FM3, the flawed but great sounding box

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jclemensfl said:
It is difficult for someone to put themselves out there, giving constructive criticism, so I applaud your willingness and efforts.
I own the AXE3 and FM3, and I'm a former AX8 owner and loyal customer.
The AXE3 and FM3 are the best sounding modelers in the world.
But Fractal seems, IMO, to give short shrift to usability improvements, compared to sound improvements.
The FM3 has sounded fantastic since it's introduction, and as a user and customer, I would rather see more effort placed on improving the usability (the interface, MIDI over USB, Virtual Capo, CPU usage, etc.) than on making the sound of the amps 2-3% better (the audience will never know) or introducing amps I'll never use. This goes for the AX3 as well. YMMV.
But I think Fractal has the opportunity to be BOTH the best sounding modeler AND the easiest/best to use.
If it wants to.
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Well said. I would like nothing more than them to be the best in all areas.
 
Henry said:
No need to "fanboi" the OP. I thought he gave constructive criticism on the utilitarian user interface of the h/w itself. That is probably the most criticised aspect of Fractal devices by users who eventually chose a different modeler. It is very rare to read that someone thinks the Fractal devices sound worse. I think the sound superiority is pretty much decided and doesn't need much discussion.

I am personally also in the camp of users who rather have the best sounding device and live with user interface "shortcomings" or whatever you want to call it. That doesn't mean that I'm not hoping for future improvements in usability.
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This ↑. Constructive criticism is how products get improved. There are no illusions that Fractal products are perfect. No product ever is. It's always a compromise and there's always room for improvement. UI design is extremely subjective and everyone has their own personal preferences. From the perspective of coming from the Axe II, I think the FM3 and III are way more user friendly via the front panel. That doesn't mean they couldn't still be better.
 
yek said:
No need for this...
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I disagree, all that text and barely any mention of the most important aspect which is the sound.
These other devices are not interchangeable with the Fractal unit; to pretend they are is silly.

I’m not a fractal fanboy, I probably have bigger criticisms of the fractal interface than the OP,
But this is like comparing restaurants on everything except the food. Disingenuous.
 
porieux said:
I disagree, all that text and no mention of the most important aspect which is the sound.
These other devices are not interchangeable with the Fractal unit; to pretend they are is silly.

I’m not a fractal fanboy, I probably have bigger criticisms of the fractal interface than the OP,
But this is like comparing restaurants on everything except the food. Disingenuous.
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But he did mention it:
"I love how they sound, I love all the things you can tweak, I love Axe-Edit/FM3-Edit"
"I still own Fractal units because they sound great, feel great to play and offer almost every feature a guitarist could ever want in a digital modeler. I can't fault them in that regard."
He wasn't being disingenuous at all. No review is required to mention all things relevant. It's his opinion of where the unit falls short, which is probably way more forthright (and frankly, more useful) than most reviews.
We all know the thing sounds amazing. The OP does too.
 
IMO, it's the best sounding unit out there and a bargain for the price...and the editor is way better than other competing units.

UI and screen could be improved. Hard to argue with that, but for me the amp modeling is the most important and it does that the best.
 
m4ssi said:
in my opinion the big problem are the only 3 footswitches.....AX8 was perfect in its format.
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I do wish they had squeezed the 3 switches with scribble strips as far left as possible and then added two vertical switches without scribble strips on the right side to add a lot more flexibility. But alas they didn’t :cry:
 
AZG said:
As I look at that gif my only question is, did he survive? o_O
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Definitely was slightly concussed. ;)

The footage from those early attempts at flying is some of the best
footage ever captured. :)




I just love how proud some of them are of their "failed" creations. We've come a long ways!!
 
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I don't know, I'm actually finding it very easy to work directly on the FM3 now.

I do all editing on the FM3 and don’t use Edit at all.

My background is a lifelong amp/pedals guy -no rack gear - and very few pedals, at that. I actually don't even own a computer and borrowed my wife's laptop to update to Cygnus. I've gone HXFX>Helix>FM3 in the past two years, with the FM3 just in the past two months.

While I was initially lost and confused on the FM3 (and posted about it), I now find it super easy to work on and really like the interface. I like having all the buttons vs a touch screen; I can pretty much edit and work without ever looking at what buttons I’m pushing, like typing. Love the big knob (TWSS) and the buttons being nearby. Also love the small knobs along the bottom of the screen and how the screen looks in general. I do wish it would default out of zoom view when looking at the grid (is that an option?)

My brain has adjusted to Fractal-land and I really like it. :)
 
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I agree with you, OP. I have the Quad Cortex, Helix, and the Axe-FxIII. Likewise, I really dislike working on the panel of the Axe-FxIII (FM3 panel seems similar) for live tweaks and lugging a computer along to gigs isn't something I want to do. I could live with tougher UI tweaks live if it had more switches. The toggle switches is so cumbersome trying to nail while performing.

I still struggle with which sound I like, though. Fractal gives me a feeling in my soul when playing. Quad Cortex sounds like a better Helix to me. Even with the high cuts in place, it sounds artificial to me, but it cuts through a mix like a champ. Honestly though, I like how the fractal sits in the mix rather than saying here I am!
 
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