First gig with my Fractal FM3

[Ledvedder]

I had my first gig with my FM3 last night. I've been gigging for 26 years now, using various tube amps. So I've been very skeptical about gigging with the FM3. I took my 20 watt Marshall head and cabinet with me, just in case. I ran output 2 out before the cab block into the effects return of the Marshall, and output 1 straight to our PA. After about 2 songs, I quickly turned off my Marshall head, since I was getting a great mix out of our stage monitors.

All in all, I'd say the first gig was a success, although there are a few "issues" that I'll have to alleviate before our next gig.

1. Navigating with the 3 footswitches tends to be stressful at times. Especially mid-song, when you need to engage or bypass something. I ha e an FC-6, but didn't bring it since the area we set up in was pretty small.
2. I used mostly 1 preset all night, with 8 scenes. All scenes used @2112 LT TV Mix 7 user cab, cut to 80hz and 7500hz in the preamp tab. For a clean-ish tone, I used the Band Commander. This scene sounded pretty good, perhaps a bit bassy, but I'll dial that out.
3. For a dirty tone, I used the Dirty Shirley. Although I had this scene set with the same level as the Band Commander scene, it seemed to get lost in the mix. Especially during songs were I switched between clean and drive. I'll have to figure out what needs to be adjusted to get these more equal.
4. For leads, I used the same Dirty Shirley amp block, but engaged the boost (TS808 mod at 8dB), and the fat. I also engaged a 3dB parametric EQ, with 1dB boosts around 600hz, 1500hz, and 2800hz. Along with a mono BBD delay set at 1/4 note, mix around 15%, feedback around 25%, and 5dB ducking. This scene seemed a but too pokey and possibly a bit loud. Also a bit washed out maybe? Not sure which setting(s) affected this. I'll have to experiment.
5. I have an edge of breakup kinda scene using the Class A 30w Brilliant amp. This sounded excellent!
6. I also had a heavy scene using the BE 2010. I wanted to use this for songs like Basket Case and Man In the Box. This also seemed to get lost in the mix, so I didn't use it after 1 song. Perhaps I'll need to also dial this one in better.

With all that said, I'd say it wasn't too bad for a first gig. I'd love to hear any feedback, recommendations for any of the issues that I experienced.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Bassy clean, pokey lead, lost in the mix crunch.. We're these opinions based on what you were hearing coming from your on-stage monitoring or from what the band sounded like from the audience perspective?

 

[Ledvedder]

Bassy clean, pokey lead, lost in the mix crunch.. We're these opinions based on what you were hearing coming from your on-stage monitoring or from what the band sounded like from the audience perspective?

The audience perspective.

 

[Sidler72]

You can add external footswitches through the pedal jacks. I have a mosky dual switch that I use for scenes and tuner. As far as buried in the mix it’s hard to say without seeing the patch. It could be a lack of mids or too much gain or maybe just need to boost the level of the dirty Shirley in that scene.

 

[Joshual-L]

You can’t really level clean and distorted tones on a meter.
Clean tone is a lot more dynamic, distorted tones are already compressed and are easily lost in a mix compared to a clean tone.

Use less gain, take out a lot of bass, focus on the mids.

The cuts in the cab block are not enough. If you cut at 80 and have too much of 85 to 110 it will buried in the mix. Especially at high volumes.

 

[Ledvedder]

I'll try to upload my preset tomorrow, if anyone cares to check it out.

 

[KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!]

You can’t really level clean and distorted tones on a meter.

^This x1000.

Sounds like you did good for a first outing.
I've never got the Friedman's to sound good to me,

3 Amps that I think are worth checking out are FAS Crunch, Brit 800 #34, and 1959 SLP. They're not too boomy, and have a lot of mid cut.

 

[ragingplatypi]

You can add external footswitches through the pedal jacks. I have a mosky dual switch that I use for scenes and tuner.

As an HX Stomp user I can attest to the external dual switch for tap/tuner and snapshots (Line 6’s scenes) helping immensely.

 

[Ledvedder]

^This x1000.

Sounds like you did good for a first outing.
I've never got the Friedman's to sound good to me,

3 Amps that I think are worth checking out are FAS Crunch, Brit 800 #34, and 1959 SLP. They're not too boomy, and have a lot of mid cut.

The reason I went with the Dirty Shirley is I saw another band a few weeks ago. The guitarist had a killer sound. He was using an Axe FX and that amp model.

I'll have to try the 1959 again. There was something about it that I wasn't liking at band rehearsal.

 

[Ledvedder]

I'm using an external 2 button switch. I have it doing preset +/- on press and scene +/- on hold. Where I find things challenging is when I'm in a scene and I want to engage or bypass an effect. Lots of button presses while I'm trying to play a song.

 

[PorcinePicker]

I'm using an external 2 button switch. I have it doing preset +/- on press and scene +/- on hold. Where I find things challenging is when I'm in a scene and I want to engage or bypass an effect. Lots of button presses while I'm trying to play a song.

How many sounds do you have per song?

I generally leave the FM3 in scene mode and have a scene toggle on each button, where the toggled scene is the same base tone, just with more effects. That gives me six sounds in a preset, and I rarely need more than that.

 

[Ledvedder]

How many sounds do you have per song?

I generally leave the FM3 in scene mode and have a scene toggle each button, where the toggled scene is the same base tone, just with more effects. That gives me six sounds in a preset, and I rarely need more than that.

Mostly 2 or 3 sounds depending on the song. But sometimes I like to add or defeat a specific effect randomly, depending how I'm feeling it.

 

[PorcinePicker]

Mostly 2 or 3 sounds depending on the song. But sometimes I like to add or defeat a specific effect randomly, depending how I'm feeling it.

Yeah, I plan everything ahead. The random part will be hard to do with three buttons. An add on FC6 will get you there, but so much for portability.

 

[Joshual-L]

The reason I went with the Dirty Shirley is I saw another band a few weeks ago. The guitarist had a killer sound. He was using an Axe FX and that amp model.

I'll have to try the 1959 again. There was something about it that I wasn't liking at band rehearsal.

You should also keep in mind the the final tones depends A LOT on the ir or irs combination you use.

To me, irs are like 70% of the tone.

 

[Ledvedder]

Here is my preset as it was at the gig.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I'm sure with a real amp and some pedals you'd been able to adjust a handful of things satisfyingly straight during the gig.

 

[Mongillo19]

I'm sure with a real amp and some pedals you'd been able to adjust a handful of things satisfyingly straight during the gig.

If they can't fit a FM3 and FC 6 I doubt a real amp and pedalboard would have fit

 

[Sascha Franck]

If they can't fit a FM3 and FC 6 I doubt a real amp and pedalboard would have fit

I didn't mean he should've used an amp and a pedalboard. I was just hinting at *how* much the most modern modeling technology is still behind half a century old analog stuff when it comes to handling. Regarding that, analog stuff simply mops the floor with each and every modeler there is.
Could be an entirely different thing - but apparently it's not high on the radar of whatever company.

 

[Frodebro]

If floor space is that tight, you can also use the FC-6 out front and tuck the FM3 someplace behind you. You can control everything from the FC-6.

 

[Ledvedder]

I have plenty of analog gear, and have gigged with it for many years. Please don't make this a "tube amps are so much better than modelers" thread.

Once I take the time to get my FM3 dialed in, it'll be so much easier to load in and out.