FM3 For Dummies

sparky7814

sparky7814

New Member
Does anyone know if there is a FM3 for dummies available? I'm new to the fractal world and it seems you have to be a sound engineer reading the manual.
Thanks Mark.
 
I would look at one of the private help sessions, and you can go over the basics to more advanced setup
 
sparky7814 said:
Does anyone know if there is a FM3 for dummies available? I'm new to the fractal world and it seems you have to be a sound engineer reading the manual.
Thanks Mark.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Fractal world!
I strongly recommend clearing terms your don't know while reading the manual. It is not difficult to read providing you understand the words/terminology used.
You can post here if there are definitions you can't find or you find too technical. Many people are willing to help!
Have fun!
 
sparky7814 said:
Does anyone know if there is a FM3 for dummies available? I'm new to the fractal world and it seems you have to be a sound engineer reading the manual.
Thanks Mark.
Click to expand...
To actually answer your question, no, there really isn't a quick start guide to the FM3 out there.

Your best bet is Leon Todd's youtube channel.
Rosh Roslin is a good resource too.

There are some posters here that are helpful too.
 
lots of videos on YouTube , but just look at it like an amp and find a good cab. I have times where I go down the rabbit hole ,but if I don’t like it ,I choose another preset then go back to the one I was on . Just don’t save it until you like it
 
I'd try and decide first what you'd like to look at and learn about, and then take steps from there
presets are great but it can feel like reverse engineering at the start if you want to implement things into your own presets

the FM3 and other fractal units can be as complex or as relatively simple as you like (with regards to tweaking tones and putting things together

there's a ton of info/tutorials on youtube, depending on what you want to learn about first

I've got some preset builds from scratch on my channel if you feel like checking those out

+1 on Rosh and Leon videos otherwise, great resource of info
 
sparky7814 said:
Does anyone know if there is a FM3 for dummies available? I'm new to the fractal world and it seems you have to be a sound engineer reading the manual.
Thanks Mark.
Click to expand...
I've just recently got my fm3, had a slowish start but now surprised how quickly I get my tones going. Your best bet might be to just ask in this thread for specifics.

What I did was, keep the manual handy and just go through the initial setup to make sure you've got your global Settings, connections etc, then stop there and just refer to the manual each time you have a question, otherwise its too much in one go.

To really get going, use the quick build feature and audition amps and IRs using a looper in the preset. Leon has got a good tutorial on YouTube for that.

Cannibalise the artist presets to give you a good base for presets... and here's a good one to help with scenes and channel confusion.. in the menus of the fm3 edit, you can copy your current channel to all channels and your first scene to all scenes and then edit from there.

You'll see what I mean when you get into it. Those were my first steps anyway.. and another quick tip, if you want the foot switches to always show your scenes when you're going from preset to preset, it's the layout menu you need to look at.. layout 2 to be exact and you can set that to be the default layout to use so you don't have to keep going into every preset to switch to layout 2 each time.
 
sparky7814 said:
it seems you have to be a sound engineer reading the manual.
Click to expand...

The manual says…
The language of the FM3 is for the most part the universal language of professional audio. This allows the FM3 to be used by casual and professional players, producers, engineers, and beyond. The terminology and concepts you will use and learn are accordingly not unique to the FM3. Understanding them will help you to master the craft of pro audio and to communicate with others. At the same time, the FM3 is easier than ever, with dedicated controls and a clear interface that doesn’t distract or disrupt the creative flow.
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At the same time, a lot of what you need to know to get up and running are the same things you need to know to work with your guitar and a physical amp and effects pedals. The first page of each effect or amp in the modeler is the basic controls needed to make it work. Subsequent pages get into more and more detail, including getting into customizations that amp and effect techs and designers use, so you can start at the shallow end and wade into the more esoteric features later, when you're ready.

The factory presets are a great asset. They're dialed in for stage volume (so turn them up), so minor adjustments to the gain and tone controls are all that are needed to get started. Plus, because you can dig into how they're configured you can learn how to bend them to your will, or simply store them in the Editor's Block Library for later reuse. You can even copy the preset to another slot and modify it, or save it as a template to act as a repeatable starting point for your own presets.

And, as was said, the manuals are well written. I skimmed through them several times before I got my units to become familiar with what is in the modeler, then reading different sections in more detail when I wanted to figure out something. In addition, the Wiki is full of the tribal knowledge along with quotes from various people that help explain why things work certain ways.
 
If you'll take the time to try and use the manual it'll really help you to have a better understanding of what's happening and how A affects B affects C... Some people just really don't like using a manual. But the FAS manuals are really an educational experience. Try reading through the Amp block pages in the Blocks Guide for starters. Good luck.
 
It's a little overwhelming at first but it gets easier quickly. When in doubt, just think about how you would connect everything together if it was a real amp, pedals, effects, and cabinets.
 
sparky7814 said:
Does anyone know if there is a FM3 for dummies available? I'm new to the fractal world and it seems you have to be a sound engineer reading the manual.
Thanks Mark.
Click to expand...
I started from knowing nothing about the FM3 when I bought it. I spent 8 weeks with Cooper’s course, Leon Todd’s YouTube's, and Rosh’s tutorials and the manual. Always RTFM! Never give up learning It. The time spent will pay off. It’s a very good machine. Like any new product, learn the jargon.
 
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