FM3 Firmware Release Version 1.06

bspdelta09 said:
I'm not sure. I'm actually not even sure, if the issue is related to 1.06 as I have not tried it before. Also, it could be possible, if it is a fault on my side, I installed all drivers, however. Double checked on this earlier. I verifying my cable later today to take it out of the equation.
Click to expand...
Are you having problems connecting with FM3-Edit, using USB audio, or both?

Things you can try on the Surface:
  1. Check to see if Fractal-Bot can see the FM3
  2. Verify there isn't an extra FM3 Communictations Port in FM3-Edit (Settings -> Preferences). If there is another FM3 port listed, select that one.
  3. Try a different USB port on the PC.
  4. Uninstall and reinstall the drivers.
  5. Try disabling power management on the USB ports: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-prevent-windows-10-turning-usb-devices
 
BryantP said:
Are you having problems connecting with FM3-Edit, using USB audio, or both?

Things you can try on the Surface:
  1. Check to see if Fractal-Bot can see the FM3
  2. Verify there isn't an extra FM3 Communictations Port in FM3-Edit (Settings -> Preferences). If there is another FM3 port listed, select that one.
  3. Try a different USB port on the PC.
  4. Uninstall and reinstall the drivers.
  5. Try disabling power management on the USB ports: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-prevent-windows-10-turning-usb-devices
Click to expand...

Hi Bryant, thanks for the suggestions. I'll try these later today. Will let you know, if these helped!
 
FWIW, I installed the drivers on my PC (W 10 Pro 64bit) before I had my FM3 just to be prepared. When I received the FM3 I couldn´t get USB audio to work, it stopped after a few seconds. Also no audio from my DAW. FM3-Edit was working fine.
I then reinstalled the drivers with the FM3 connected and running, now everything works as expected.
Hope this helps someone, give it a shot.
 
I've had my FM3 a couple of months now. In all that time I have only had the following issues:
  1. One incident of white screen of death, the day after I got it, when installing the OMG9 FC layouts and doing a lot of overrides in quick succession;
  2. Audio dropouts when using presets with 2 delays, a known issue which was thought to be fixed on 1.06 but happened for me on 1.06
  3. FM3 Edit being generally very slow to sync itself to changes made on the unit
1. only happened once.
Since moving to single delay presets I have had no issues with 2. Hopefully it can be fixed but not a disaster for me if it can't.
3 is still generally true.
 
BryantP said:
Are you having problems connecting with FM3-Edit, using USB audio, or both?

Things you can try on the Surface:
  1. Check to see if Fractal-Bot can see the FM3
  2. Verify there isn't an extra FM3 Communictations Port in FM3-Edit (Settings -> Preferences). If there is another FM3 port listed, select that one.
  3. Try a different USB port on the PC.
  4. Uninstall and reinstall the drivers.
  5. Try disabling power management on the USB ports: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-prevent-windows-10-turning-usb-devices
Click to expand...

Hi,

just started from the bottom of the list. I uninstalled the drivers, rebooted the device and then reinstalled the drivers again. The FM3 was recognized already after the restart, but I reinstalled them anyways. I guess, there was some restart missing. Anyways, thanks for your help. Also thanks to @gitfruit for your help!
 
I bought the FM3 because it is a fractal product that was in my price range (In spite of the forum regulars who nearly turned me off from buying anything fractal but I digress).

If not for Leon Todd's videos
I would have returned the unit because of what I first believed was an unneccessarily steep learning curve.

That being said I have had not problems out of the unit.
I have gigged twice with only the FM3 and it has preformed brilliantly.

I realized before I bought the unit that it was not an axe 3.
I'm confused by the littany nearly constant complaints.

Bottom line, if you need an Axe3 then get one but if you don't need a million effects to hide your sub par playing then consider the FM3 not for what it could be but for what it is.

I said good day Sir!
 
bspdelta09 said:
Just one notice: On my PC, connections with FM3 are relativly stable. I can't make my Surface Pro 4 connect to the FM3, however. Anybody else with a Surface and problems like this?
Click to expand...

Did it work before or is this the first time you tried?
Is Windows up to date?
Are you connecting via a USB or the Surface dock?

Definitely try swapping cables - so many USB cables are not reliable.
 
bspdelta09 said:
Had rehearsal last thursday. Used the FM3 for round about 3 hours, changed some amp settings on the device itself (no FM-Edit). No audio dropouts, no footswitch locking. Scene changes were quick. For me quite stable.

Just one notice: On my PC, connections with FM3 are relativly stable. I can't make my Surface Pro 4 connect to the FM3, however. Anybody else with a Surface and problems like this?
Click to expand...


My FM3 connects to a Surface Pro 3 without any USB issues. I use FM3-Edit all the time.
 
hippietim said:
Did it work before or is this the first time you tried?
Is Windows up to date?
Are you connecting via a USB or the Surface dock?

Definitely try swapping cables - so many USB cables are not reliable.
Click to expand...
itsmeseventhseal said:
My FM3 connects to a Surface Pro 3 without any USB issues. I use FM3-Edit all the time.
Click to expand...

Thanks you two for your answers. Please see post #265, I already resolved my issues. It sure was some kind of windows Update/missing restart/ driver related problem.
 
EDIT: I apparently solved my problem, if you are experiencing clicks and pops on recorded tracks via USB on an Aggregate Device on MAC and are NOT using S/PDIF.

Just received my FM3 (woohoo!!!).

