Fractal Audio Systems AM4 - Amp Modeler

[Boudoir Guitar]

So, can you as well use an external switch to control literally *any number of operations* at once?

Yeah. The parameter needs to be one that can have a modifier applied to it. Then the switch is the source. The same source can be tied to a whole lot of modifiers.

 

[Mongillo19]

Is there an easy way to flip the order of blocks around? Or do you have to change the entire block?

 

[Sascha Franck]

Yeah. The parameter needs to be one that can have a modifier applied to it. Then the switch is the source. The same source can be tied to a whole lot of modifiers.

Thanks! That makes the AM4 a pretty interesting thing then. We shall see.

 

[AlbertA]

Fractal's modifier system is still unmatched IMO - is there any other guitar focused product that comes close?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Fractal's modifier system is still unmatched IMO - is there any other guitar focused product that comes close?

It's very powerful, but does also come with minor annoyances. That you can't adjust a parameter itself once a modifier is applied to it is frustrating. In the Axe Fx III I love using the amp block bias tremolo...but it is annoying that once I assign that to a pedal on the FC, adjusting the depth of tremolo becomes a much bigger hassle.

And the layers and relationships (and shear vocabulary) with modifiers and controllers and sources pretty much always requires me to revisit the manual every time I want to use them.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

AM4 ordered. It will come as no surprise that I have ideas that involve saw dust production.

 

[bucephalus]

Katana gen AM4

 

[AlbertA]

It's very powerful, but does also come with minor annoyances. That you can't adjust a parameter itself once a modifier is applied to it is frustrating. In the Axe Fx III I love using the amp block bias tremolo...but it is annoying that once I assign that to a pedal on the FC, adjusting the depth of tremolo becomes a much bigger hassle.

Wait, how would that even work? Like you want it to automatically remove the link to the modifier once you try to manually adjust the value?

And the layers and relationships (and shear vocabulary) with modifiers and controllers and sources pretty much always requires me to revisit the manual every time I want to use them.

Interesting - I can't say I've had that issue.
For me its just

• Controllers => source of values, normalized to the range 0 to 1.
• Modifiers => maps that range of 0 to 1 to a parameter, min, max, the curve etc. i.e. I think of it as "controller value modifiers", or "controller value mapping"

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Wait, how would that even work? Like you want it to automatically remove the link to the modifier once you try to manually adjust the value?

Easy? I have a pedal assigned to toggle a parameter back and forth between 0 and 6. The pedal is currently in the "6" state. I go in and tweak the parameter to 5. I hit the button and it takes the parameter to 0 and if I hit the button again it takes it to 6.

Yes, in a performance situation the better approach is PROBABLY to instead go in to the modifier and adjust its max value.

As with everything Fractal, none of this is hard when you are doing it very regularly. For those of us that 99% of the time aren't using modifiers to adjust things, though, when you DO need them...it's not necessarily intuitive. Just remembering the difference between a modifier and controller sends me to the manual if I haven't done it in 3 months.

 

[AlbertA]

Easy? I have a pedal assigned to toggle a parameter back and forth between 0 and 6. The pedal is currently in the "6" state. I go in and tweak the parameter to 5. I hit the button and it takes the parameter to 0 and if I hit the button again it takes it to 6.

I see - so more of a special case (like pedals, or switches), if its attached to an LFO or an envelope, etc, they are constantly running so I was thinking as soon as you change the parameter its just going to change.
Even with an expression pedal the actual values are changing constantly (little variations) - but yeah sure, Fractal can work it out, quantize it/filter it, etc.

But yeah for sure, good UIs are full of little edge case handling like that to make the experience smoother.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I see - so more of a special case (like pedals, or switches), if its attached to an LFO or an envelope, etc, they are constantly running so I was thinking as soon as you change the parameter its just going to change.
Even with an expression pedal the actual values are changing constantly (little variations) - but yeah sure, Fractal can work it out, quantize it/filter it, etc.

But yeah for sure, good UIs are full of little edge case handling like that to make the experience smoother.

Not really special, just one of the many possible cases? I don't think having a few parameters tied to a single footswitch press is THAT unusual -- pretty sure it's exactly what @Sascha Franck is hoping to do. Its a simplified version of scenes/snapshots without the headache of having to remember what blocks you want to not have impacted by scene/snapshot selection and which you do.

