FM3 question from someone who’s owned one or two

[paisleywookiee]

I never tried it with a pedalboard, with both analog and digital pedals. Assuming said pedalboard works well with amps (it does), how well will it work with the FM3? Kinda sorta wanting another one.

 

[Mongillo19]

I never tried it with a pedalboard, with both analog and digital pedals. Assuming said pedalboard works well with amps (it does), how well will it work with the FM3? Kinda sorta wanting another one.

That's what I'm currently doing. I think it works great. But idk, I might not have the best ears to notice certain intricacies

 

[Blix]

I have the III so might not be relevant, but I would say it takes pedals really well. Latest surprise is the Cornish Treble Booster into it, reacts just like an amp!

 

[Mongillo19]

This is my plan. Just waiting for some to arrive. The green box is a DemonFx Dualgun

 

[Stone]

Curious does the Fractal not have nearly every pedal one might need ?
why would one require an external one ???, beside obviously an expression pedal

 

[Mongillo19]

Curious does the Fractal not have nearly every pedal one might need ?
why would one require an external one ???, beside obviously an expression pedal

It does but it still doesn't 100 percent nail fuzz imo.

 

[laxu]

I've given it a go and sure, you can do that. But I feel like the FM3 is better as a replacement for your board. At most I would put a reverb pedal in one of the loops and run your favorite drive pedals into it.

The reverb is one of the most CPU hungry effects but sounds great even at economy quality.

The drive pedals are what I don't like that much on Fractal and would rather use a different amp model or different settings on the same model in another channel. I can't quite figure out what doesn't work for me with the Fractal drive pedals. I bought a Strymon Compadre recently and it's got a boost with nothing more than a 3-way EQ switch, gain knob and a clean vs overdrive toggle switch. I was able to get sounds out of it that I enjoyed more than what I dialed from the Fractal Drive block. The Axe-Fx 3 amp models responded to the pedal beautifully.

Fractal does great for reverbs, delays and modulation but it's a shame it doesn't support something similar to Helix where you could dedicate all that DSP to effects if you just leave out the Amp block. I think that would add extra value to it as an fx only box because that might be exactly the difference for letting you bring in say pitch shifting to your otherwise tightly packed preset.

I own both an Axe-Fx 3 and FM3. I've been going back and forth whether I want to sell the FM3 or not and stick to my pedalboard as an alternative to the Axe-Fx 3. I'm pretty sure I am going to sell the FM3. For me the FM3 isn't good as a "mad scientist's laboratory experiment" type thing that I like doing with my "mostly Strymon" pedalboard. Working the onboard UI is too much of a chore compared to just turning knobs on my pedals and I don't want to have a laptop connected to it all the time as operating virtual knobs with a mouse and keyboard kinda sucks too.

As an example, I found a setting I liked on my Strymon Volante. I thought, well, let's try to make this with the FM3. It took very little time to set this up on the Volante but setting up the same things on the Multitap Delay block on the FM3 took me probably 5x more time and it was annoying to go back and forth between multiple pages just for things like a bit of modulation, getting the feedback levels of each delay right or adjusting the EQ.

I don't need full blown LFOs, parametric EQs and often way too fine value precision for this stuff. Give me a "wow&flutter" knob and "low and high cut" knobs. And make the Multitap Delay have the same column format that Cab block has so it's easier to seel the different delay settings all at once.

If I just wanted a live use rig, the FM3 would do great as you would be using mostly pre-programmed sounds. Add some extra switches to it and maybe an expression pedal. It's more than enough for typical guitar signal chains. In my experience it takes pedals well too, I have had no complaints.

 

[TubeStack]

I don't need full blown LFOs, parametric EQs and often way too fine value precision for this stuff. Give me a "wow&flutter" knob and "low and high cut" knobs.

YES, so much yes.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Curious does the Fractal not have nearly every pedal one might need ?
why would one require an external one ???, beside obviously an expression pedal

I personally don’t like the reverbs or delays as much as my Strymons or JAM Delay Llama, and I generally detest digital modulation. And yeah, fuzz is no bueno. Just my opinion.

 

[laxu]

I personally don’t like the reverbs or delays as much as my Strymons or JAM Delay Llama, and I generally detest digital modulation. And yeah, fuzz is no bueno. Just my opinion.

I'm not much of a fuzz user so can't say about that but I know my Strymon Nightsky and Volante vs Fractal reverb/delay are pretty interchangeable in terms of tone. It's just about all those fine details in tweaking, namely the tones are there but might not be the default settings Fractal chose. Obviously with so many options tweakable it can be its own challenge to find the ones that take it to wherever you want it go.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I'm not much of a fuzz user so can't say about that but I know my Strymon Nightsky and Volante vs Fractal reverb/delay are pretty interchangeable in terms of tone. It's just about all those fine details in tweaking, namely the tones are there but might not be the default settings Fractal chose. Obviously with so many options tweakable it can be its own challenge to find the ones that take it to wherever you want it go.

