Thanks in Advance
Is UVI Falcon worth Buying?
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 44 posts since 11 Aug, 2017
I hear a LOOOOT of praise from a whole bunch of sources about this synth, but with no demo and a price tag as high as it is I am reluctant to pull the trigger. What is all of your experiences with it? Is it worth the lofty 350 price Tag?
Thanks in Advance
Thanks in Advance
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- KVRAF
- 6095 posts since 5 Jul, 2001 from Just about .... there
Do you have kontakt or halion or another sampler that also includes synth engines and effects? Maybe Omnishpere or something similar?
If you have to ask, you can't afford the answer
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- KVRian
- 698 posts since 17 Sep, 2014
First, you can buy it for less, see the market place.
second, it depend of your daw : i don't like ableton live, and falcon give me all what i like and need about live, in a nice environement. for me, falcon is a ableton live "like " vst: ircam stretch, slice, sampler, lot of great effect, macro.....very versatile and easy.
third, it a fantastic instrument, with some superb feature, the granular is awesome, same for the env and the modulation system, and the sample edit, management is perfect for me, you can edit/construct multi layers quickly, and the sound is very nice, the uvi team are very responsive at any question or problem and you have some nice presets, banks too. you can find a lot of features non avalaible in other synth( i never try halion 6), the hybrid sampling, synthesis philosophy is really interesting plus, the scripts capacity are a big plus. the wavetable interpolation are not the best, the Fm could have more feature but it's the kind of software i will "never" sell.
i forget: the ui is great and the stability too. the learning curve take some time but it's a powerfull synth.
Cheers.
second, it depend of your daw : i don't like ableton live, and falcon give me all what i like and need about live, in a nice environement. for me, falcon is a ableton live "like " vst: ircam stretch, slice, sampler, lot of great effect, macro.....very versatile and easy.
third, it a fantastic instrument, with some superb feature, the granular is awesome, same for the env and the modulation system, and the sample edit, management is perfect for me, you can edit/construct multi layers quickly, and the sound is very nice, the uvi team are very responsive at any question or problem and you have some nice presets, banks too. you can find a lot of features non avalaible in other synth( i never try halion 6), the hybrid sampling, synthesis philosophy is really interesting plus, the scripts capacity are a big plus. the wavetable interpolation are not the best, the Fm could have more feature but it's the kind of software i will "never" sell.
i forget: the ui is great and the stability too. the learning curve take some time but it's a powerfull synth.
Cheers.
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- KVRAF
- 21196 posts since 8 Oct, 2014
Depends on what you're looking to get out of it and what you already have. For me, it was a business decision and turned into my 3rd best selling library behind only Serum and Softube Modular (surprising as that one is) so more than worth it. If I used it JUST for making music, eh, probably not. Not at that price. I have more than enough synths that between all of them I can cover the ground that Falcon covers.
That's not to say Falcon doesn't sound great. Obviously, it does if so many people rave about it. But really, it comes down to whether or not you want to spend that kind of money. I got it initially when it was a lot less, about $235. Would I get it today at its current price? In hindsight, yes. But not knowing if it would be profitable, who knows? I still haven't gotten HALion 6 even though I qualify for the crossgrade which would bring the price down to about $250. Still, I have no idea if, as a business decision, it will be worth it. As a synth, it sounds great, and I'm sure I'll love it. But again, I've got 100 synths already so do I really need another one for personal use?
Point is, nobody can answer the question but you. If you're not comfortable buying without a demo (there is always the chance of compatibility issues with your OS, DAW, etc) then don't get it. If that doesn't worry you and you think it'll add to what you already have, get it. Listen to all the demos out there. There are tons. How do you like the sound? That, and what your needs are, will ultimately be what makes the decision for you.
I doubt any of this helped but it's really the best anybody can do because nobody's raving is going to matter in the long run.
All that matters is what YOU think.