As soon as I powered it I saw it came with FW 1.05 so immediately updated it to 1.06 with Fractal-Bot (downloaded via the bot, not the link in OP) and updated the presets to the most-recent ones. After two hours of playing I can say everything is good as ever, good job FAS!!!

Now, the bad part (SOLVED)...

As good as everything has been up until now, when I tried to reamp via USB into Logic Pro X (created a new Aggregate Device with my Scarlett 18i20) everything sounded really nice and then playing back the recorded track resulted in all kinds of nasty clicks and pops.

The session I created was for comparing sounds between the Axe-FX III and the FM3 using the same DI tracks (preset on both units is just amp and cab), everything's set to 48 kHz.

Just wanted to report back on this as soon as I found out.

SOLUTION

On aggregate devices, I had set the 18i20 as the Master Clock which enabled the "Drift Correction" checkbox on the FM3. Just selecting the FM3 as the Master Clock automatically switched the Drift Correction checkbox to the 18i20. Tried again and this time, worked like a charm. :D
 
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AJ Vargas said:
EDIT: I apparently solved my problem, if you are experiencing clicks and pops on recorded tracks via USB on an Aggregate Device on MAC and are NOT using S/PDIF.

Just received my FM3 (woohoo!!!).

As soon as I powered it I saw it came with FW 1.05 so immediately updated it to 1.06 with Fractal-Bot (downloaded via the bot, not the link in OP) and updated the presets to the most-recent ones. After two hours of playing I can say everything is good as ever, good job FAS!!!

Now, the bad part (SOLVED)...

As good as everything has been up until now, when I tried to reamp via USB into Logic Pro X (created a new Aggregate Device with my Scarlett 18i20) everything sounded really nice and then playing back the recorded track resulted in all kinds of nasty clicks and pops.

The session I created was for comparing sounds between the Axe-FX III and the FM3 using the same DI tracks (preset on both units is just amp and cab), everything's set to 48 kHz.

Just wanted to report back on this as soon as I found out.

SOLUTION

On aggregate devices, I had set the 18i20 as the Master Clock which enabled the "Drift Correction" checkbox on the FM3. Just selecting the FM3 as the Master Clock automatically switched the Drift Correction checkbox to the 18i20. Tried again and this time, worked like a charm. :D
Click to expand...
Thanks for the hint!
May I ask you which buffer size are you using with the FM3? Because I've experienced audio artifacts with buffer size smaller than 128 while, in the past, I could go down to 32 with fw 1.0.5.
No aggregated device, though. Just the FM3 straight into my Mac.
 
Yesterday my FM3 also had a freezing problem for all buttons, LEDs and encoders.
It happened when I left the guitar for a dozen or so minutes, FM3 was on, connected to FM3-Edit via USB cable, guitar was lying there. After returning, the audio signal was still processed, but the buttons, LEDs and encoders did not work, the contents of the FM3 screen did not change.
On the computer FM3-Edit showed an empty preset layout (in a strange way - all the blocks that I know were in the preset had a light border, but the block was not displayed, the "wires" also disappeared; sorry I did not take a photo), status it was displayed "connected", but it was impossible to do anything (eg it was impossible to save - I left the preset "buried", not saved before leaving).
The only thing I did with the preset before leaving - I added the "pitch follower" modifier for the Input trim in the Amp block (Plexi 100W High) with the Min 2.2 Max 6.5 range. The Edited LED was on before I left FM3 - and it has remained so. However, other LEDs after returning did not work (e.g. Input1 level or taptempo).
The audio signal was still correct when I returned to playing. The only solution was to reset the device.

This type of freezing happened to me also accidentally in the past in AX8 - leaving the AX8 for a dozen (or sometimes more, e.g. 1h) minutes without playing meant that after returning and trying to play all the buttons and encoders in AX8 did not work (while the LEDs were lit in stationary constellation). In the case of the AX8, however, the audio signal was distorted (I don't know how, because everything was frozen and there was no way to check it, also by AX8-Edit, but either the reverb stopped working on my ear, in a similar way as when the preset was too busy for the processor - and the reverb would turn off automatically - or the CAB modeling would crash), the LEDs remained on and frozen. The only salvation in the case of the AX8 was also a reset. In the case of FM3 yesterday it was similar, only the audio signal was still processed correctly (FM3 - firmware 1.06, AX8 - firmware 10.01 and earlier).

FM3:


AX8
 
Fabio Cattaneo said:
Thanks for the hint!
May I ask you which buffer size are you using with the FM3? Because I've experienced audio artifacts with buffer size smaller than 128 while, in the past, I could go down to 32 with fw 1.0.5.
No aggregated device, though. Just the FM3 straight into my Mac.
Click to expand...
I have the same thing on a newer windows laptop
 
Fabio Cattaneo said:
Thanks for the hint!
May I ask you which buffer size are you using with the FM3? Because I've experienced audio artifacts with buffer size smaller than 128 while, in the past, I could go down to 32 with fw 1.0.5.
No aggregated device, though. Just the FM3 straight into my Mac.
Click to expand...

Buffer size... It was the factory setting, never messed with it as I monitor via hardware with my interface. But I'll try and experiment with various buffer sizes and report back.
 
Fabio Cattaneo said:
OK thanks
Click to expand...

As I see, you can't change the buffer in the FM3 (you can in the Axe-FX III) so you need to do it in your DAW instead, am I right? If so, tried using the FM3 as the only interface with Logic Pro X. Just reamped with the I/O buffer size at 32 samples, the track came clean without any click or pop that wasn't relatable to gain staging or preset leveling.
 
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