Just when i thought i was out, Fractal pulls me back in...
- Thread starter Lysander
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Frodebro
Shredder
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Weakness smeakness. Collect them all.
Except the QC. Those guys can suck a donkey dick.
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TSJMajesty
Rock Star
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norminal
Rock Star
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KingsXJJ
Shredder
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That is excellent. Thank you!
Lysander
Shredder
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It's today! It's today!
UPS took forever to deliver, but the MKII is finally here. I'll put it through its paces once i'm back from work.
First impressions though, the scribble strips are noticeably larger than the regular FM3 i had back in the day. Noice!
UPS took forever to deliver, but the MKII is finally here. I'll put it through its paces once i'm back from work.
First impressions though, the scribble strips are noticeably larger than the regular FM3 i had back in the day. Noice!
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Lysander
Shredder
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So, here're my impressions after ~3w of having fun with this thing; i sold my original FM3 back in 2020, so it's been awhile.
The tl;dr is no surprises, Fractal delivers.
The tl;dr is no surprises, Fractal delivers.
- I grew to really dig the form factor. Yes, it's bulkier than other compact modelling solutions, but features like the integrated IEC power supply and XLR outs make the FM3 a serious contender for best fly rig in the market today. It's also a rock-solid, well put together piece of kit.
- My god, there's even more amps and FX than the last time around!
- Amp tones are (shocker!) excellent. Coming mostly from Helix i'd say they trade blows quality-wise, but Fractal just wipes the competition when it comes to selection. There's over 300 amps available, of which i don't think i have gone 10% though yet, and you can then tweak each model to a ridiculous degree.
- Ditto for stompbox models, both drives and FX. I still feel Helix does these better, both in quality and quantity, but the FM3 is no slouch. Specially when you consider its...
- Effects. Now this is the reason i bought a FM3 and, sweet Jebus, does it not disappoint. Reverbs, choruses, flangers, pitches, are all incredible on the FM3. It wasn't long ago that you had to pay a rackmount gear premium to get this kind of sonic quality.
- Dynacabs are amazing. No more scrolling through thousand of cryptic legacy IRs to dial a tone.
- Gapless preset switching works just as advertised, and it's killer.
- FM3 Turbo has enough DSP on tap that i don't really worry about hitting limits when building patches. Dual amps would be nice thou...
- The UX has improved over the past 5 years, but this is still very much a Fractal product
I noticed some useful navigation shorcuts using rotary encoders that weren't there before, and i can build and edit a patch from the front panel no problem, but deep editing is still a bit of a PITA. The front panel should lose half the buttons IMHO, but the main problem is how navigation behavior remains inconsistent across pages/views. - FM3 Edit is still a joy to use, however.
- Best footswitching functionality in its class, period. You can program switches to do anything.
- Been having a lot of fun playing with controllers and modifiers on effect blocks, particularly reverbs. If you can imagine a sound, this box can probably make it for you.
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toneseeker911
Groupie
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I didn’t even know this was a thing. Over the weekend I played a gig, must have turned something and I see a zoomed in screen. I was like that’s cool, I then rotate the large knob to go to another preset, it looks dim. Think that’s strange, but launch into the song.
They changed how navigation works when zoomed in !! I’m still on the old preset totally confused during the song.
Yes, operator error. But which app or device changes important behavior when you zoom in. Just one of those UI gripes I have, but the sound quality and modeling is unmatched.
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I gave Fractal a try - I *think* I'm moving on? Back to Kemper, or?
I traded my Kemper Stage for a Fractal FM3 and FC-12 about 2 months ago. For the first 2 weeks, I spent many hours each night learning it and dialing it in to where I think I'm finally happy with all the tones (which are amazing). Since then, I've used it at a few shows and did some more...
www.thegearpage.net
This guy is opposite feeling
Foxmeister
Roadie
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These very much reflect my feelings from when I had an FM3 and later an FM9.
For me, amp tones were a wash, but the sheer number of amp models that Fractal has is simply outstanding.
That being said, I do think Helix has a broad enough array of models to hang.
On drives, I preferred (and still prefer, see below) the Helix models and also the way they are implemented.
That's why I have a VP4 now, which I use with my real amps.
For purely digital, whilst I sold my Helix, my HX Stomp (and Stomp XL) does everything I need.
Lysander
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Oh, absolutely. There are models and effects on both that i miss whenever i play the other unit - Helix's Badonk, Deluxe Reverb, Retro Reel vs. Fractal's Morgan AC20, North/South Church - but i think Fractal and Helix have otherwise more sonic overlap than people are willing to admit these days. Just fantastic sounding products.
I came thiiiiiiiiiis close to buying a VP4 instead, but at the time they were so close in price that the FM3 felt like a better overall option. Not regretting my purchase so far!
