It’s not very often, if ever, that a guitar effects pedal release could be described as poignant but there is something different about Red Witch’s new stompbox, the Falcor Modulator.
Created in tribute to Red Witch founder Ben Fulton’s late father, Bill, who died in September 2023, the Falcor is a limited run modulation/chorus pedal of 60 units in total, each featuring unique artwork, each with a slightly different take on the same BBD circuit, so that no two will be the same.
“Some folks will be aware that my Dad passed away in September,” said Fulton. “He was a lovely, kind man. When my kids were little they called him Falcor – after the luck dragon in the film The Never Ending Story. Each artwork on each of the Falcor pedals is based upon a photo of Dad that I love. I designed this pedal as a tribute to him.”
As you might expect of the pedal company that brought us the Synthotron III, these have a lot of thought behind them. They look amazing, and sound very different. Though no two Falcor Modulators are alike, they do share some commonalities. They all have similar enclosures, with a footswitch and LED the front, four knobs mounted on the top of the pedal for Velocity, Depth, Mix, and Resonance.
The controls are relatively self-explanatory. Velocity adjustes the rate of the effect, with the LED on the front of the pedal pulsing in time with the modulation. Depth adjusts the depth of the LFO; turn clockwise for more headiness. Mix, meanwhile, handles your blend of wet and dry
But Resonance is where things can get very interesting, feeding some of the signal back into the effect to allow that chorusing to take on the qualities of a flanger. But you are very much invited to experiment; Red Witch says there are some ring mod tones to be teased out of the Falcor.
The circuits are all 100 per cent analogue and based around a NOS MN3007 bucket brigade chip. How Fulton has rigged them up will make each feel and sound a little different, with each pedal’s circuit dialled in with its own internal modulation delay time.
As guitar players we are always looking for something unique to put on our pedalboards. Rare is relatively easy to find. Limited edition runs are nothing new. But these are all actually unique, “one of one” pedals.
“The new Falcor pedal is an opportunity for guitarists and bass players to own a pedal that no one else has,” says Fulton. “Each of the collection of 60 pedals is a genuine one of kind pedal. No one else will have the same sounding or looking Falcor.”
Each pedal comes signed and numbered by Fulton and with a lifetime warranty. Priced $499, the Falcor Modulator is available now direct from Red Witch Pedals.
“I hope by looking at the images on the pedals you get a feeling for what a kind, gentle and loving man my Dad was,” says Fulton. “I think he’d be pretty chuffed to see this pedal.”
