Axe Fx III or FM3 + Big Sky MX and Brig?

[Boudoir Guitar]

Thoughts?

Context: Honestly, aside from the new 'verbs and more enjoyment from fuzzes, there is nothing else I will get out of the III in terms of signal chain/sound. If primary reverb duty is offloaded from the FM3, there is nothing stressful CPU-wise I will EVER throw at it.

Pros of III for me: (1) variable input impedance; (2) extra I/O; (3) First-in-line for future updates; (4) faster boot time; (5) possibly cheaper in the long run if it ends with me never buying the Strymon; (6) a tad neater.

Pros of FM3 + Strymon for me: (1) better UX, including ability to tweak delay parameters while playing (yes, you can technically do that in Fractal, but the scale of the knobs makes it impractical in reality); (2) Honestly, the 3 buttons on the desk are super handy (and 9 would be super annoying)? Blasphemy for an acolyte of the FM0, I know; (3) I've already got the FM3 so no "okay, get these presets from here to there, oh and new editor to add to computer, etc.; (4) possibly a little cheaper (though let's get real, I'll eventually have a III at some point so not really).

 

[Achilles]

Thoughts?

What ever happened with the homemade FM3 combo amp? Cool btw. Reminded me of Carr.
That particular FM3 gone?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

What ever happened with the home made FM3 combo amp? Cool btw. Reminded me of Carr.
That particular FM3 gone?

The cabinet is sitting right next to me and gets use. But given that I haven't played outside the house in ages, the FM3 is up on the desk where its more convenient. The FM3 is staying regardless, and can always be popped back into the cabinet and carried out if needed.

 

[Mongillo19]

Id probably roll FM3 plus pedals if I were you considering your already have the FM

 

[Aleksi]

That 2-3k can buy me a lot of cool gear. The FM3 has most of the Fractal stuff anyway.

 

[laxu]

The boot time difference is pretty negligible from what I remember. Neither is fast.

At the same time, the BigSky MX sounds like overkill too.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

you’ll end up with a III and a Big Sky MX and Brig

 

[djd100]

I've been using the FM3 with an external pedal or two powered via the FASLink for years, works for me. Pedals included a number of tube preamps pre Cygnus FW, and a number of multi-FX post Cygnus FW, and currently using a UA OX Stomp for cabs/mic(s)/speaker(s)/room mic(s), delay and reverb (currently not using it's compression and EQ).

I've been using fairly complex kitchen sink presets this way for years, in an automated show though, which is how I survive with the three foot switches plus two external foot switches (the majority of FX changes are automated, though I have footswitches for the tuner, a boost, a big delay, a bigger delay, the virtual capo, an auto-wah, and Ableton LIVE's looper plugin and session loop).

I went the FM3 route before the FM9 was released, though I've never "needed" to upgrade as the little FM3 can do a lot with some external help, plus I prefer the size of the pedalboard required to mount it, it's patchbay, and an external FX or two vs a FM9, or the AFX3 which would require multiple pieces.



P.S. Your FM3 combo is awesome!

 

[Mongillo19]

UA OX Stomp for cabs/mic(s)/speaker(s)/room mic(s), and reverb (currently not using it's compression and EQ).

Do you feel that the OX offers better cab sims?

 

[djd100]

Do you feel that the OX offers better cab sims?

The OX Stomp has better room mics vs the FM3's generic room sim, plus the UA plate reverb, 1176 compressor, and basic EQ with no additional CPU hit to the FM3 (I only use the cab and room sims, delay and reverb personally), so those are it's main advantages aside from the knobs to adjust it in real time. It's non-linear modeling stuff including speaker drive are great as well, and though the bare cabs and close mics are no better than the FM3's, it's room mics are great. Note that if you're using a higher end Fractal device these advantages can be minimized via longer IR's for room tone etc.

So yes, in total it's ultimately punchier feeling/sounding IMO than the FM3's cabs primarily due to the room mics, and though the OX Stomp is no where near as versatile and lacks the mic positioning granularity of the FM3's cab block, the OX Stomp does have a number of cabs/speakers/mics/room mics available that can work with many different styles of amps/music.

In addition, and very importantly with regards to the FM3 (mine's an OG non-turbo), it can save considerable CPU. The OX Stomp saves about 5% CPU vs the FM3's cab block using standard IR's alone, though a lot more CPU is saved vs the FM3's cab block when it's room sim is used and/or ultra rez IR's, not to mention the reverb block which saves between 15 and 30 percent alone depending on the quality setting. Total savings in my setup are around 30%, which is substantial in a FM3.

Cons, the included Editor app which connects via Bluetooth to design presets and allow access to the deeper user parameters, is minimal.

So are the cab sims better? Yes and no, though the CPU savings can be considerable.

 

[Elric]

How about adding a second FM3 instead of the Strymon?

 

[Jarick]

If you're planning to do switching of multiple devices with MIDI, I'd probably just go with the Axe 3 and simplify. But if you're just going to set and forget the Strymon pedals, I'd go that route with the FM3.

The biggest bummer of Fractal gear is that it's hard to be creative with it, especially for things like reverbs. Nothing kills the mood quite like staring at 50 different reverb options and then having to figure out which vague cloud name sounds like the cloud reverb in your head, and then which of the 50 different settings you would want to adjust to change the tone.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

How about adding a second FM3 instead of the Strymon?

A surfy bear spring reverb pedal is starting to seem a lot smarter than any of this

 

[Achilles]

A surfy bear spring reverb pedal is starting to seem a lot smarter than any of this

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Nope.

 

[jellodog]

@Boudoir Guitar I understand the attraction of the Strymon Brig. I have an AF3 and I'm still interested in the Brig!

 

[Eagle]

Ax3 or fm9 turbo and you won’t need or want pedals..

 

[Achilles]

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Ax3 or fm9 turbo and you won’t need or want pedals..

Meh. Have you ever tried to use performance knobs to tweak an analog delay into oscillation with dramatic pitch changes? Not easy to do on the Fractal stuff.

And spending a $2k to avoid spending $1k on pedals seems...very gear forum math-y.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Nope again. Short tank is short tank. Surfy Bear metal is strong a possibility.