FM9 Announcement!

ValentinC said:
Thats right, i just saw the video from Leon Todd.
My first tought: "Yeah, cool..."
My second tought: "My FM3 and FC6 cost me about US1800, and now i don´t think i can sell both of them for US1000 to buy the most powerfull FM9..."
Strange feeling...
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Yeah, ”strange feeling” indeed. I have to honest I was bummed when I saw this since I only purchased my FM3 three months ago. I guess I will get over it. The extra $$ is not peanuts and I’m still learning the FM3. I know one thing this is going to hurt the Quad Cortex.
 
I think I'm in the same boat as a lot of others: conflicted, but super excited about this. I've had my FM3 for just under a year and LOVE it, but the FM9 would check all the boxes where I've run up against limits. I signed up for the waitlist, but honestly realize I can't quite justify it right now. I may decide to grab it and relegate my FM3 for my at home rig.

The boxes the FM9 checks that would solve problems for me are:
  1. CPU limits. My primary preset is right at about 80% and tickles the red routinely. I've wanted to add a few more things (e.g. stacked drives), but don't have the CPU capacity. I've gotten around this by building versions of my main preset with the tweaks I want.
  2. More switches. I'm getting by right now with my two switch Mosky, but have had a number of times where I'd like to set up something different. I've been contemplating the FC6 or Airstep solution, but the FM3 would definitely solve this.
  3. Expression pedals, because I'm using the Mosky, I can only have one expression pedal. I like to have one volume and one assignable expression. Right now I have a passive volume between the guitar and FM3, but I prefer my volume to be between the amp and the time effects. I know I an do this with the I/O, but it complicates things.

Ultimately I'm 99% sure I'll get an FM9, but may have to wait for a bit.
 
I have the fm3 and as much as I want the fm9 , I think the sound quality won’t improve much by making the leap. It is worth wondering how much the fm3 will get in the way of updates and support going forward and will it kill the sale of the Axe fx3 altogether. In the end you have to be happy with the fm3 for the price. ………… but on second thought I still want one 😩
 
Tommymo said:
I have the fm3 and as much as I want the fm9 , I think the sound quality won’t improve much by making the leap. It is worth wondering how much the fm3 will get in the way of updates and support going forward and will it kill the sale of the Axe fx3 altogether. In the end you have to be happy with the fm3 for the price. ………… but on second thought I still want one 😩
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Sound quality will be exactly the same, just more CPU for extra blocks
 
fcs101 said:
I believe there is still a great market for the FM3. The FM9 is still too big of a footprint for my tastes. Maybe the next gen will be smaller and match the III.
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Yep. To me, i.m.o, the FM9 looks great on paper and it will sell, but once you add just one Exp Pedal and put it all in an appropriate hard case its a bloody big, bulky and heavy rig.

I cant believe I'm saying this - but look at the excellent QC form factor - and the FM9 is freakin huge.

Ben
 
I have mixed feelings like others.

It’s not about the price, I can sell FM3, MC6 and few other things and get the FM9 for the price of a strymon pedal 😅.
  1. It is big. Now I can fit the FM3, an experession pedal, the MC6 + a KoT on a pedaltrain classic 2. The FM9 would take all of the pedalboard space, no room for the expression pedal and the KoT
  2. DSP. Now the FM3 is “almost” enough for my needs. I hit the DSP limit frequently with no way to really experiment on new/different tones
  3. Future updates. FW 4.01 increased the CPU % on many presets. Some I used before are unusable now
I will see in the coming weeks “vs” reviews and videos. I’m on the waiting list (not one of the first), so I’ll have time to evaluate.
 
I was on the verge of sending back the FM3 I recieved 3 days ago and to wait for the FM9. Then I played yesterday evening with the FM3 once again. It has the perfect size (FM9 is quite bigger if you want to put it into a bag) and it has all that I need soundwise - and that's the most important criteria for me. I'm focused on playing now, instead on filling the grid with blocks and looking for magic in deep parameters. I've had a FX II for the last 8 years and it was never a true love. With FM3 I'm more relaxed and happier than ever. The amps sound great, there are more than enough IRs to pair with any kind of amp, there are already different boosting options in the amp block, without any need for drive pedals. Reverbs and delays sound great. The CPU limit is surely an issue you confront sooner or later but you can copy the same preset and make some other variation of blocks and the problem is solved. FM3 is exactly what I wanted and I was shortly insecure because of the FM9 coming out, but I'll rather stick with the FM3. If things turn out differently, I can still buy a FM9 or some other product one day.

