I just recently got my FM9 after a year on the waitlist, and was happy to see that 10% extra power for having waited patiently. Some bonus is better than nothing and I feel like supply constraints or no, that was a nice thing Fractal did.
Having used and then sold the AX8 a couple of years ago, I expected the FM9 to be a real powerhouse treat, and it is awesome no question! I have a Helix as well and have spent a ton of time dialing it in at practices and gigs over the last year, learning its ins and outs (literally and figuratively), and I'm digging into the FM9 hard in the same way.
I used my FM9 in a jam last night, and got the brilliant idea to downtune myself and the bass player (running him through Input/Output 2 back to his amp), and maybe it was the devil's lettuce at play, but this didn't seem possible at all. I wondered about panning my guitar (Input 1) left and his bass (Input 2) right, then running those both into the Pitch block, then outputting them separately as mono signals to Outs 1 and 2 respectively, but couldn't get it to work on the unit itself. The single Pitch block sounds great still!
Would this have been possible using FM9-Edit and more advanced controls? Like others here I was kind of surprised that I'm limited to one pitch block, and even a limited number of other types of blocks in a preset like
@richo144 and
@suhrmajesty pointed out. If the Pitch block uses so little DSP in Virtual Capo mode, I feel I should be able to throw 2 or even 3 Pitch blocks so I could run instruments through my FM9 purely to tune them down.
On Helix, the Poly Capo block uses a ton of DSP so I have to choose the rest of the blocks carefully if I want a "do it all" preset. But still, I have the option to run a guitar and a bass through Helix and tune them both independently.
Don't get me wrong - I bought the FM9 because I do believe Fractal has an edge on the sound and feel which in evident in that I can pick some factory presets at random and they are guaranteed to sound and feel great to me. I don't want to think I'm giving up some flexibility (and more $$$) for that sound quality though, even if it's for things I may use on a whim from time to time.