Fractal virgin

After playing tube and ss amps for 30 years (wow!! Really?) I recently bought a little fender mustang for home jams. I was so impressed with the progress of modeling that I popped on a FM3. Should be here Monday!!
Couple questions:
Are there things I should do: settings, levels, tweaks right out of the box that are universally regarded as a good baseline?
Any good YouTube vids to help me hit the ground running?
I’ve watched a few by Leon Todd I believe.
I’ll be using a powered EV ZLX 12 as well as some powers Yamaha bs monitors for tones at home.
I have 3 TL806 cabs at the rehearsal with EV12L, eminence clone and celestion creamback. I might use my old QSC power amp till I find something better but we also use in ears at band practice so I’m not sure how this all shakes out.
Sorry for the ramble but just wanted to paint the picture and introduce myself!!
 
Hey welcome, yea Leon Todd's vids are good ,a lot of others too, troll the forums myself try and keep it simple ,good amp ,good cab . it can be a rabbit hole if your not carefull. so many treats. one thing I like to do is if I get a great sound ,I take a snap shot of it (puts in the fractal folder. then its there if you totally mess up your tone ,you can go back. vs saving to a preset and saving that and adding something and saving again, you can change back to the snap shot you started with3, im into 80's hair bands and can cop any tones. there going to what you like for cabs.what effects you like,youll ha👍👍👍👍ve fun getting there Rock on bud🎸
 
I'm still pretty "green" with my FM3, so all I can offer is this: Make sure you check your input level and pad if necessary. You don't want clipped input signal to ruin your fun.

HOME/SETUP/IO/Input 1or2 Pad
 
How hard is it to get feedback with the fractal? I’ve looked for this but don’t see a ton of discussion
I like feedback!
 
How hard is it to get feedback with the fractal? I’ve looked for this but don’t see a ton of discussion
I like feedback!
Feedback, AKA acoustic-coupling, has nothing to do with modeling or using a tube-amp, instead, it has a huge amount to do with the volume you're playing at, and the guitar you're using, and the guitar picking up vibrations from the speaker coming through the air, being routed through the modeler and its selected amp model and its settings, out to the amplifier for your speakers, and it happening again and again.

Turn off the volume on your guitar. Select a preset with a reasonable amount of crunch or distortion or compression. Hit an A chord and hold it. Turn up the guitar, then turn up the volume of your amp or modeler's output, so your speakers are moving a lot of air and you should hear feedback.

Experiment with rolling back the volume of the guitar and turning it back up, move around, turn and face the speaker then turn away from it.

I use feedback often when playing. I've done it with my modeler and FRFR, and with my tube amps, at the same distances and volumes and guitars. Again, it's simple physics, and the "amp" doesn't matter, it's volume and the guitar.

That said, some guitars are easier to coerce into feedback. My semi-hollow wants to go into it but because the bodies of semi-hollow and hollow-body guitars tend to resonate, the frequency they like might conflict with the note you want and cancel the feedback. So, you have to know that particular guitar.

Solid-body guitars are easier to get to feedback on individual notes, but still, the guitar makes a difference. If it has fret rattle or makes other noises then the string's vibration could be stopped. Pickups that are too close to the strings, to the point that they're pulling the string and causing it to shift its natural motion, can stop feedback. Echo, flanging, and chorus can get in the way because the note coming out can shift enough to cancel the string's motion. A guitar that's set up correctly should have no problem.
 
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Right on! Yeah that makes sense I guess I just hear the usual complaints of “feel” and “interaction” and to me that kinda translates to feedback and quirky articulation.
I’ll be using a power amp and the aforementioned Thiele cabs which are capable of high volume but I’ll also be trying to dial in a good “direct” sound in case we play good clubs with great foh.
Those of you that play out, what do you do?
The band that turned me onto fractal still just mic their cabs at shows, unless playing a big venue.
I feel like a blend of mic’d cab sound and DI would be ideal especially for stereo.
I’m sure it’ll take me a while before I’m comfortable with either tho. Lots options
 
Right on! Yeah that makes sense I guess I just hear the usual complaints of “feel” and “interaction” and to me that kinda translates to feedback and quirky articulation.
I’ll be using a power amp and the aforementioned Thiele cabs which are capable of high volume but I’ll also be trying to dial in a good “direct” sound in case we play good clubs with great foh.
Those of you that play out, what do you do?
The band that turned me onto fractal still just mic their cabs at shows, unless playing a big venue.
I feel like a blend of mic’d cab sound and DI would be ideal especially for stereo.
I’m sure it’ll take me a while before I’m comfortable with either tho. Lots options
Read chapter 4 in the manual. Read Connections and levels in the Wiki.

