FM9 display/switches wishlist

[Charry]

After a couple of days of having this lovely unit, programming it and personalizing it I can honestly say this thing is a beast! Sounds good, feels good and looks good.
Nonetheless, if there's one thing that bothers me a little (as I have said it in other threads...) is the way the display is configured. There should be a way of having just the preset name on the screen, with a big and easy to read font, there's no need to have all the 8 scenes showing on the display with tiny letters while playing if you can already see them on the other switches. I know we all use this unit and program it in a different way, but I think big preset names on the screen is one thing most live players would want. FX8 and AX8 had that option, why this new flagship wouldn't? It could be set as an option, like "live view" or "song view" however you want to call it, but I really think it is really necesary to make this unit even more awesome.

Another thing I think would be very useful (or at least I was expecting it to have been implemented on it..) is if you could dim out completely the LED ring colors on the swtiches, not just to 10%, or even better, if you could program each switch for this. Sometimes you need to have switches that light up only when you step on it and not all the time (even if the colors are set ver low), I think for some applications it makes it more complicated to see what's really on or off, or at leats that's my experience. When I had the HX Stomp this was one of those things that was not on official launch but when they implemented it it really made things more "live friendly". With this option you could make for example all your scene switches to only light up when you press them, but have the switches for bank up/bank down light up all the time, just to give you one random example.

With the extreme level of programmabilty this unit has with all the switches I think this is a must and it would give you even more ways of arranging layouts in a very easy way.

Just my two cents...

 

[unix-guy]

Just curious, what use is there for making a switch light up only when you step on it?

When I step on a switch, I can't see the LED...

Or do you mean it stays on after you step on it?

 

[Charry]

Just curious, what use is there for making a switch light up only when you step on it?

When I step on a switch, I can't see the LED...

Or do you mean it stays on after you step on it?

Really? I'm not sure if you didn't understand what I wrote or if maybe I was not clear enough.
Every switch on a regular midi footcontroller/floor processor ever build light up only when you step on it.
The dim LED thing is something kind of new in effects processors, it works for a couple of things, but not for all as far as I'm concerned...

 

[Rex]

Just curious, what use is there for making a switch light up only when you step on it?

When I step on a switch, I can't see the LED...

Or do you mean it stays on after you step on it?

I’m pretty sure he means the light stays on after you stomp it. If it only lights up while you’re stepping on it, there wouldn’t be much point. I don’t need an indicator to tell me I’m currently using my foot.

I think he’s asking for the options to be On/Off rather than Dim/Bright. @Charry, is that what you're asking for? Currently, Off means that the effect isn’t present in the current preset.

 

[unix-guy]

Really? I'm not sure if you didn't understand what I wrote or if maybe I was not clear enough.

No... I actually didn't understand, but I got it now.

Every switch on a regular midi footcontroller/floor processor ever build light up only when you step on it.

I think that's a bit of an over statement...

Did you ever use an MFC-101? Two-color LEDs.

Voes also has multi-color LEDs.

How about the RJMs? They have no LED only LCDs.

They have different ways of displaying the state(s) of their functions.

Many midi controllers do what you say but it's been quite a few years since I've used one of them at this point... And many are limiting.

And the FM9 / FM3 / FCs are not midi controllers.

I can understand the wish, though. More flexibility is never bad, in my opinion.

 

[unix-guy]

I’m pretty sure he means the light stays on after you stomp it. If it only lights up while you’re stepping on it, there wouldn’t be much point. I don’t need an indicator to tell me I’m currently using my foot.

Yep...

Off means that the effect isn’t present in the current preset.

That's another thing I didn't think about. Could be confusing.

 

[jetdriver1775]

Yeah I’ll chime in and say that switch light logic that allows 2 diff colors would be cool. Live red/orange for two different drives, and dark is off. As it is now, when toggling something, the switch is sometimes dark, when B is selected, and not A, but it’s also not off.

