File Browser. Select the Falcon Factory soundbank, then Rhythmic > Octavoto Pluck. Press OK or double-click the program name to load it, so the Main view now displays the parameters of the loaded program. The Info tab shows the “front panel” of the program with macro controls for commonly-used settings, and the Edit tab shows all of the program’s parameters.
Let’s go to the Info tab first. Here we can see the instrument’s macro controls and an on-screen keyboard. Press the keys on the keyboard to trigger a note, or play a note from your MIDI controller. You should hear the instrument now; if not, check Audio and MIDI Settings via File in the menu bar at top. To see a description of the instrument, press the Info “i” button in the upper right.
Let’s make some changes to the program, by adjusting the CutOff and Resonance macro controls. Click a knob and drag to adjust it. You can also hover over a control and scroll your mouse scroll wheel, or scroll with your trackpad.
That’s a start, but to dig in a little deeper, let’s switch to the Edit tab. Here we can see the settings for the major components of the instrument: program, layer, keygroup, and oscillator. Additionally, the Sample Editor, Mapping Editor, and Modulation Editor provides editing of sample files, the mapping of the layers and keygroups, and modulation assignments.
Let’s make some edits to the instrument. To change the program’s output level and panning, go to the Program section and adjust the Gain and Pan settings.
Let’s also change the instrument from polyphonic to monophonic. Go to the Layer section and change Play Mode to Mono Portamento, and adjust Glide Time to change the amount of “slide” between notes.