Greetings Doug B,
This is the second video you have posted where you have stated that the same named preset on the three units are different.
However, you do not go any further into this. Are you saying that the elements within the 3 units presets are different?
If this is so, then proceeding with a guessing game based upon the notion that the UNITS sound different is patently misleading.
If that is so, then the difference is in the presets, NOT the units sound production.
Could you please clarify what you mean by "they are different".
My question is based on genuine curiosity as I don't have the means to own all three units and this clarification would be enlightening given the very clear reputation that the units all do sound the same given ALL EQUAL circumstances.
Yes, there are some differences in some parameters in that particular preset between the 3 units. The differences weren't important enough to list them all. Once I realized that there were differences, rather than going thru each parameter in every block in all 3 units, I simply copied the Axe-Fx III preset to the FM9 and the FM3 so that all 3 units would be using the exact same preset.
I don't know why there are some minute differences in the same-named preset on the different units, since the Axe-Fx III preset works just fine in the FM9 and FM3. I'm sure that the Fractal devs have their reasons, which I am not privy to. I just wanted to make sure that all 3 units were equal in that respect.
The only way that I could hear any differences was when I went from normal playing conditions (switching from one unit to the other) to a far more technical setting which went beyond the scope that I had intended.
This test was the result of a post in this forum that you might have seen; a guy said that he had 2 Axe-Fx IIIs using FRFRs, and he bought an FM3 using smaller FRFRs. He thought the FM3 sounded like a transistor amp, where he felt that the Axe-Fx III sounded like a tube amp. Most guys responded saying that he should play them thru the same FRFRs to see if he could hear any difference.
I do have all 3 units, running into the same mixer with the same settings, going out thru the same pair of speakers. When I'm playing and just switching between units, I hear NO differences. I have a floor switcher so I can switch quickly. That's all this test was intended to show - if you switch from unit to unit playing the exact same preset, you won't hear any differences. And you certainly won't hear any differences in a band situation. A bit-by-bit comparison tho? Sure, you might find something different there. But if you really have to dig that deep, I'm guessing that you're more of a lab tech than a musician.
Hope this helps, and thanks for asking!