That's not to say Falcon doesn't sound great. Obviously, it does if so many people rave about it. But really, it comes down to whether or not you want to spend that kind of money. I got it initially when it was a lot less, about $235. Would I get it today at its current price? In hindsight, yes. But not knowing if it would be profitable, who knows? I still haven't gotten HALion 6 even though I qualify for the crossgrade which would bring the price down to about $250. Still, I have no idea if, as a business decision, it will be worth it. As a synth, it sounds great, and I'm sure I'll love it. But again, I've got 100 synths already so do I really need another one for personal use?
Point is, nobody can answer the question but you. If you're not comfortable buying without a demo (there is always the chance of compatibility issues with your OS, DAW, etc) then don't get it. If that doesn't worry you and you think it'll add to what you already have, get it. Listen to all the demos out there. There are tons. How do you like the sound? That, and what your needs are, will ultimately be what makes the decision for you.
I doubt any of this helped but it's really the best anybody can do because nobody's raving is going to matter in the long run.
All that matters is what YOU think.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 44 posts since 11 Aug, 2017
Thank you all for the Responses. For what its worth going on what SJ and Wagtunes asked Im currently paying for Serum (Splice), and I also own Komplete 11 (With a whole bunch of stuff Including Kontact) and Synthmaster (Both the Original and the New one). So I definitely have stocked myself with a collection of capable plugins...Falcon is just so alluring I guess. The Idea of a bread and Butter synth that does close to everything, and that really is what Falcon is, always struck me as cool. By the Same token I don't want to make the mistakes ive made in the past when I've just thrown around money on things that I do not necessarily need. Especially when I'm in collage and money is hard enough to come by haha...eh...I will probably just end up sleeping on it and watching more videos of it later. Thank you all for the Time and the advice.
Cheers
Cheers
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- KVRAF
- 6095 posts since 5 Jul, 2001 from Just about .... there
So Falcon is huge. It is a resource pig. It has performance issues that may or may not matter to you. It can be a preset machine, but that's a waste. If you aren't going to dig in, it's a waste of money. It is complex to learn how to use it properly. However, if you really do want to role your own sounds, it is awesome. If you want a preset machine, I'd recommend Omnisphere. If you want a really crazy synthesis and sampling environment, Falcon and Halion are spectacular. If you want sample library support, you can't beat Kontakt.
If you have to ask, you can't afford the answer
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- KVRer
- 28 posts since 9 Oct, 2010 from Canada
IMHO yes, UVI Falcon is definitely worth buying. It is, to me, the best virtual instrument that I own and would never sell.
To me, Falcon (along with UVI libraries) is the closest thing to a high-quality hardware synth that you can get in software. What I mean by that is that UVI Falcon and also UVI libraries have a thick, solid, 3D, lush, heavy, full sound and also a more "open" sound that other softsynths that I've tried simply don't quite have. From what I've tried, only u-he Diva and VPS Avenger come close, though I still think UVI Falcon outdoes them by the lushness and "processed" nature,if you will, of the quality of its sound. I have not tried Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2 however but I have liked the sound demos from Omnisphere on YouTube quite a lot.
Synths like Xfer Serum, Tone2 Icarus etc... are great and sound great but they sound "softy" to me. What I mean is that in some ways, they sound a tad thin in the way that software synths are often rightfully accused of sounding. This does not mean that Serum and Icarus are "bad", far from it. But if you want the closest thing to hardware-quality sound in a box (obviously you computer), UVI Falcon is the way to go.
I have bought Steinberg HALion 6 with the crossgrade price of $250 US that being a Falcon owner gives you (BTW, you as a NI Komplete owner would also qualify to get HALion 6 for $250 US). Without that crossgrade price, I would not have bought HALion 6 as the price was too high for me. HALion 6 is fantastic and I love it but it too, like other softsynths, sounds "softy" compared to Falcon. Because of this, I sometimes have some mixed feelings about getting HALion 6. For an example of what I'm talking about, watch this YouTube video comparing Falcon to Serum, I certainly hear the full, solid, thick, open sound of Falcon compared to Serum which, like I said, is "softy" sounding (I've used Serum with a Splice subscription like you do): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWGZatwwW5c
Look maybe all of this doesn't matter to you at all and that's perfectly fine. Other softsynths sound great as well and plenty of good music has been made with them but Falcon is unique.