Love the Fractal stuff, but there’s some cool functionality from Helix that I miss.

 

[bleujazz3]

Yeah I’ll chime in and say that switch light logic that allows 2 diff colors would be cool. Live red/orange for two different drives, and dark is off. As it is now, when toggling something, the switch is sometimes dark, when B is selected, and not A, but it’s also not off.

Love the Fractal stuff, but there’s some cool functionality from Helix that I miss.

Isn't there a way to adjust the bright/dim contrast so the on is fully lit, but off is almost dark, though very low light? I thought that was in FC Setup, or Setup, one of the buttons to the right side of FM9-Edit...?

And, yeah, a big plus one for your idea. Two variable colors for on/off would be awesome.

 

[Charry]

I’m pretty sure he means the light stays on after you stomp it. If it only lights up while you’re stepping on it, there wouldn’t be much point. I don’t need an indicator to tell me I’m currently using my foot.

I think he’s asking for the options to be On/Off rather than Dim/Bright. @Charry, is that what you're asking for? Currently, Off means that the effect isn’t present in the current preset.

Kind of, I think I'm going to try to explain myself better. I'm basically using my FM9 with 2 layouts, my #1 home layout uses 6 switches for scenes (red LED), 1 switch for entering the effects layout (green LED) and 2 switches for bank up and down (blue LED). I want the red LED on my scene switches to light up on only when I step on them for every scene, I don't want them dim at all, that's all. But for example in the bank up/bank down switches I do need them dim. What I'm asking is a way to individually configure each LED on every switch to do what you want it for.

 

[Charry]

No... I actually didn't understand, but I got it now.



I think that's a bit of an over statement...

Did you ever use an MFC-101? Two-color LEDs.

Voes also has multi-color LEDs.

How about the RJMs? They have no LED only LCDs.

They have different ways of displaying the state(s) of their functions.

Many midi controllers do what you say but it's been quite a few years since I've used one of them at this point... And many are limiting.

And the FM9 / FM3 / FCs are not midi controllers.

I can understand the wish, though. More flexibility is never bad, in my opinion.

Ok.

Yeah I’ll chime in and say that switch light logic that allows 2 diff colors would be cool. Live red/orange for two different drives, and dark is off. As it is now, when toggling something, the switch is sometimes dark, when B is selected, and not A, but it’s also not off.

Love the Fractal stuff, but there’s some cool functionality from Helix that I miss.

Exactly!!

 

[Charry]

Isn't there a way to adjust the bright/dim contrast so the on is fully lit, but off is almost dark, though very low light? I thought that was in FC Setup, or Setup, one of the buttons to the right side of FM9-Edit...?

And, yeah, a big plus one for your idea. Two variable colors for on/off would be awesome.

Yeah there is, but for me it's not dark enough to tell if something is on or off...

 

[unix-guy]

Yeah there is, but for me it's not dark enough to tell if something is on or off...

Is this the primary driver for your wish?

In that case, as a workaround, you might be able to set the switches up as Scene Toggle instead of Scene Select:



Set the secondary scene to one of the two you don't use.

As long as you don't press the same switch a second time you'll get the same function you have now with the benefit that the LED will be off for all scene switches that are not the active one.

 

[JasonE]

Another thing I think would be very useful (or at least I was expecting it to have been implemented on it..) is if you could dim out completely the LED ring colors on the swtiches, not just to 10%, or even better, if you could program each switch for this. Sometimes you need to have switches that light up only when you step on it and not all the time (even if the colors are set ver low), I think for some applications it makes it more complicated to see what's really on or off, or at leats that's my experience. When I had the HX Stomp this was one of those things that was not on official launch but when they implemented it it really made things more "live friendly". With this option you could make for example all your scene switches to only light up when you press them, but have the switches for bank up/bank down light up all the time, just to give you one random example.

I like this idea a lot. I may look into how far down you can dim them but I like the idea of being able to have them off until I step on the switch.

