Any word on the FM3 getting the Axe III's Pitch Block?

Ugly Bunny

Power User
Hi, all.

Has there been any scuttlebutt about if/when the FM3 will get the Axe III's improved pitch block?

I bought the FM3 when it was first released but ended up selling it immediately. I'm an Axe III owner and was hoping it'd be a mini/travel version, but I found it was far too underpowered for my presets and the pitch block - specifically the virtual capo - wasn't up to snuff compared to the Axe III. I've since started making more - but simpler - presets, so my preset complexity is nowhere near what it was. For this reason, I think the FM3 might be perfect now.

In any case, I recently picked up the Quad Cortex but am severely disappointed. It has NOTHING compared to the Axe Fx III. I know it's still in its infancy, but it'll be many years before it's even a fraction as functional as Fractal gear. I'm planning to return it or sell it most likely, and my eyes have once again come back to the FM3.

But I NEED the improved pitch block. It's a deal-breaker to not have it. I was hoping that a year later, things would be night and day, but I haven't seen any updates about the Pitch Block. Has there been a good explanation why it hasn't come yet? Is the improved version just so much more DSP intensive that it'll NEVER come to the FM3?

Thanks, all!
 
Hi, all.

Has there been any scuttlebutt about if/when the FM3 will get the Axe III's improved pitch block?

I bought the FM3 when it was first released but ended up selling it immediately. I'm an Axe III owner and was hoping it'd be a mini/travel version, but I found it was far too underpowered for my presets and the pitch block - specifically the virtual capo - wasn't up to snuff compared to the Axe III. I've since started making more - but simpler - presets, so my preset complexity is nowhere near what it was. For this reason, I think the FM3 might be perfect now.

In any case, I recently picked up the Quad Cortex but am severely disappointed. It has NOTHING compared to the Axe Fx III. I know it's still in its infancy, but it'll be many years before it's even a fraction as functional as Fractal gear. I'm planning to return it or sell it most likely, and my eyes have once again come back to the FM3.

But I NEED the improved pitch block. It's a deal-breaker to not have it. I was hoping that a year later, things would be night and day, but I haven't seen any updates about the Pitch Block. Has there been a good explanation why it hasn't come yet? Is the improved version just so much more DSP intensive that it'll NEVER come to the FM3?

Thanks, all!
Here is where it is
the Pitch obviously uses a bunch of CPU
a recent comment said they had successfully ported the pitch detection algo from the AX3 into the FM they mentioned that the hardest part of good pitch effects is getting the detection accurate and fast
but that comment was also followed with a We can make no promises

the comments were directly from FAS
 
We can make no promises
Odd. They were successful, yet they can make no promises. I wonder if this means, like the HX Stomp, it's such a DSP intensive algo that it's impractical to add it because then you won't be able to use anything else...
 
Odd. They were successful, yet they can make no promises. I wonder if this means, like the HX Stomp, it's such a DSP intensive algo that it's impractical to add it because then you won't be able to use anything else...
I think all of this goes back to the fact that the FM3 should have been designed with the Axe III CPU in a smaller format, but I don't know if that is possible. Kinda like a lower end Camaro or Mustang that has a V6 instead of a V8.
 
I think all of this goes back to the fact that the FM3 should have been designed with the Axe III CPU in a smaller format, but I don't know if that is possible. Kinda like a lower end Camaro or Mustang that has a V6 instead of a V8.

valid point, but I think also a valid argument is the FM3 was designed to hit a certain price point and offer features that a majority of the market want.

the III is probably overkill for a lot of players, and certainly not cheap. A III in a smaller form factor would still have a sizeable price increase and maybe wouldn’t appeal to enough people to make it worth producing.

obviously if it was a III in a smaller form factor and for just $999 it would be home run, but there are reasons the III cost over twice as much too
 
Pretty much that.

I'd have no problem justifying the price of the III if I thought it was right for me, but I really do not need the power it has.

I love the FM3 form factor and it does everything I need, but I wouldn't say no to a better virtual capo. I certainly don't need multiple amps or gigantic effects chains.

Everyone has different use cases though.
 
Odd. They were successful, yet they can make no promises. I wonder if this means, like the HX Stomp, it's such a DSP intensive algo that it's impractical to add it because then you won't be able to use anything else...
I think it is more a balancing
the FM3 is powerful for what it is but it has some limits
the recently added UR cabs if you use 2 in stereo will bump your CPU
up around 7 to 8%
not a big deal if you are sitting around. 65 or 70 on most presets but if your a guy living on the edge at 81 or 82 % or even less you have to start scaling back the presets
so i think it depends how much more cpu is the AX3 pitch
5 % 10 % that we dont know
 
At this point, I'm honestly entertaining the thought of jsut getting a second Axe III. I don't remember exactly when the improved pitch block came out on the Axe, but I think it was before the FM3 was released - or right thereabouts - and it's been over a year; I'm starting to think that if it COULD be ported, then it would have been already. So maybe I'm holding my breath for something that's never going to happen.
 