Other people on the internet also feel the same way about Falcon. About how "open" it sounds, how thick it sounds, how solid it sounds compared to other softsynths. The predecesor to Falcon, MOTU's MachFive 3.2 (developed or co-developed by UVI) was also described as have a more "hardware" like sound that other softsynths.
About the rest of Falcon, how powerful it is and how deep it is... well this is certainly true. Faclon is the software equivalent to some extent of the Korg KRONOS, Kurzweil PC3 series, Yamaha Montage or John Bowen Solaris. Falcon is certainly expensive as a softsynth but look at the prices of those hardware synths I mentioned... They all cost between $2500 US to $3000 US ($4000 I think for the John Bowen Solaris) while Falcon is $350 US.
Falcon is solid and ultra-sleek and as professional as it comes, the CPU consumption is to me very reasonable but I tend to make relatively simple patches but even there, as far as synthesis is concerned it is extremely deep. I find Falcon to be much better CPU-wise than VPS Avenger (another great synth) for example. The only downside to Falcon is the included factory soundset, it's good but limited to about 700 presets right now. If Falcon had a factoy soundset as big as HALion 6 (HALion 6 has 3000+ wonderful presets) , Falcon would be as close to perfection as possible. Of course in Falcon you can load UVI libraries which sound amazing but are often a bit expensive.
To me, Falcon (along with UVI libraries) is the closest thing to a high-quality hardware synth that you can get in software. What I mean by that is that UVI Falcon and also UVI libraries have a thick, solid, 3D, lush, heavy, full sound and also a more "open" sound that other softsynths that I've tried simply don't quite have. From what I've tried, only u-he Diva and VPS Avenger come close, though I still think UVI Falcon outdoes them by the lushness and "processed" nature,if you will, of the quality of its sound. I have not tried Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2 however but I have liked the sound demos from Omnisphere on YouTube quite a lot.
Synths like Xfer Serum, Tone2 Icarus etc... are great and sound great but they sound "softy" to me. What I mean is that in some ways, they sound a tad thin in the way that software synths are often rightfully accused of sounding. This does not mean that Serum and Icarus are "bad", far from it. But if you want the closest thing to hardware-quality sound in a box (obviously you computer), UVI Falcon is the way to go.
I have bought Steinberg HALion 6 with the crossgrade price of $250 US that being a Falcon owner gives you (BTW, you as a NI Komplete owner would also qualify to get HALion 6 for $250 US). Without that crossgrade price, I would not have bought HALion 6 as the price was too high for me. HALion 6 is fantastic and I love it but it too, like other softsynths, sounds "softy" compared to Falcon. Because of this, I sometimes have some mixed feelings about getting HALion 6. For an example of what I'm talking about, watch this YouTube video comparing Falcon to Serum, I certainly hear the full, solid, thick, open sound of Falcon compared to Serum which, like I said, is "softy" sounding (I've used Serum with a Splice subscription like you do): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWGZatwwW5c
Look maybe all of this doesn't matter to you at all and that's perfectly fine. Other softsynths sound great as well and plenty of good music has been made with them but Falcon is unique.
Other people on the internet also feel the same way about Falcon. About how "open" it sounds, how thick it sounds, how solid it sounds compared to other softsynths. The predecesor to Falcon, MOTU's MachFive 3.2 (developed or co-developed by UVI) was also described as have a more "hardware" like sound that other softsynths.
About the rest of Falcon, how powerful it is and how deep it is... well this is certainly true. Faclon is the software equivalent to some extent of the Korg KRONOS, Kurzweil PC3 series, Yamaha Montage or John Bowen Solaris. Falcon is certainly expensive as a softsynth but look at the prices of those hardware synths I mentioned... They all cost between $2500 US to $3000 US ($4000 I think for the John Bowen Solaris) while Falcon is $350 US.