It’s the tweaking that irritates the shit out of me. I can deal with it with amp models, but it gets excessive with effects.

 

[TubeStack]

I personally don’t like the reverbs or delays as much as my Strymons or JAM Delay Llama, and I generally detest digital modulation. And yeah, fuzz is no bueno. Just my opinion.

Agree re. fuzz, but I love Fractal’s modulations. The Phase 90 and univibe in particularly are really great, way better than L6 (or anyone else, especially vibe).

 

[Bruce]

For gigging? Get by with what’s in the box. Maybe one fuzz if you’re really that hellbent on it but the pic has too many points of failure for my taste.

No one is going to miss any of those pedals but you in a live setting.

If it’s for recording, you’d probably be hard pressed to hear much a difference.

For your own enjoyment, do you. You can string together every modeled pedal in the FM3. If you like it I love it.

 

[Mongillo19]

Maybe one fuzz if you’re really that hellbent on it but the pic has too many points of failure for my taste.

You have too many points of failure

Jkjk

 

[TubeStack]

The drive pedals are what I don't like that much on Fractal and would rather use a different amp model or different settings on the same model in another channel. I can't quite figure out what doesn't work for me with the Fractal drive pedals. beautifully.

This I find interesting. I really like Fractal’s drives, in particular the “Blues OD”/Marshall Bluesbreaker and SD1. Also like them a lot more than L6’s.

Could it be a FM3/FM9 thing, variable input, etc?

 

[Bruce]

You have too many points of failure

Jkjk

Whatcha talking about? I’m only on my 2nd marriage.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Agree re. fuzz, but I love Fractal’s modulations. The Phase 90 and univibe in particularly are really great, way better than L6 (or anyone else, especially vibe).

Perhaps, but not better than the real thing, which I have. I’ve got a Phase 95, a CE-2 clone with the original NOS Panasonic chip, analog delay, and then the Strymons. I think Fractal effects are great, but I still prefer the real thing. Additionally, I much prefer dialing in effects with knobs. It’s annoying in almost any modeler.

 

[Elric]

Perhaps, but not better than the real thing, which I have. I’ve got a Phase 95, a CE-2 clone with the original NOS Panasonic chip, analog delay, and then the Strymons. I think Fractal effects are great, but I still prefer the real thing. Additionally, I much prefer dialing in effects with knobs. It’s annoying in almost any modeler.

While I agree that the UI/UX lacks, the FAS stuff has absolutely killed pedal/FX GAS for me.

People talking about sh*tty old off the shelf op-amps from the 70s/80s like they’re some kind of mojo factory is funny, too; IMHO. I’ve got a box full of them in my garage. Some ICs from the era were unique like the BBD delays, etc. But a lot of the claims people make are just: LOL.

 

[laxu]

This I find interesting. I really like Fractal’s drives, in particular the “Blues OD”/Marshall Bluesbreaker and SD1. Also like them a lot more than L6’s.

Could it be a FM3/FM9 thing, variable input, etc?

I own both an Axe-Fx 3 and FM3. To me there isn't a huge difference between them in this regard. I honestly can't put my finger on why I don't care for the Fractal drive models and wish I could better define it.

I always had a better time with Line6's drive models. They were easier to set up, the selection while numerically maybe less than Fractal, had a better variety to them and often they replicate individual switches on pedals because Line6 UI system is more flexible than Fractal's more generic approach.

Fractal's "here's every Tube Screamer ever made" is pointless fluff and just basically something they can crank out by editing an existing model to appease the "I need everything ever made" crowd. This is just speculation, but I expect Cliff isn't a huge fan of pedals overall but prefers rack effects and amps so most of the focus has been on those.

 

[laxu]

Additionally, I much prefer dialing in effects with knobs. It’s annoying in almost any modeler.

Which is pretty much why I own an Axe-Fx 3 and this too:

This is my MIDI controllable pedalboard. It's meant to sit on top of something instead of on the floor and is controlled wirelessly by a XSonic Airstep pair. Under the board is a CME WIDI Jack for wireless MIDI, Strymon Conduit for controlling various pedals and a Morningstar ML5 loop switcher (which I might remove now that I can just use mostly the Strymons). Powered by CIOKS DC7 and 4. GigRig Wetter Box is for running Nightsky/Volante in parallel. Amp 1 ME goes to my 4x10 cab and is also MIDI controlled.

Only thing missing here is some sort of display so I can keep track of what presets are on as some of the Strymons don't have any good indicator for this. With Strymon having revealed in a Reddit AMA that they are making a new Nixie software editor, I'm hoping I can run that on something like a Raspberry PI and put a small touchscreen in that blank spot for this. If not, I might develop my own control software if I have the time and will.