Yeah I’ll chime in and say that switch light logic that allows 2 diff colors would be cool. Live red/orange for two different drives, and dark is off. As it is now, when toggling something, the switch is sometimes dark, when B is selected, and not A, but it’s also not off.

This is another solid idea. This would be a great idea too.

 

[bleujazz3]

Yeah there is, but for me it's not dark enough to tell if something is on or off...

Yup. The DIM can be reduced to 1%, but it still produces light in a dark venue. The only way to contrast that is to set the brightness for 90 to 95% for something more obvious.

IMHO, this would be enough for me, but YMMV.

 

[Charry]

Is this the primary driver for your wish?

In that case, as a workaround, you might be able to set the switches up as Scene Toggle instead of Scene Select:

View attachment 91368

Set the secondary scene to one of the two you don't use.

As long as you don't press the same switch a second time you'll get the same function you have now with the benefit that the LED will be off for all scene switches that are not the active one.

Why didn't I think of this before? YES! This solved everything, thanks man! And it doesn't matter if you press the same switch everytime, it works perfectly. It's a shame that it is only available for scenes, would love to have this also on the effects layout.

 

[unix-guy]

Why didn't I think of this before? YES! This solved everything, thanks man! And it doesn't matter if you press the same switch everytime, it works perfectly. It's a shame that it is only available for scenes, would love to have this also on the effects layout.

Did you set the secondary scene the same as primary (not sure that's possible so I didn't suggest it before)? Otherwise, a second press should change to the secondary scene...

Glad it worked for you!

 

[Charry]

Did you set the secondary scene the same as primary (not sure that's possible so I didn't suggest it before)? Otherwise, a second press should change to the secondary scene...

Glad it worked for you!

Yes, same scene on both works like a charm!

 

[unix-guy]

Yes, same scene on both works like a charm!

Sweet!

 

[Simon W]

After a couple of days of having this lovely unit, programming it and personalizing it I can honestly say this thing is a beast! Sounds good, feels good and looks good.
Nonetheless, if there's one thing that bothers me a little (as I have said it in other threads...) is the way the display is configured. There should be a way of having just the preset name on the screen, with a big and easy to read font, there's no need to have all the 8 scenes showing on the display with tiny letters while playing if you can already see them on the other switches. I know we all use this unit and program it in a different way, but I think big preset names on the screen is one thing most live players would want. FX8 and AX8 had that option, why this new flagship wouldn't? It could be set as an option, like "live view" or "song view" however you want to call it, but I really think it is really necesary to make this unit even more awesome.

Another thing I think would be very useful (or at least I was expecting it to have been implemented on it..) is if you could dim out completely the LED ring colors on the swtiches, not just to 10%, or even better, if you could program each switch for this. Sometimes you need to have switches that light up only when you step on it and not all the time (even if the colors are set ver low), I think for some applications it makes it more complicated to see what's really on or off, or at leats that's my experience. When I had the HX Stomp this was one of those things that was not on official launch but when they implemented it it really made things more "live friendly". With this option you could make for example all your scene switches to only light up when you press them, but have the switches for bank up/bank down light up all the time, just to give you one random example.

With the extreme level of programmabilty this unit has with all the switches I think this is a must and it would give you even more ways of arranging layouts in a very easy way.

Just my two cents...

Totally agree with you about both these. I would add, though, that it would be nice to have more control of the light settings in general - for example, to be able to dim all the lights on the buttons in darker environments. The way it all lights up like a Christmas tree might appeal to some, but I find it a bit much on stage.

 

[mr_fender]

Totally agree with you about both these. I would add, though, that it would be nice to have more control of the light settings in general - for example, to be able to dim all the lights on the buttons in darker environments. The way it all lights up like a Christmas tree might appeal to some, but I find it a bit much on stage.

There's an FC Global Brightness setting in the FC Controllers menu on the front panel. You can dim everything down there substantially. Not all options are available in the editor.