2nd time it's frozen up on me at a gig...

iamdave

iamdave

Member
I use my fm9 solo, duo, and in a tribute band. Last night it froze up on me during a gig for the 2nd time. No sound. It'd switch presets etc., but no sound. I turn it off/on, and it works again. It's frustrating as it's a slow boot-up. Concerning also as if it got worse, I'd be up a creek. I left a Boss GT1000, but I'm thinking I'd better take it as a backup. What was I doing when it did it is probably the next question. Honestly, nothing special. Just using it as normal. Switching scenes during song changes and "what the heck... no sound..." I'm on the latest version also. It's not happened previously.
 
Sorry to hear you've had this happen at a gig!

Firstly, ALWAYS take a backup. Shit happens, and the show must go on.
Was it the same preset that locked up both times? If so, I'd investigate there... What was the CPU % on your preset? If above 80%, there's a chance of random oddities occurring. It could also be a corrupt preset (I've seen this happen, very rarely, but it does happen)

I'd start on troubleshooting like this and, if no joy, then support are the folks to contact and they'll advise.
 
All these guys are right - without more information or the preset, it's just speculation. Generally, I've had freezes happen a few times on gigs with Fractal in 19 years of using their gear. In each of those cases, I was operating presets right at or just under 80% CPU utilization. The key was assessing what I really needed versus what I wanted in presets and for the gig, got it down to an average 73% or so, and never had those issues since (knock on wood). That may - or may NOT - be what happened to you, but it's my speculation. Hopefully, you can add more context and possibly share your preset so the expert guys here can nail this issue down for you and make sure it doesn't ever happen again.
 
As others have stated, this really does sound like a CPU issue. I always try to keep mine well under 80% and will check them after firmware updates since every once in a while this will bump a previously stable preset towards the mid-80% range, which often results in the device going silent.
 
Keeping my fm3 below 80% was the golden rule for stability. I also have a good protective multiple power socket that i use. Zero issues.
 
iamdave said:
OK, sorry gang. I attached the preset. CPU usage is 55% range. Version 11.00 / 1.03.19 When I check for firmware updates, it says there's none.
Click to expand...
Are you sure you’re not accidentally hitting one of the control knobs?

It happened to me a couple of times, my tuner would randomly activate and mute my signal whenever I pressed a footswitch. Turns out, I was nudging the 'A' knob with my foot without realizing it. I ended up buying some knob protectors to solve it.
 
Keep in mind guys a Fractal is a computer. Computers need constant and stable supply voltage. Gigs that is hard to find. At gigs you have unstable and intermittent supply voltage issues as well as brownout. These will cause your computer to crash and have issues like lockup.
 
iamdave said:
I use my fm9 solo, duo, and in a tribute band. Last night it froze up on me during a gig for the 2nd time. No sound. It'd switch presets etc., but no sound. I turn it off/on, and it works again. It's frustrating as it's a slow boot-up. Concerning also as if it got worse, I'd be up a creek. I left a Boss GT1000, but I'm thinking I'd better take it as a backup. What was I doing when it did it is probably the next question. Honestly, nothing special. Just using it as normal. Switching scenes during song changes and "what the heck... no sound..." I'm on the latest version also. It's not happened previously.
Click to expand...

Since you mention you were "switching scenes" when this happened, make sure to check the CPU during and after you change to all scenes in that preset. CPU can vary between scenes.
 
baron55 said:
Keep in mind guys a Fractal is a computer. Computers need constant and stable supply voltage. Gigs that is hard to find. At gigs you have unstable and intermittent supply voltage issues as well as brownout. These will cause your computer to crash and have issues like lockup.
Click to expand...
I would say "you could have" not "you have"...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom