4CM Observations

Robberns

Robberns

Member
Decided I'd see what my FM9 sounds like using 4CM.
My first test was in the loop of my Suhr PT15, and it sounded bad, bad, bad.
Some serious tone suck and noise/hiss even after clearing out the effects blocks that are part of the 4CM template.
I will say the MIDI blocks worked great with my Voodoo Lab Switcher. I can switch all 3 channels on the amp easily.
I was about to bail on the 4CM experiment when I thought, why not try to in the loop of my Mesa Mark V 35?
It sounds gorgeous through that loop. And no problem switching channels via MIDI into the Voodoo Lab.
I'll have to do some more experimenting but kind of odd there was such a difference between the 2 amps.
 
Is the loop buffered on the Suhr?
On Dumbles and clones, the loop requires a special external buffer. I don’t know anything about the Suhr but it might also require such a device?
 
My FM9 sounds amazing in 4cm with my Mesa Electra Dyne. I did need a Morley Hum X to get rid of a nasty ground loop hum, but after that, it worked really well.
 
My FM9 is like a match made in heaven for my RedPlate Magica. I also use the Voodoo Lab Control Switcher. I'm using humbuster cables per Fractal guidance and there's no noise, tone suck, noticeable latency ... just great tone and almost unlimited options. I made a copy of my main preset and set it up with the virtual capo so I can jump into SRV, Jimi, and other tunes a half-step down with just a preset change.
 
Have not tried Humbuster cables, but I do have a pair. Will give that a try.
And the FX loop in the Suhr is listed in the manual as tube-driven and buffered.
Will have to do some additional testing to see if I can get an acceptable outcome.
 
Try running the FM3 into the front of your amp. If you can set the amp to a very clean setting then FM3 amp MIGHT be usable. If not, disable the amp and cab modelling on the FM3 and use its effects. You can adjust the INPUT block (noise gate) to minimize noise, if necessary.
 
Which I/O were you using in the FM9 for the loop connections? Were you running all unbalanced connections to and from the amp? Are you setting the FM9 output to the amp to instrument level (not line level)?

Because there are no agreed standards for FX loops in amps, it’s often not as simple as ‘plug in and play’. The levels need to be optimized for the particular amp (and not just the amp, but often the actual settings - as noted in the PT15 manual, for example, the channel levels affect the FX send level …), so if it’s not sounding great you should ensure at least that the levels are appropriate, then once you have that you can address any noise issues (like ground loops, which are common with 4cm especially if the gear is plugged into different power sources).

And to be clear, I’m not suggesting you haven’t considered these things - it just isn’t evident from the original post so I wanted to suggest them in case it helps.
 
So I hooked up the FM9 into the FX Loop of the PT15 using the Humbuster cables as described in the manual.
While it does sound a bit better, it is still not as transparent as it should be, IMHO.
No ground loops, and some of the usual hiss that you'd never hear if you were playing live.
I have been running a Boss GT-1000CORE and an Eventide H9 in the loop of the PT15, which sounds great. Transparent when the effects are off, and effects sounding like they should when turned on. None of the settings on the PT15 are anywhere near max, just slightly tweaked to my ears and the 2 x 12 cab I'm running it through.
Like I said, the FM9 in the loop of my Mark V 35 sounds great. Just something about the Suhr is not happy with the FM9, or at least with the way I have the amp set up.
 
@Robberns i looked at the PT15 manual and on the loop section it says:

"3. The level appearing at this jack is dependent on the setting of the
channel’s level."

Maybe you need to play around with that and the input pad on the FM9? Or set it up for line level input?

PS:
What input/output are you using in the FM9 to come back and forth from the amp?
 
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