Fractal Audio Systems AM4 - Amp Modeler

[JiveTurkey]

Y'all dudes need to keep up!

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

I still don’t get the FM0 thing… why would you need all the power of the FM3 with no footswitches? Or do you mean amp and cab modeling only?

Not everyone plays live. In a home studio setting, you don't usually need foot switches. Instead, a compact design is very practical for placing the device on a table.

 

[Whizzinby]

Not everyone plays live. In a home studio setting, you don't usually need foot switches. Instead, a compact design is very practical for placing the device on a table.

I’m trying to get there with you guys, but isn’t that basically the AxeFx?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I still don’t get the FM0 thing… why would you need all the power of the FM3 with no footswitches? Or do you mean amp and cab modeling only?

So that this could be built the size of a Fender amp, not the size of a Boogie amp:

My FM3-based combo amp

Waiting on grill cloth and handle and need to actually finish it, but thought I'd go ahead and start the thread. Will post final pics when its done. Scroll down if you just wanna see the pics. Executive Summary: its a birch-ply, 22"x20"x10.5" box that holds an FM3, Seymour Duncan...

www.thegearpage.net

The AM4 needs a power supply and doesn't have quiiiiite enough power for my vision of the FM0.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

I’m trying to get there with you guys, but isn’t that basically the AxeFx?

Would you describe the size of the Axe-Fx III as compact?

 

[Whizzinby]

Would you describe the size of the Axe-Fx III as compact?

It’s 19x10, are we outfitting a room or a broom closet?

 

[iaresee]

Would you describe the size of the Axe-Fx III as compact?

I'd definitely describe the market for the thing you seem to want as "compact".

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

It’s 19x10, are we outfitting a room or a broom closet?

I don't remember if it was TrueZoltan or another euro guy, but...yeah, some folks are actually outfitting a broom closet.

 

[Baba]

I think it's time to sell my Helix Floor. Any takers? It's "vintage", not that new Stadium garbage.

 

[Desertdweller]

Wait... why did they leave off the Pitch block?

Same reason IPads don’t run MacOS.

 

[Desertdweller]

@JiveTurkey is this close enough to a FM0 for you?

I would love to see Fractal come out with an effects-only 1 space rack unit. @2112 and I would be the only ones that would buy it as there is probably no market for it, but I can dream, right? Until then, I have my VP4 racked.

 

[holoholo]

I still don’t get the FM0 thing… why would you need all the power of the FM3 with no footswitches? Or do you mean amp and cab modeling only?

I’m guessing because users want fractal modeling in a plugin form and the only way would be the smallest device possible equivalent to an interface on their desktop.

Or something. Idk. Tgf doesn’t even know what we want in a fm0 but we want it regardless. It’s like schrodinger's fm0.

 

[Whizzinby]

I don't remember if it was TrueZoltan or another euro guy, but...yeah, some folks are actually outfitting a broom closet.

I kept mine tucked under a table for a good while, until I added it to an expanding rack setup. I never really considered it that big a piece of gear in isolation.

What’s the hypothetical form factor? 1U rack unit with no onboard UI and less IO? A pedal with no footswitches but the onboard UI? Pedal with no footswitches or UI, just IO?

 

[yek]

I still don’t get the FM0 thing… why would you need all the power of the FM3 with no footswitches? Or do you mean amp and cab modeling only?

It makes sense for people who already have a capable MIDI switcher.
I own and love the RJM GT/22. It would make a fantastic floor controller solution when combined with an FM0/AM0.
But the AM4 gets close.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

Folks, I praised the shape and compactness of the AM4. Did you misunderstand me? I think the AM4 has just the right size and functionality for bedroom musicians like me.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I kept mine tucked under a table for a good while, until I added it to an expanding rack setup. I never really considered it that big a piece of gear in isolation.

What’s the hypothetical form factor? 1U rack unit with no onboard UI and less IO? A pedal with no footswitches but the onboard UI? Pedal with no footswitches or UI, just IO?

See above. Literally just cut off the foot switch section of the FM3 so I can put the thing in a 9" deep combo instead of 10.5". I talked to Cliff about whether I could just unplug the foot switch board and modify the case, but concerns about boot errors. So obviously they should make this thing for me and my specific needs. That combo amp was the genesis of the idea of the FM0 and nobody that ever says it thinks its actually going to happen, or be useful for more than 5 people.

 

[Mongillo19]

What have I done?

 

[JiveTurkey]

GODDAMMIT MONGILLO

 

[mavrick102000]

Picked up an Axe-Fx ultra in 2016 to tour with, intending to use it as a preamp into backline amps. I think I did 3 gigs like that and then starting going direct with it I bought an ax8 later that year and started making screen recordings of my favourite settings and uploading them to YT... And here we are!

Here's some footage of one of my favorite shows I did with the old Ultra rig. I should pull it out of storage and do a video with it sometime soon - the original game changer modeller!

I was at that Show!

I was rocking an Ultra a few years prior so the great sound doesn't surprise me.

 

[Chocol8]

(2). I doubt the release day of the AM4 was just where the chip fell. There was at least one conversation "so, when is Stadium supposed to start shipping again?"

I don't know about that, unless they decided to delay the release until after Stadium shipped which doesn't make any sense to me. Obviously the design was started long ago, and they were in the hands of Beta testers before Stadium shipped, so Cliff COULD have chosen to announce it early with "shipping late November" if he wanted to. I thinking the Black Friday/holiday season was probably a bigger motivator for timing.