Hey!
I'm running my FM3 on firmware 4.01 and also some 4.01 factory presets. Some factory presets run my FM3 in CPU limit and cut the sound. For example, the Studio Clean preset scene 6 cuts the output on my FM3. Is there a way to free up CPU otherwise, e.g. in the global settings or somewhere else? It seems strange to me that even factory presets are sometimes a bit to heavy for the FM3.
Fractal did a cleanup of the factory presets for the FM3 and FX3 a while back, after Cygnus was released. As Cygnus was refined there was a minor update that ended up using some additional CPU to improve the sound further, pushing some presets over their limit. They’re busy shipping products right now but will get back to tweaking and polishing the factory presets again to remedy the situation.
CPU limits, in the wiki, will give you some pointers on how the architecture works and what can be done to reduce the CPU load. And as you adjust your presets, use your ears to determine whether a higher resolution setting actually improves the sound in a way that justifies using it, especially in the situation you intend using the FM3. It’s normal that people immediately go for the highest quality but in my experience the lowest quality is an excellent choice because Fractal has already ensured that it is very good; for instance, in a band setting live, the economy reverb quality works great because the room already adds it. The FOH system can add more reverb if necessary and the FOH engineer probably would prefer less, or none, to improve clarity. A solo acoustic guitar might need more reverb, and a higher quality would make sense, but the other CPU-gobbling blocks, like drives, amp and cab, don’t make sense with solo acoustic.
Also remember that shunts (empty connections) in a preset consume a little CPU, and they can add up. Making a preset “pretty” doesn’t pay off if aligning blocks in columns results in empty connectors.
So, copy a preset you like to a different slot and fiddle with it after reading the wiki page, and see what you can do.