At this point, I'm honestly entertaining the thought of jsut getting a second Axe III. I don't remember exactly when the improved pitch block came out on the Axe, but I think it was before the FM3 was released - or right thereabouts - and it's been over a year; I'm starting to think that if it COULD be ported, then it would have been already. So maybe I'm holding my breath for something that's never going to happen.

Maybe, but they also just added the improved drive block and ultra res cab support, so unless they just flat out say they can't do it then I'll just wait and see.

I'm sure they are well aware that it's a very popular ask.
 
Maybe, but they also just added the improved drive block and ultra res cab support, so unless they just flat out say they can't do it then I'll just wait and see.

I'm sure they are well aware that it's a very popular ask.
They will do “something” even if they are not able to port the full pitch block they will likely make improvements to what is there
my reasoning is that Cliff has had the dev team work at porting to pitch detector if he knew it was not possible in any way i dont think they would be investing time on it
 
I think all of this goes back to the fact that the FM3 should have been designed with the Axe III CPU in a smaller format, but I don't know if that is possible. Kinda like a lower end Camaro or Mustang that has a V6 instead of a V8.
And still sell it at half the price???
 
Here is where it is
the Pitch obviously uses a bunch of CPU
a recent comment said they had successfully ported the pitch detection algo from the AX3 into the FM they mentioned that the hardest part of good pitch effects is getting the detection accurate and fast
but that comment was also followed with a We can make no promises

the comments were directly from FAS

Capo on the HX Stomp uses 50% of the DSP. I use a HX Stomp now in my FM3 Loop, but sounding like that may need to be permanent for DSP needs.
HX Stomp Emergency Backup Patches are Capo, 1 Drive, Amp & 1024 IR... it gets tight
The Helix I'd put the Capo in the upper Path with Drives, Wah, Chorus & that DSP would be full. 2nd Path was maybe 1 more Drive, Amp, IR, Reverb & Delay

So my guess would be the updated Capo may really cramp your patches, unless Cliff has some magic up his sleeve??? Hopin
 
Lots of "Let me tell you how to design your products and run your business" posts on this forum.

Just an observation. ;)

Glad I am too dumb to do either and can just enjoy the rewards of someone else's monumental efforts. :)
 
I think all of this goes back to the fact that the FM3 should have been designed with the Axe III CPU in a smaller format, but I don't know if that is possible. Kinda like a lower end Camaro or Mustang that has a V6 instead of a V8.

THE "Fact" has been stated multiple times. It's just impossible (at this price point, for sure) to cram the Axe's CPU into a smaller/floor enclosure given the need for active cooling for the heat it generates. It was the same for the Axe-FXII/AX8.
 
Lots of "Let me tell you how to design your products and run your business" posts on this forum.

Just an observation. ;)

Glad I am too dumb to do either and can just enjoy the rewards of someone else's monumental efforts. :)
Customer feedback is the only way products improve. I would wager a good 50% or more of the features in the Axe family are from customer feedback and requests. I don't think anyone's so brash as to tell Cliff how to design his gear, but we are the customers who use it as our professional tools so our feedback should be very important to him, IMO.

But you're right; his effors are monumental. I think the fact that people in this forum are so "demanding" and "greedy" for features shows an unprecedented level of confidence in the company (let alone the thousands of dollars most of us have invested).:)
 
Capo on the HX Stomp uses 50% of the DSP. I use a HX Stomp now in my FM3 Loop, but sounding like that may need to be permanent for DSP needs.
HX Stomp Emergency Backup Patches are Capo, 1 Drive, Amp & 1024 IR... it gets tight
The Helix I'd put the Capo in the upper Path with Drives, Wah, Chorus & that DSP would be full. 2nd Path was maybe 1 more Drive, Amp, IR, Reverb & Delay

So my guess would be the updated Capo may really cramp your patches, unless Cliff has some magic up his sleeve??? Hopin
I think if I could still get an amp, cab, delay, and verb on there, I'd be fine. I really hope the HX Stomp gets a better poly pitch block. It's quite a half-hearted freshmen effort as it is. Were it not for the DSP, I'd say you'd be better off using the FM3's pitch block.

I really hope that if the improved pitch block does come to the FM3, it doesn't eat up half the DSP like Line 6's does. I don't know what they did to improve it, but it matches the Digitech Drop. It doesn't quite beat the Line 6 Variax, but that's not surprising, as that's really a amalgamation of monophonic pitch shifters (brilliant idea).

I hope we'll eventually get word one way or another about it in the near future. I've been waiting over a year for the improved pitch block. If it's not coming ever, I'd just like to know so I can stop holding my breath.
 
They could go up a price bracket, on par with QC and Helix at around $1700US and probably squeeze that cou power in there. Throw in a couple footswitches too. Like a small - medium - large family of axe products. Just my wish anyway. Love my FM3, but an FC12 (or slightly smaller) sized floorboard with AFX III level horsepower would be sweeeeeeeeet. The rack format doesn’t interest me at all, but something on par just in a floor unit and I’m buying immediately.
 
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