bishop5150
Fractal Fanatic
First Impression? Amazing. Just taking it out the box and looking at it I was in awe. It just looks beautiful. Upon plugging it in and seeing the logo light up with that gorgeous blue hue and the color screen come to life was breathtaking. FAS really knocked it out of the park with the front display. I was a little bummed I couldn’t peel off the screen protector like I did with my II, XL and AX8. End of an era I guess.
Once I got it setup in my rack and plugged into my CLR’s I jumped into the settings and got output 1 turned on and strummed the first chord on my Edwards into the 59 Bassguy preset. Wow! What a thick and rich sound. So much clarity and detail. Flicked to the neck pickup for a few lead lines and man it just sings. I could spend a long time here just messing around. But I knew what preset I was looking for... the 5153.
The 5153 amp and cab is my bread and butter amp and cab block. This is what I’ve gigged with for the last 2 years since switching to Fracta for gigging. (I bought my first II in 2013 but just used it at home for practicing) I used 2 5153 100 watt halfstacks in stereo for 7 years before switching to Fractal products. I know what they should sound like and Fractal nailed it with the II, XL and AX8. Well, the III doesn’t dissapoint. Holy cow. It sounds huge. Thick and chuncky and the notes jump off the strings. Rich and sustaining harmonics and a clarity that’s hard to describe. Noticed it on all the presets I tried out. But back to the 5153, so I explore the grid and see what else it has to offer. Has just a touch of Reverb on it that sounds really good in my small music room. Turned on the Chorus block and instant Stereo swirlyness from the Diminsion setting. Man it sounds good. I set it up real quick for Double Detune and a +9/-9 setting ala EVH for that 80’s grease that I love. Can’t wait to try out the rest of the improved pitch block. Especially detuning down a 1/2 step. I tried out a few more presets. I’m not sure how it’s possible but the FX sound even better. Just blown away by the verbs in this unit.
Last order of business was to create one of my gigging presets from scratch on it. Basically a TS808 OD in the drive block, 5153 100 watt blue, EVH cabs in stereo, filter block for boost, pitch block for some 80’s grease, delay block, Reverb block and a GEQ for a mid boost for leads. Had it all up and running in about 5 minutes via the front panel. It is a breeze to work with. Very intuitive. Did have to remember to add two extra blocks though. Input and Ouput. I will be waiting on the editor but until then it’s easy enough to get around and create presets from the front. Looking forward to getting an FC 12 when they come out but until then I will use my MFC which I will try to tackle programming tomorrow night.
I’m in awe of this unit and can’t wait for what the future holds going forward with it. FAS has really knocked it out of the park with this bad boy.
Once I got it setup in my rack and plugged into my CLR’s I jumped into the settings and got output 1 turned on and strummed the first chord on my Edwards into the 59 Bassguy preset. Wow! What a thick and rich sound. So much clarity and detail. Flicked to the neck pickup for a few lead lines and man it just sings. I could spend a long time here just messing around. But I knew what preset I was looking for... the 5153.
The 5153 amp and cab is my bread and butter amp and cab block. This is what I’ve gigged with for the last 2 years since switching to Fracta for gigging. (I bought my first II in 2013 but just used it at home for practicing) I used 2 5153 100 watt halfstacks in stereo for 7 years before switching to Fractal products. I know what they should sound like and Fractal nailed it with the II, XL and AX8. Well, the III doesn’t dissapoint. Holy cow. It sounds huge. Thick and chuncky and the notes jump off the strings. Rich and sustaining harmonics and a clarity that’s hard to describe. Noticed it on all the presets I tried out. But back to the 5153, so I explore the grid and see what else it has to offer. Has just a touch of Reverb on it that sounds really good in my small music room. Turned on the Chorus block and instant Stereo swirlyness from the Diminsion setting. Man it sounds good. I set it up real quick for Double Detune and a +9/-9 setting ala EVH for that 80’s grease that I love. Can’t wait to try out the rest of the improved pitch block. Especially detuning down a 1/2 step. I tried out a few more presets. I’m not sure how it’s possible but the FX sound even better. Just blown away by the verbs in this unit.
Last order of business was to create one of my gigging presets from scratch on it. Basically a TS808 OD in the drive block, 5153 100 watt blue, EVH cabs in stereo, filter block for boost, pitch block for some 80’s grease, delay block, Reverb block and a GEQ for a mid boost for leads. Had it all up and running in about 5 minutes via the front panel. It is a breeze to work with. Very intuitive. Did have to remember to add two extra blocks though. Input and Ouput. I will be waiting on the editor but until then it’s easy enough to get around and create presets from the front. Looking forward to getting an FC 12 when they come out but until then I will use my MFC which I will try to tackle programming tomorrow night.
I’m in awe of this unit and can’t wait for what the future holds going forward with it. FAS has really knocked it out of the park with this bad boy.
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Thanks again for all your hard work and effort by you and the entire FAS team Cliff.
