Frap Tools Falistri

falistri / faˈlistri / s.f., plural [Modenese dialect, probably from Latin fauilla, ‘spark’] – ‘sparks’. One cannot think about a lively bonfire without sparks crackling and dancing through the air. ‘Falistri’ is what lights up your patch and takes care of how it moves, through sparks, motions, and crackles.

The FALISTRI is a fully analog multipurpose movement manager designed to generate and edit voltages to easily accomplish any patch.

The module can be divided into two big parts: in the upper two-thirds of the panel take place two specular function generators, while the lower third is composed by a dual cascaded frequency divider, a linear slew limiter, and a four-quadrant multiplier.

Specifications:

Two Function Generators: Envelopes, LFOs, Oscillators

We designed the generators to quickly and intuitively achieve the function needed.

The two generators are identical: they have the same controls and the same output set.

The Time Scale Switch lets you quickly swap from LFO to oscillator – and it tracks pretty well!
Adjust the Shape Without Changing the Time

You can freely morph from Logarithmic to Linear to Exponential shapes without changing the time needed to complete Rise or Fall.

When you use FALISTRI as a modulator, it means that you can change the shape without changing the duration of your envelope or LFO.

When you use it as an oscillator, it means that you can change the waveform without changing the frequency!
Exclusive Shapes per Stage

You can have a Logarithmic Rise and Logarithmic Fall, Linear Attack and Logarithmic Fall, or any other combination of the three modes.

You can always blend between these shapes and achieve complex shapes both when generating CVs and audio signals.
Trig Buttons: Play Those Envelopes!

Interacting with your patch is essential for us so that you can fire the envelopes both through an external trig/gate or the built-in buttons.

You can also use it to override the incoming gates and hold the envelope high for dramatic effects – it’s all about the performance!
Three Play Modes (Voltage-Selectable)

Each function can work in three ways:

Loop – The envelope retrigs itself, becoming an LFO or an oscillator.
Transient – An attack-release envelope, with no sustain and no gate information.
Sustained – An attack-hold-release envelope whose duration depends on the gate length.
You can automatically Switch from either Transient or Sustained to Loop through a gate input.
Interacting Functions: Quadrature Mode

Connect the two sections for complex envelopes or waveforms!

With the Quadrature mode:

The end of the yellow ‘Rise’ triggers the start of the green ‘Rise’;
The end of the green ‘Rise’ triggers the start of the yellow ‘Fall’;
The end of yellow ‘Fall’ triggers the start of green ‘Fall.’
Use it at audio rate to obtain a sort of trapezoid oscillator!
All the Outputs, Everywhere

Each generator has five outputs:

unipolar 0V/+10V;
bipolar -5V/+5V;
attenuverted -10V/0/+10V;
End of Rise Gate
End of Fall Gate
An additional Max output works as an analog OR, outputting the highest voltage currently generated by the two envelopes. It can create complex envelopes (like in Quadrature mode) or weird waveforms.
Cascaded Frequency Dividers

FALISTRI has two semi-normalled frequency dividers (or flip-flops).

Patch a gate signal to the first input obtain two gate streams of half and a quarter of its frequency. It works great with random clocks!

Use it with audio-rate signals to generate sub octaves.

You can patch two separate signals and use the frequency dividers independently.
Four-Quadrant Multiplier

This circuit works as a “bipolar DC-coupled linear VCA.” You can do:

AM;
RM;
Voltage processing and scaling.
By default, it is semi-normalled to the green bipolar output and the yellow unipolar output, allowing you to use FALISTRI as a stand-alone synth voice.
Linear Slew Limiter

A dedicated slew limiter allows you to smooth any voltage transition.

Create the classic portamento/glide effect, or get creative and experiment with the independent controls for the rise and fall stages.

You can even use it as a rudimentary third AR envelope!