Thanks so much FAS for the update and continued improvements and fixes...awesome you guys got in the v15.1 improvements too!!!
Ok, so......
I've been anticipating this firmware since improvements to the AMP modeling (the power amp modeling in particular) always gets my attention, and the comments in the AFX III thread were 'doing it for me'.
I particularly wanted to try it with my bluesy/mid gain amps/presets since I was struggling with them somewhat to get 'the bark' and immediacy out of them that I was used to. I tweaked a few of my go-to Advanced AMP settings for them but still was finding them.....kinda flat...a bit too compressed...I dunno I was definitely chasing 'something' in firmware v2.
Fired up the rig and played my existing bluesy preset (with 4 different amp channels set to various Fender/Vox/mid-gain amps) though v2 firmware for some time to get a reference, then updated to 3.00, and....
Unbelievable!!! Right of the bat I was floored...everything I was trying to dial in/look for is there, in spades!!! Even without touching my presets I could hear and feel how aggressive, immediate, chimey, throaty, and how the amps now bark like a cranky junk-yard-dog. Man alive, was I digging this....the amps are simply so much more satisfying and lively to play and the feel is amazing...it's so much 'easier' and nuanced, especially in the picking hand.
I then auditioned my crunch, hi-gain, and lead presets to find similar 'liveliness' and a kind of 'clarity' that v2 didn't have....I tell you I'm in heaven here!
I went back to my bluesy preset, reset all the amps, and started playing/tweaking them and trying out a few of the Fender/Vox amps and all I can say it that FAS has hit it totally out of the park here...so much chime and bark...right up there with the best real Fender/Vox amps I've played.
Other general observations:
-the high end is 'less offensive' and easier on the ear...I love how you can turn it up without getting strident/brittle.
-the low end is much more controlled and less flubby but has more 'bounce' and jumps right at you. Perfect...just awesome low end response/feel.
-everything feels and sounds less compressed and flat, and working with the guitar volume control is insane; I can get sooooo much mileage of a properly setup amp with that and this is working for me lemme tell ya.
-the amps are more open and the sweet spot between clean/mild overdrive/higher gain is wider and making nuanced dynamics in picking (and the volume control) that much more....better and feels sooooo satisfying.
-v3 has what I was 'missing' in v2....big time.
I'm going back shortly to play even more; I'm very, very inspired with this firmware and I've never heard/felt the FM3 as great as it is now...the box has really come alive...man oh man. Astounding work....I'm reminded once again why I love FAS heh!
The short-lived king is dead (2.0)!
Long live the king (3.0)!
There's a new King 3.0 in town...wow.
I'm wondering how this will sound tomorrow. Thank you!