If you threw a Helix at me right now and asked me to set that up I'd absolutely have to think about it for a bit, might even need to reference the manual. But I wouldn't feel like I was having to relearn a whole new vocabulary and layered relationship the way I do in Fractal.

I think Kemper's "morph" or whatever it's called is the only one that is simple and intuitive to set up...and is also by far the most limited.

Not bashing the modifier system at all -- it's great and really powerful. But my PM box is evidence that I'm not the only one that finds it to always require manual reading and to, despite its power, almost always add a layer of "well, now that doesn't work the way I wanted" -- see also "wait, modifiers and controllers can do all of this stuff but I still can't just attach a switch to toggle between two amp channels on a box that is advertised as an amp in a box? It's gotta be a powered MIDI that sends a CC#?!?!?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Back on AM4 topic!

How stable is this thing freestanding on, say, a tabletop with power cable, 4 audio cables (Input/output/send/return) and one MIDI cable connected? Will I be able to turn knobs and press buttons and footswitches without it moving or does it need to be attached to a board-like thing?

 

[yek]

It has rubber feet and is solid and stable enough to not move.

 

[mavrick102000]

Just take off the bottom of the case and drive some drywall screws thru it into the top of the cabinet?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Just take off the bottom of the case and drive some drywall screws thru it into the top of the cabinet?

I like where your mind is headed...

...but nah. Not actually gonna mount this in a cabinet. In fact I think I've backtracked on the idea of creating any sawdust in relation this thing.

 

[Tanax]

I think you are seeing a glimpse of the next Gen
You can see the bigger icons and how they could be made into a touch screen that FAS already confirmed
The consolidated amp models w all the switches in one spot
Obviously there will be a whole lot more and this is likely the tip of the iceberg
But I think this is kind of a bridge

Yes, that was what I was trying to convey, that they did what they could within the current generation (and that more will come with the next gen). Very exciting.

I must have missed the touch screen part, did they confirm that?

 

[BrownNote71]

Is there an easy way to flip the order of blocks around? Or do you have to change the entire block?

You can move an existing block within a preset by holding ENTER and turning SELECT

 

[GTR37]

Yes, that was what I was trying to convey, that they did what they could within the current generation (and that more will come with the next gen). Very exciting.

I must have missed the touch screen part, did they confirm that?

Yes , he did
I would all those things Bluetooth , IOS app will be on the table

 

[Sascha Franck]

I don't think having a few parameters tied to a single footswitch press is THAT unusual -- pretty sure it's exactly what @Sascha Franck is hoping to do.

Yeah, exactly. I have a very very standardized (for me) routing of creating a lead tone out of any rhythm tone since decades already: Pre-boost (kinda non coloring drive or a compressor), post-EQ and some additional spatial FX. That's been part of each and every setup ever since, analog setups included (using a loopswitcher).

If you threw a Helix at me right now and asked me to set that up I'd absolutely have to think about it for a bit, might even need to reference the manual.

In case you only want on/off controls and have them routed to an internal switch, it's possibly the most painfree and quick thing ever. Select block, touch-hold switch, press OK. Repeat for as many blocks as you like.
(It's obviously not as comfortable anymore as soon as you want to alter any continuous parameters - as you've mentioned, that's something Kemper has nailed.)

Anyhow, talking about internal switches: It doesn't seem as if there's any manual assignment options for the internal switches on the AM4, correct? The operation mode section of the manual at least doesn't seem to cover anything like that.
I could possibly deal with an external switch for all modification duties, but internal switches are a lot better for these kinda things as they offer instant visual feedback of the switch status.

And btw.: The encoders are non-click ones without a switching option, right? That's quite a pity, IMO.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Anyhow, talking about internal switches: It doesn't seem as if there's any manual assignment options for the internal switches on the AM4, correct?

Yeah, the footswitch options on this are fixed to what's described in the manual by design. I get it and agree with the design choice.

Also, if all you're wanting to do is turn on/off multiple things from a button press that is pretty straightforward to setup and not that complicated. I was talking more about adjusting numerical values of parameters -- I often change delay feedback/mix and overall output level somewhere near the end of a patch along with turning on a boost, for example.