I much prefer using the front panel for navigation and tone creation. It just feels more natural and quick for dialing in parameters in a nuanced way.
In the first week of owning my FM9 I thought I would never say this, but now, I agree. Once I learned my way around its UI, there's just something about the tactile feel of buttons and knobs that I enjoy, especially when turning amp knobs. There are still some specific things that are quite a bit more efficient in FM9-Edit, though.
Because it is pretty much always lit if you adjust anything in the preset so its information value is low.
Agreed. The "edited" LED could just be an on-screen colored notification somewhere, like how Helix does it.
I'm preparing a juicy Axe-Fx III vs Helix comparison video, you would not believe your eyes/ears..... or would you.
Can't wait! IMO, the differences between my FM9 and Helix are felt by the person playing the guitar as much, or even more, than they're heard in recorded material. (I'm not trying to start a "feel" debate, but the way a model responds to your pick attack is real, and the way a player compensates for that response is the part we feel.) I love both units. All the things I'd heard before about Fractal ring true though, like the reverbs (
absolutely stellar), quality of amp modeling, tweakability, etc. Some of the advanced conveniences in the Fractal settings, like the visual display of impulse response waveforms so you can align their peaks to hear the baseline in-phase sound, are also really nice.