FM3 to replace my pedalboard (bass)

[Megalobass]

Hello everyone,

I've been looking at Fractal Audio for a while to replace my pedalboard, which sounds great but is heavy and not always flexible.
I have two questions, and your feedback will help me see things more clearly:

- My current pedalboard includes:
Whammy > Cry Baby Bass > Boss Octaver > Digitech Synth Wha > Boss Flanger > Digitech Digiverb > Boss MS-3 (for boost, chorus, delay and reverb). Do you think it's possible to recreate this pedal board with the FM3?

- I've been studying FAS effects to see how to recreate each of my pedals. Will the FM3 be powerful enough given that I need 2 blocks of reverb, megatap, ring modulator and others to recreate my pedals?

Thank you for your feedback!

 

[Herr Mosa]

Will the FM3 be powerful enough given that I need 2 blocks of reverb, megatap, ring modulator and others to recreate my pedals?

Hi Megalobass,
I`m on FM3 with bass for a few days now.
If you want to integrate all of this with random access into a single grid setup/preset, I think the answer is no. Maybe the FM9 can do that, maybe the longtime Fractal specialists can judge that better.

I have my issues with the octaver (MXR) and synth (H9) and will leave those as external effects on the pedalboard for now.

If you spread your effects over different presets, the CPU power should eventually be enough - I don't suppose you need them all at the same time. And there is only one reverb block in FM3.

 

[Riccardo Ros]

Hi Megalobass,
I`m on FM3 with bass for a few days now.
If you want to integrate all of this with random access into a single grid setup/preset, I think the answer is no. Maybe the FM9 can do that, maybe the longtime Fractal specialists can judge that better.

I have my issues with the octaver (MXR) and synth (H9) and will leave those as external effects on the pedalboard for now.

If you spread your effects over different presets, the CPU power should eventually be enough - I don't suppose you need them all at the same time. And there is only one reverb block in FM3.

Almost true, regarding the reverb we have only 1 block but... other blocks can achieve reverb functions:

• plexDly > plexVerb
• room inside the Cab block
• delays with different options

Out of curiosity I tried a pedalboard with 2 pedals and a lot of different effects + 2 reverbs (reverb + plexVerb) and I'm reaching 80%..
I think you should try it.. there's a trial period after all!

 

[Megalobass]

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

To be more precise, here are the effects in detail and how I imagine programming them in FM3:

• Digitech Whammy: 2oct pitch > Pitch block
• Cry Baby Bass Wah > Wah block
• Digitech Synth Wah: I had managed to recreate the sound on my old Helix with Idstorsion + Octaver + Auto Wah, so 3 effects blocks for 1 effect.
• Boss OC3 Octaver > Ring Modulator block
• Boss Flanger > Flanger block
• Digitech Digiverb: for Gated Reverb > Megaton block
• Chorus > Chorus block
• Delay > Delay block
• Reverb > Reverb block
• Boost

Will all this fit on the FM3+FC6/12 or should I look at the FM9 instead?

I've noticed that bassists who use Fractal products tend to keep certain pedals, especially the octaver or Bass Synth. Are there any successful experiences of staying 100% Fractal?

 

[kywabunga]

It all depends on what effects you need, and when. The FM3 switching architecture is super capable, but it might not be right for you depending on what your style of performance requires. Even then, there are still some types of effects that guitarists and bassists tend to prefer leaving on their boards. Octavers, whammys, or specialized effects like the Freq-Out or Mimiq.

Adding an external 2-button footswitch or MIDI controller adds a ton of flexibility to the unit, but by the time you organize an FM3 set-up that works well for you, while leaving a pedal or two on the board that does the job better, you're probably gonna be looking at something that has a larger footprint than your current setup.

In my experience the on-board effects are capable and can be dialed in to get super close to many effects out there if you A/B and tweak. I agree with other recommendations that you order a unit and use the return period to determine for yourself it it's right for you!