For those that have an Axe-Fx III and an FM3

bikertrash

Inspired
Hey Folks. I've had my FX3 for a few weeks and of course have been blown away. I originally got on the waitlist for a FM3 a while back said to heck with and got the FX3. I'm mainly just a home recording person and I've been pondering if the full unit is more than I really need. I know you can only use 1 amp at a time with the FM3 and loose a few outputs. I have had some fun with Tone Match.
Do any of you that have both get on your FM3 and say "man I really miss X on my FX3"?
 
I mainly miss the improvements that the III is getting that the FM3 hasn’t seen. (Pitch block, Drive Block) The performance screen is a must. Funnily enough, I could see myself finally using the vocoder if it was available in a pedalboard format.

With that being said, there are many reasons I bought both. The III is great for getting lost in, doing those deep dives, whereas the FM3 is great for portability (obviously) and the bare bone essentials and throwing it into a signal chain on the fly.
 
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When it comes to a choice of which to plug in, for me it's usually the Axe III that gets the nod. There are clear reasons the Axe III costs twice as much as the FM3 and those reasons would be more than enough for me to choose the Axe III over the FM3 if I had to choose one.

The biggest things I would miss going from the Axe III to the FM3 would be the ability to use more than 2 IRs in the cab block and having only one instance of the Reverb block.
 
Now that I have both you'd have to pry either from my dead hands.
Different units. Different purposes.
If I only did studio, Axe III would be the ticket.
If I only did smallish/medium gigs, FM3 would be plenty (with FC6).
But doing both plus some major gigs, I want both.
 
Things I wish my FM3 had:

1. FET-style compressor
2. Smoothing in the cab-block

That's about it. I don't really build a lot of dual amp-block patches on my AxeFX 3, so I don't miss 'em that much. Also don't really need more than 2 IRs (if I do, I'll just fire up the FXIII and "mix" down multiple IRs into a single IR for use on the FM3).

But also, I mainly use my FM3 for noodling around / riffing while I'm working (it's under my home office desk). For recording work I use my FX3, which is in my studio desk.
 
FWIW, I started with the FM3, loved it, and was also on the AXE-FX III waitlist. I decided to go all and purchase an AXE-FX III. So I returned the FM3 prior to the end of the return policy date, and received the AXE-FX II shortly there after, no regrets whatsoever. YMMV.
 
Also don't really need more than 2 IRs (if I do, I'll just fire up the FXIII and "mix" down multiple IRs into a single IR for use on the FM3).

May I ask how do you do it? I don't see any tools for exporting an IR mixdown in Axe-Edit III
 
One thing I've been wondering regarding the FM3 and Axe3 is why the presets on the FM3 have scenes setup in the presets whereas they aren't on the 3. I can probably drag/drop onto the axe3 editor but I thought the presets would be similar. See "EJ clean" on the FM3 vs the Axe3 for what I mean.
 
Do any of you that have both get on your FM3 and say "man I really miss X on my FX3"?

Both units here. AFX3 for studio, FM3 for live/rehearsal. I only miss just a bit of CPU power, but that almost made me return the FM3 and keep an FXII for live use.

I only used dual amps for seamless changes in-song and thought that was going to be a showstopper for the FM3, but, truth is, scene changes with different channels are so fast that I can live with them. YMMV here though.

I did not thought I use extremelly complex presets (I do not use textured delay/synth soundscapes live, for instance), just a fairly basic sound with a bit of delay, reverb and chorus for soloing and a couple of compression tricks to tighten things up. Then add a pitchshifter for dual guitar simulation...

...And I was not able to squeeze all of this in the FM3. I had to make a couple of compromises. That means definitelly ditching the CPU hungry reverb block and substituting with other blocks (e.g. Plex Delay, following the excellent Leon Todd's tutorials), which I find OK for live use.

Would I be able to live only with an FM3? Yes.

Would I have to make some compromises and tricks, and still only be able to reach 95% of where I want in a preset? That's a yes too.

Edit to state the obvious: I finally settled with the FM3 and sold the FXII because of portability. I think it is an absolutelly fantastic product at an awesome price point.
 
Keep the III. FM3 is still having usb recording problems 6 months after release, does not support ultrares IRs, does not have block updates from the last few AxeIII updates, does not have performance pages, and may or may not get these updates in the future.

I like the FM3. It’s a nice size and does sound good. I bought it for portability and sold my AxeIII afterwards. But if I were only using it at home for recording I would stick with the III without question.
 
Keep the III. FM3 is still having usb recording problems 6 months after release, does not support ultrares IRs, does not have block updates from the last few AxeIII updates, does not have performance pages, and may or may not get these updates in the future.

I like the FM3. It’s a nice size and does sound good. I bought it for portability and sold my AxeIII afterwards. But if I were only using it at home for recording I would stick with the III without question.
Actually the majority of customers have no USB issues. They've sold hundreds of units, the ones with issues are however extremely vocal, and rightly so. Just saying.

Otherwise I agree with everything else, and honestly am considering selling my FM3 and getting off the bus, as my confidence in the team behind the FM3 has diminished greatly.

From the beginning it was stated the FM3 would mirror the III on updates, getting all the improvements to all blocks that the III gets, and this just isn't ever going to happen.

The entire original FM3 forum with these statements was deleted.

I even put a forum post asking for an official answer, because i remember, but can't find the posts... and FAS chose to not respond. They don't even have confidence in themselves to give an answer.

So just my opinion, the FM3 is good. But don't expect to get all the cool new features and block updates the III receives regularly.
 
@Severed I wonder what percentage of FM3 users even try to use the unit as an audio interface for recording. I'm not using it that way at all.