I hope this helps someone who had or has second thoughts as well, even for a second.
 
ben ifin said:
Yep. To me, i.m.o, the FM9 looks great on paper and it will sell, but once you add just one Exp Pedal and put it all in an appropriate hard case its a bloody big, bulky and heavy rig.

I cant believe I'm saying this - but look at the excellent QC form factor - and the FM9 is freakin huge.

Ben
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unix-guy said:
Tell that to someone with an Axe Fx III, an FC-12 and 4 Mission pedals...

They would disagree.

It's me. I disagree ;)
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It's all relative. I'm more of a fan of compactness and traveling light, but if you've been hauling around a III, then it could be a good thing.

I think users in general are migrating to smaller. It's no accident that L6 and Boss (and now Head Rush) have come out with smaller versions of their flagship modelers which already weren't terribly huge.

Personally, I'd love to see Fractal maintain a floor unit no bigger than the FM3 and focus on increasing the power. I don't see much reason to fully incorporate the additional foot switches at the expense of adding so much bulk. FC-6 works great for that already and you could just maintain the modularity and let it be an option.

Despite all of the hype around the QC, there is lot to like about that form factor with all of the reported DSP.
 
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fcs101 said:
It's all relative. I'm more of a fan of compactness and traveling light, but if you've been hauling around a III, then it could be a good thing.

I think users in general are migrating to smaller. It's no accident that L6 and Boss (and now Head Rush) have come out with smaller versions of their flagship modelers which already weren't terribly huge.

Personally, I'd love to see Fractal maintain a floor unit no bigger than the FM3 and focus on increasing the power. I don't see much reason to fully incorporate the additional foot switches at the expense of adding so much bulk. FC-6 works great for that already and you could just maintain the modularity and let it be an option.

Despite all of the hype around the QC, there is lot to like about that form factor with all of the reported DSP.
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Agree, more power in a small unit would be better for me. I utilize the pitch block live, but the FM3's isn't great. However, I don't want to have to upgrade to the larger FM9 just to get an improved pitch block (assuming the FM9 gets the pitch block improvements).
 
fcs101 said:
It's all relative. I'm more of a fan of compactness and traveling light, but if you've been hauling around a III, then it could be a good thing.

I think users in general are migrating to smaller. It's no accident that L6 and Boss (and now Head Rush) have come out with smaller versions of their flagship modelers which already weren't terribly huge.

Personally, I'd love to see Fractal maintain a floor unit no bigger than the FM3 and focus on increasing the power. I don't see much reason to fully incorporate the additional foot switches at the expense of adding so much bulk. FC-6 works great for that already and you could just maintain the modularity and let it be an option.

Despite all of the hype around the QC, there is lot to like about that form factor with all of the reported DSP.
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I agree - definitely all relative. I say this all the time here: your use case is not my use case which is not the next person's use case.

I'm pretty sure the larger size is to accommodate requirements for the extra power (and heat dissipation), not just for adding switches.

One thing you might not have seen depending on how long you've been around was the amount of outcry when the FM3 was announced for something that is almost exactly what the FM9 is.

For me, it would the ultimate unit if it had the same processing power was the Axe Fx III... But as it stands I think it will still be a great option for me.

Edit:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/fm-speculation-thread.160431/post-1920805

I think my original prediction was lost in "The Great FM3 Forum Purge" that happened early in the FM3 lifecycle
 
Daaaang. Kind of bummed about this. Made the Fractal leap with the FM3. Then bought the FC6. For the same money as the 9. But....I don’t use a lot of effects and rare to hit the cpu limit. Sounds great. So guess I’ll just get a few years out of it and then no telling what will be available. Sniff...
 
skolacki said:
Daaaang. Kind of bummed about this. Made the Fractal leap with the FM3. Then bought the FC6. For the same money as the 9. But....I don’t use a lot of effects and rare to hit the cpu limit. Sounds great. So guess I’ll just get a few years out of it and then no telling what will be available. Sniff...
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I recommend smuggling it to Europe and reselling for a profit in a shady back alley deal.
 
ben ifin said:
I cant believe I'm saying this - but look at the excellent QC form factor - and the FM9 is freakin huge.
Click to expand...

You're not wrong....but keep in mind that the FM9 has a high quality internal power supply. If you've been keeping up with current events, you'll know how much that matters.
 
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