Falcon is solid and ultra-sleek and as professional as it comes, the CPU consumption is to me very reasonable but I tend to make relatively simple patches but even there, as far as synthesis is concerned it is extremely deep. I find Falcon to be much better CPU-wise than VPS Avenger (another great synth) for example. The only downside to Falcon is the included factory soundset, it's good but limited to about 700 presets right now. If Falcon had a factoy soundset as big as HALion 6 (HALion 6 has 3000+ wonderful presets) , Falcon would be as close to perfection as possible. Of course in Falcon you can load UVI libraries which sound amazing but are often a bit expensive.
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- KVRAF
- 23102 posts since 7 Jan, 2009 from Croatia
Time to try Repro-1 and Bazille as well!Jermusic wrote:From what I've tried, only u-he Diva and VPS Avenger come close, though I still think UVI Falcon outdoes them by the lushness and "processed" nature,if you will, of the quality of its sound.
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- KVRer
- 28 posts since 9 Oct, 2010 from Canada
"Time to try Repro-1 and Bazille as well! "
I have the Repro-1 demo on my PC right now (I've had it since it was released). It sounds good don't get me wrong but I prefer Falcon. I think Falcon sounds bigger and more processed (even without FX) but that's my opinion.
Look, I think I got a bit carried away with my novel above and I realize that this is subjective to an extent but the more I've used Falcon the less I have used other softsynths. I got NI Monark years ago for $50 US on a sale NI was having. I used to like Monark, I still do but I don't really use it.
All of this to some extent may have something to do with the fact that Falcon was more expensive than all of my other softsynths and I may "project" things into it but I don't think that's the case. I think Falcon does have a special sound that I've not heard anywhere else in software. I think I'd say so even if Falcon sold for $100 instead of $350.
I have the Repro-1 demo on my PC right now (I've had it since it was released). It sounds good don't get me wrong but I prefer Falcon. I think Falcon sounds bigger and more processed (even without FX) but that's my opinion.
Look, I think I got a bit carried away with my novel above and I realize that this is subjective to an extent but the more I've used Falcon the less I have used other softsynths. I got NI Monark years ago for $50 US on a sale NI was having. I used to like Monark, I still do but I don't really use it.
All of this to some extent may have something to do with the fact that Falcon was more expensive than all of my other softsynths and I may "project" things into it but I don't think that's the case. I think Falcon does have a special sound that I've not heard anywhere else in software. I think I'd say so even if Falcon sold for $100 instead of $350.
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- KVRer
- 28 posts since 9 Oct, 2010 from Canada
EvilDragon wrote:Time to try Repro-1 and Bazille as well!Jermusic wrote:From what I've tried, only u-he Diva and VPS Avenger come close, though I still think UVI Falcon outdoes them by the lushness and "processed" nature,if you will, of the quality of its sound.
I have the Repro-1 demo on my PC right now (I've had it since it was released). It sounds good don't get me wrong but I prefer Falcon. I think Falcon sounds bigger and more processed (even without FX) but that's my opinion.
Look, I think I got a bit carried away with my novel above and I realize that this is subjective to an extent but the more I've used Falcon the less I have used other softsynths. I got NI Monark years ago for $50 US on a sale NI was having. I used to like Monark, I still do but I don't really use it.
All of this to some extent may have something to do with the fact that Falcon was more expensive than all of my other softsynths and I may "project" things into it but I don't think that's the case. I think Falcon does have a special sound that I've not heard anywhere else in software. I think I'd say so even if Falcon sold for $100 instead of $350.
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- KVRist
- 165 posts since 23 Aug, 2017
Falcon has MPE. Killer feature when working with samples.
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- KVRAF
- 3054 posts since 25 Apr, 2011
i just love it. One of the best synths/workstations i've ever bought (next to Reaktor)
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- KVRAF
- 25436 posts since 3 Feb, 2005 from in the wilds
If you have Serum, Synthmaster and Komplete 11, you never need to buy another synth at all. That is a lifetimes worth of music, learning and exploration right there.Impodiam wrote:Thank you all for the Responses. For what its worth going on what SJ and Wagtunes asked Im currently paying for Serum (Splice), and I also own Komplete 11 (With a whole bunch of stuff Including Kontact) and Synthmaster (Both the Original and the New one).
