FM3 vs AXE-Fx3 on stage

vlado65

New Member
Hi guys.
I am currently using Kemper Stage. I'm thinking about switching to Fractal Audio. The AXE -Fx3 is not very good for me because I need something portable that I can put on the floor. Can anyone tell me how the FM3 sounds compared to the AXE-Fx3? I mean live on stage. I'm mainly asking for opinions from people who have personal experience with it.... thank you.
 
Hi guys.
I am currently using Kemper Stage. I'm thinking about switching to Fractal Audio. The AXE -Fx3 is not very good for me because I need something portable that I can put on the floor. Can anyone tell me how the FM3 sounds compared to the AXE-Fx3? I mean live on stage. I'm mainly asking for opinions from people who have personal experience with it.... thank you.
Fractal constantly is upgrading the firmware on all the units and when they’re running the same algorithms they are going to output identical sound as long as the presets are the same. The FM3 has some hardware limitations compared to the FX3, and those can make minor differences, but for the most part you can’t tell them apart.

I had my FM3 out for live use a couple weeks ago and loved the sound.

It’s easy to mount the FX3 into a small road case and set it on its side or facing up so the knobs and display are visible and in reach. With an FC12 it’s a very powerful rig. Add an FC6 and run the OMG9 layout on an FM3+FC6 rig and it’s almost as flexible.
 
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I have both. They sound identical to me.
I have been using the FM-3 live ever since it came out.
I absolutely love it. My sound engineer loves it. The audience seems to love it.
 

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For all practical purposes, the FM3, FM9 and Axe-Fx III all sound identical. There is some leapfrogging between them, as a new firmware improvement is released for one device, and the other two receive the improvement in a later firmware update.

I gig all three units. I choose which one based on how much stage space is available or how many features I need or how much hauling I want to do. When I make that choice, I don’t even consider how they sound. They sound the same.
 
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I have both. They don't sound identical, as there are parameters and global settings present in the Axe III but not in the FM3, however, unless you have both and try to create a preset in one to use in the other, you'll be fine. They both have the same modeling and high quality effects. Again; the differences are noticeable ONLY when you try to A/B the same preset on both units (both will sound great, but not identical).
 
Hi guys.
I am currently using Kemper Stage. I'm thinking about switching to Fractal Audio. The AXE -Fx3 is not very good for me because I need something portable that I can put on the floor. Can anyone tell me how the FM3 sounds compared to the AXE-Fx3? I mean live on stage. I'm mainly asking for opinions from people who have personal experience with it.... thank you.

I came from kemper and use a fm3…
a few things… do you use a lot of effects within one preset? that will be the biggest question…
 
I have both. They don't sound identical, as there are parameters and global settings present in the Axe III but not in the FM3, however, unless you have both and try to create a preset in one to use in the other, you'll be fine. They both have the same modeling and high quality effects. Again; the differences are noticeable ONLY when you try to A/B the same preset on both units (both will sound great, but not identical).
I build presets on the FM3 then move them to the FX3 and FM9. That way they sound identical and I don’t worry about the bigger units’ parameters making the preset sound different.
 
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Can anyone tell me how the FM3 sounds compared to the AXE-Fx3? I mean live on stage. I'm mainly asking for opinions from people who have personal experience with it.... thank you.
I have all three units. There are minor differences in available parameters and some blocks are missing on the FM3 that exist on the larger units, but because they all run the same algorithms, the sound generated is the same if the same settings are used so running a preset built on the FM3 on the two larger units will sound the same. It's pretty stunning to hear the small unit keeping up.

Of course, moving an FX3 preset to the FM3 won't necessarily sound the same, or even fit, but with knowledge of both units, it's often pretty easy to reduce the blocks and get a preset to fit into the smaller unit. For instance, all the factory presets on the FM3 started out on the FX3, and many continue to be identical.
 
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