Announcing the New FM9 Amp Modeler/FX Processor

So I never had a fractal product that can run 2 amp sims (I owned the FX8 and now the FM3 ). My favorite high gain amps in the FM3 are the EVH 5150III Blue and JP2C. I plan to get the FM9 and want to see how these two amps sound together, has anybody tried this on the AX3 or other models? How do you mix them successfully? I plan to just use 1 Cab block to save on CPU
 
So I never had a fractal product that can run 2 amp sims (I owned the FX8 and now the FM3 ). My favorite high gain amps in the FM3 are the EVH 5150III Blue and JP2C. I plan to get the FM9 and want to see how these two amps sound together, has anybody tried this on the AX3 or other models? How do you mix them successfully? I plan to just use 1 Cab block to save on CPU

You likely will not need to make CPU saving measures.
 
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Yes, 4CM should work great. The FM9 uses the same "flagship" analog processing as the Axe-Fx III which evolved from the FX8.

The FX8 was the best analog path I'd ever designed but the product, unfortunately, did not sell well. I took that design, tweaked it a bit and used it in the Axe-Fx III.
Any idea if the FM9 will have less hiss/noise than the FM3 does in 4CM?

There are multiple threads on this occurrence (I won’t say “issue”), and even after Humbuster cables, and tweaking all available settings/parameters that are available in the FM3 to combat this, some folks (myself included), weren’t able to rid enough of the hiss/white noise/etc, in 4CM to utilize the setup in a gig situation.

I love my Axe III, and use it live. But I also have scenarios where I want my preferred tube amplifier, and would like to use the high quality effects in the Fractal universe in the 4CM with my amp.


Cliff are you able to comment on this?
 
You will not need to save CPU, and one cab block between two amps kind of defeats the purpose.
Ok. I’m just trying to understand how some of you use the dual amp feature. I’ve seen some presets where they run the 2 amps parallel into one cab in stereo. I have some time to research before I get an invite to purchase.
 
Ok. I’m just trying to understand how some of you use the dual amp feature. I’ve seen some presets where they run the 2 amps parallel into one cab in stereo. I have some time to research before I get an invite to purchase.
Running hard panned parrallel Amp/Cabs which are similar but not exactly the same (ie Recto Left / JP2C Right, or 2 differently tweaked rectos L/R) yields a bigger fatter sound. Put a classic mode enhancer in front of the two amps for double tracking like thrills. I love it but it is a rabbit hole of possibilities.
 
Ok. I’m just trying to understand how some of you use the dual amp feature. I’ve seen some presets where they run the 2 amps parallel into one cab in stereo. I have some time to research before I get an invite to purchase.
There are no hard and fast rules. I've used the setup you mention above, two amps into on cab block, with an expression pedal on mix block between the amps and the cab block to blend the two amps on the fly. I can morph between one amp and the other this way. I usually don't sweat cabinet IRs too much, treating the cab block like I would a cabinet on stage with me where I'd probably only ever run just one.

There are a ton of great, stereo, two amp factory presets that ship with the unit that are worth studying. If not for their sounds, then for the way they route audio to make those sounds in interesting ways. Stuff like this:

Screen Shot 2021-08-29 at 9.38.27 AM.png

And this:

Screen Shot 2021-08-29 at 9.39.12 AM.png
 
There are no hard and fast rules. I've used the setup you mention above, two amps into on cab block, with an expression pedal on mix block between the amps and the cab block to blend the two amps on the fly. I can morph between one amp and the other this way. I usually don't sweat cabinet IRs too much, treating the cab block like I would a cabinet on stage with me where I'd probably only ever run just one.

There are a ton of great, stereo, two amp factory presets that ship with the unit that are worth studying. If not for their sounds, then for the way they route audio to make those sounds in interesting ways. Stuff like this:

View attachment 87771

And this:

View attachment 87772
Wow thank you so much for your response. Love the possibilities of the FM9 and I love my FM3 but I’m ready to start expanding my fractal knowledge into some more unique presets. Wish I had some more CPU with my FM3 which is why the FM9 is a must.
 
Here's how much of my "kitchen sink" I can fit into an FM9 preset versus the same kitchen sink on my Axe-Fx III.

Screen Shot 2021-08-29 at 11.02.38 AM.png

Double wah is there because one of them is a mu-tron emulator. Pitch block does octave divider but can be flipped to advanced whammy for jedi acrobatics.
 
Any chance we could get an explanation on why the Pedal 1/2/3 jacks only support a single external switch each? The Jacks are TRS, so why can't they support a dual external switches?
The FM9 has a 3rd physical jack so it was not deemed necessary, one pedal and two switches being the sweet spot.
 
one cab block between two amps kind of defeats the purpose.
That's not true at all.

One Cab block is specifically designed to process the signal from a pair of amps. You get two discrete IRs -- one for each amp -- and this saves quite a lot of CPU.

Here's an FM9 factory preset that demonstrates this technique. Two amp sounds, two cab sounds. You can pan the Plexi and the Class-A full wide or collapse them to mono.

1630251058890.png
 
That's not true at all.

One Cab block is specifically designed to process the signal from a pair of amps. You get two discrete IRs -- one for each amp -- and this saves quite a lot of CPU.

Here's an FM9 factory preset that demonstrates this technique. Two amp sounds, two cab sounds. You can pan the Plexi and the Class-A full wide or collapse them to mono.

View attachment 87776

I stand educated, I totally did not realise you could pan two different amps in to the single cab block.
 
Ok. I’m just trying to understand how some of you use the dual amp feature. I’ve seen some presets where they run the 2 amps parallel into one cab in stereo. I have some time to research before I get an invite to purchase.

The cab block cab have multiple IRs (4 in the AxeFX III, 2 in the FMs). So one amp could run into LHS and have a different cab to the other amp on the RHS.
 
The FM9 has a 3rd physical jack so it was not deemed necessary, one pedal and two switches being the sweet spot.
Seems like an unnecessary restriction to me. Even if most people will not need so many switches I bet some would use that many.
Most of the commercially available dual switch pedals have a TRS jack. So you cannot use them without modifying the plug(s).
I would strongly advice to support dual switches per jack for all products (i.e. AF3 and the controllers, too).
 
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