Cheers
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- KVRAF
- 4881 posts since 4 Aug, 2006 from Helsinki
Interesting practical syllogism:kokotte wrote:First, you can buy it for less, see the market place.
second, it depend of your daw : i don't like ableton live, and falcon give me all what i like and need about live, in a nice environement. for me, falcon is a ableton live "like " vst: ircam stretch, slice, sampler, lot of great effect, macro.....very versatile and easy.
third, it a fantastic instrument, with some superb feature, the granular is awesome, same for the env and the modulation system, and the sample edit, management is perfect for me, you can edit/construct multi layers quickly, and the sound is very nice, the uvi team are very responsive at any question or problem and you have some nice presets, banks too. you can find a lot of features non avalaible in other synth( i never try halion 6), the hybrid sampling, synthesis philosophy is really interesting plus, the scripts capacity are a big plus. the wavetable interpolation are not the best, the Fm could have more feature but it's the kind of software i will "never" sell.
i forget: the ui is great and the stability too. the learning curve take some time but it's a powerfull synth.
Cheers.
1. I don't like Live
2. Falcon is Live-like
3. I like Falcon
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 44 posts since 11 Aug, 2017
Hi all. Thanks again for the replys. This was actually my first post (Avid Kvr Reader but never put myself out there) so im happy to get valuable feedback on my question. Im going to reply to people individually.
Jermusic: Thanks for the excellent information. I was not aware that by being a Komplete customer granted me a 100$ Discount to Halion6. I am going to download the Trial now since it appears. thankfully. that the Elicencer is Not Required for this (Thank the Lord), See how 30 days with it will be, and If i decide to buy that you just saved me 100$! No small amount for a collage student
Thanks a ton
As for the rest of your comment I appreciate all the food for thought. Im not going to lie that Falcon sounds absolutely incredible and considering that I am a big synth nerd as it is it is a paradise for me to think about. Also I am aware that it plays UVI Librarys. I actually have the UVI Vintage Vault (The original not the new one) so thats playing a significant role in my decision as well. Its a lot to think about. Thanks for your imput again.
Exmat:Yea reaktor is one of my favs. Probably of all the goodies i got in Kompete i use it the most (More than Kontackt even..surprisingly enough) Its amazing. Would you recommend just keeping reaktor as my sonic powerhouse or are there things Falcon does Reaktor cant. I still learn new things about reaktor everyday so perhaps im looking at this wrong haha .
Pxindy: Thats the eternal struggle going on in my head, do i need anything else or am i just buying into the urge to purchase somthing new...Ive been freuently a victim of imulse buys, In fact i have 1000 Waves plugins that i barley touch and a copy of studio one i got on sale but never use extensively so im no stranger to poor financial decisions
Jermusic: Thanks for the excellent information. I was not aware that by being a Komplete customer granted me a 100$ Discount to Halion6. I am going to download the Trial now since it appears. thankfully. that the Elicencer is Not Required for this (Thank the Lord), See how 30 days with it will be, and If i decide to buy that you just saved me 100$! No small amount for a collage student
Thanks a ton As for the rest of your comment I appreciate all the food for thought. Im not going to lie that Falcon sounds absolutely incredible and considering that I am a big synth nerd as it is it is a paradise for me to think about. Also I am aware that it plays UVI Librarys. I actually have the UVI Vintage Vault (The original not the new one) so thats playing a significant role in my decision as well. Its a lot to think about. Thanks for your imput again.
Exmat:Yea reaktor is one of my favs. Probably of all the goodies i got in Kompete i use it the most (More than Kontackt even..surprisingly enough) Its amazing. Would you recommend just keeping reaktor as my sonic powerhouse or are there things Falcon does Reaktor cant. I still learn new things about reaktor everyday so perhaps im looking at this wrong haha
.Pxindy: Thats the eternal struggle going on in my head, do i need anything else or am i just buying into the urge to purchase somthing new...Ive been freuently a victim of imulse buys, In fact i have 1000 Waves plugins that i barley touch and a copy of studio one i got on sale but never use extensively so im no stranger to poor financial decisions