My approach is to accept the FM3 for what it is now. My assumption is that it will not catch up to the block enhancements that have been implemented in recent FW updates to the III. I'd love for them to prove me wrong.

I'm considering selling it an moving back to the III/FC6. I was happier with that setup from a functionality standpoint, but not from a portability standpoint. I'm going to wait to see if 2.0 implements some of these features before making any decisions, whenever that may be...
 
Hey Folks. I've had my FX3 for a few weeks and of course have been blown away. I originally got on the waitlist for a FM3 a while back said to heck with and got the FX3. I'm mainly just a home recording person and I've been pondering if the full unit is more than I really need. I know you can only use 1 amp at a time with the FM3 and loose a few outputs. I have had some fun with Tone Match.
Do any of you that have both get on your FM3 and say "man I really miss X on my FX3"?
I would keep the AxeFX 3, and get an FM3 if you plan on going out and playing somewhere or if you want something to tinker around on and not load up the AxeFX3.

By design, I feel like the FM3 was always supposed to be the slightly less capable yet portable brother. It let's you get like 75% of the way to the AxeFX3 in a nice form factor. I enjoy using both, it's easier to use the FM3 only in that I can physically set it up in front of me and tinker with on the coffee table. My only issue has been some USB recording glitches here and there but it'll be resolved I'm sure.

I don't expect some of the features the AxeFX 3 has received...and honestly I'm fine with that. I love the sounds I get out of the FM3. If I need more power for effects, dual amps, more CPU intensive presets, well I'm moving to the AxeFX 3 to work.
 
just revisiting my post, actually comes off as a bit rude, and I apologize, I'm not great at eloquence. I meant no disrespect to the FM3 team, or FAS for that matter.

The FM3 is a fantastic unit, and I'm actually one of the lucky ones with no issues at all, still on 1.05, it came on my unit June 6th.
It's almost replaced my Axe-Fx II / MFC-101 setup for 4CM, I am very happy with scene midi block functionality, but it's not powerful enough (for me) even as FX only unit.
so I figured it out.....


.....my problem is I need to buy an Axe-FX III and an FC6. only then will I be satisfied :D and not have FW Envy on a regular basis... lol
 
My approach is to accept the FM3 for what it is now. My assumption is that it will not catch up to the block enhancements that have been implemented in recent FW updates to the III. I'd love for them to prove me wrong.
The issue we are struggling with is that, for example, the Drive block improvements increase the CPU usage. The FM3 team could've easily ported the new Drive block but that would likely cause many users presets to exceed the CPU limit.

So I'm working on some ideas on how to reduce the CPU usage of the new Drive block algorithm before we port it.

Same goes for the Pitch block.

The beta testers are reporting that the USB issues have been resolved and the last private beta only has a few minor bugs so we should have an official release soon.
 
When I got my FM3, I played it for a couple weeks hooked to my FC-12. I recently went back to my Axe-FxIII at band practice and it felt great to be back!
 
Hey Folks. I've had my FX3 for a few weeks and of course have been blown away. I originally got on the waitlist for a FM3 a while back said to heck with and got the FX3. I'm mainly just a home recording person and I've been pondering if the full unit is more than I really need. I know you can only use 1 amp at a time with the FM3 and loose a few outputs. I have had some fun with Tone Match.
Do any of you that have both get on your FM3 and say "man I really miss X on my FX3"?
I have both and kind of look at it like Portability vs Flexibility. Both are outstanding units. With the FM3 I can put my entire rig in a dual guitar case and go. With the III and my FC-12 it's two more things to lug around. But for some gigs, it's totally worth it because of the dual amps, synths, ins/outs and etc... that I need at times. Then the FM3 becomes my backup unit which honestly is great to have for out of town gigs. Otherwise the FM3 is my primary for the smaller grab and go gigs.

All that said, if I was only doing home recording, I would go the overkill route and stick with the III. That way when you need the extra cpu/ins/outs you have it.
 
This is great news !!! I for one never expected the FM3 to emulate the AXEFXIII. Not possible.
Stripped down versions of the AF3 functionality on this mean and lean , grab and go device is all, IMO, that is needed.

Maybe FM3 can take a haircut is some areas......I have no idea where :) , to accommodate crucial features like new Drive block, longer IR, speaker compression, PB :)

I would also say that through all this drama....there is a still a waitlist...and inflated resale prices on FM3......just tells you its value to mainstreamers.

Go Cliff go !!!

The issue we are struggling with is that, for example, the Drive block improvements increase the CPU usage. The FM3 team could've easily ported the new Drive block but that would likely cause many users presets to exceed the CPU limit.

So I'm working on some ideas on how to reduce the CPU usage of the new Drive block algorithm before we port it.

Same goes for the Pitch block.

The beta testers are reporting that the USB issues have been resolved and the last private beta only has a few minor bugs so we should have an official release soon.
 
I use both units. For me the size and the power of the FM3 is key. I am spoiled with a reliable unit that can fit in a gig bag. It is easy to sit in with another band, travel (and fly one day) with all gear, guitar and clothes in the overhead or at least in an overhead size piece of luggage, setup and line check and enjoy a beverage in the first 5 mins of arriving at my destination. I am also using the FM3 and the Axe III with Protools. The units work great with my DAW making it easy to just plug in my iLok to record. To be completely honest the FM3 has already met and exceeded my needs and expectations with the amp and cab blocks. I just wanted a small version of the Axe III that had the amps, cabs and some basic FX so I could enjoy playing the guitar without sacrificing the quality of sound I was accustom to on the III. All that to say that the I still wouldn't part with either unit. Ever.
 
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