Chris...It's been out only two weeks... I just picked up Falcon a few days ago after conversing with Simon and Evil Dragon, both of whom feel Falcon is something special...while the initial sample pool is small, after mucking around with the bird I have to agree...Falcon is an amazing creation. Far deeper and more impressive than Iris2 which has crappy sample stretch/timing abilities that limits what can be done. Serum is quite good and has lots more going for it than Iris, IMO...and some real good work by 3rd party devs... but it is very limited in what it can do even more so...
The auto sample mapping and configuration system is quite nice and will encourage devs to put in the time. The effects, like Spark, are amazing and the layering/additive abilities of stacking synthesis varieties is, well.... mindboggling.
Some of the patches are truly unfathomable although many others are boring. It's about 50/50... Personally I will be spending loads of time with Falcon this winter mapping vocalisations to it. I'm quite sure it will become a favorite of Skippies and Simon is already adding to the sample pool... in 6 months I expect we'll be awash in lovely bird song from all of the best sound designers as it is a very well thought out powerhouse and absolutely a blast to work with once you get the hang of it.
It's the first hybrid, synth or sampler animal I've found myself wanting to dig into. Generally I focus on songwriting and support the creative efforts of others developing patches/sounds. Falcon urges you to take flight on your own.
The price, around $75 with my MachFive discount and $100 voucher was ridiculous. It actually is the best thing I got out of MachFive... Now I'm just hoping UVI will offer up some new sample material/programing that I can use my voucher on. Their older stuff is... nothing I don't already have.