Feel and interaction are tied to physics again, they're not so much the modeler or amp circuit, though a well-designed modeler or amp can help. If you have sufficient volume even a clean amp will feel good and will interact with the guitar; Some of the best rock amps have been quite clean, they were just loud and moving a lot of air. Of course most of us like some distortion, and to get that we'd need to turn an amp up beyond its ability to remain clean, but, an amp that is distorting heavily but is barely turned up will have no feel or interaction because the physical requirements aren't being met. You've GOT to move some air, then the magic starts to happen.

I use two FRFR cabinets that can get extremely loud, but I much prefer only using them for my own sound. In a small venue without a sound engineer, I'm happy to let them bounce around the room but feeding the sound to a tech who is running FOH is better. I don't understand why someone would mike the cabinet their modeler is connected to. By doing so they're adding additional filters to their sound because of the microphone, speaker, and cabinet. But, you know, "other people's kids…". I'd send the unaltered output of the modeler to FOH and let the engineer sort it out.

Don't try to run, take your time to learn.

In the FAQ, the manual says:
Q: Why all the technical terminology?
A: The language of the FM3 is for the most part the universal language of professional audio. This allows the FM3 to be used by casual and professional players, producers, engineers, and beyond. The terminology and concepts you will use and learn are accordingly not unique to the FM3. Understanding them will help you to master the craft of pro audio and to communicate with others. At the same time, the FM3 is easier than ever, with dedicated controls and a clear interface that doesn’t distract or disrupt the creative flow.
Read the manuals and the Wiki multiple times because there's a lot of good information and wisdom in them.
 
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Treat the manual like a textbook. Read through it, mark anything of interest or that you think you’ll need to revisit, then use it as a reference text anytime something comes up that you can’t figure out on your own. Find players on YouTube with styles similar to your own. Watch everything you can. Leon, Cooper Carter, and Marco Fanton are all excellent resources. Follow the G66 channel as well. Lots of great content there. Play through the factory presets and use them as starting points. Then experiment with building your own presets. Start simple. Amp, cab, reverb. Get good base tones, then add drives, mods, delays, etc. Take your time and be patient. There is a ton to learn, but your time and patience will be rewarded. Ask any questions here you can’t find answers to in the manual or online. Tons of extremely knowledgeable people here. Welcome to the best club in music gear. Have fun!
 
Even though your EV speakers should be fairly flat in response they may color your sound a little. You may need to tweak the EQ to get the tone just right. Other than that, most presets will sound really good right away. There are so many amp models that you need to find the one that right away fits you the best, then start from there with adjustments, if you even need to make any.

The manual will be a little over-whelming. There's so much the FM3 can do. Take your time, don't expect to learn everything the first few days or even weeks. You will find the tone you're looking for and then some.

The Leon Todd vids, I think, are the best. But start simple and build from there. Once you get a good baseline you can start doing more advanced adjustments and routings. Then fine tune the tone to exactly what you've always wanted and maybe even more than you expected.

One last thing, the reverbs are incredible. Spend some time working with the reverbs. The London Plate is one of my favorites but all of them are really good.
 
What kinds of amp tones are you looking to get? You will be able to get some great suggestions from folks here on presets, models, cabs, etc to start with. Are you trying to replicate your tube rig or try something different? Any recorded tones that you are trying to emulate? What guitars are you using? References like this can help the community here get you started on the right foot.
 
After playing tube and ss amps for 30 years (wow!! Really?) I recently bought a little fender mustang for home jams. I was so impressed with the progress of modeling that I popped on a FM3. Should be here Monday!!
Couple questions:
Are there things I should do: settings, levels, tweaks right out of the box that are universally regarded as a good baseline?
Any good YouTube vids to help me hit the ground running?
I’ve watched a few by Leon Todd I believe.
I’ll be using a powered EV ZLX 12 as well as some powers Yamaha bs monitors for tones at home.
I have 3 TL806 cabs at the rehearsal with EV12L, eminence clone and celestion creamback. I might use my old QSC power amp till I find something better but we also use in ears at band practice so I’m not sure how this all shakes out.
Sorry for the ramble but just wanted to paint the picture and introduce myself!!
Scroll through the presets to start with and see if something hits you the right way (sometimes you find 'your' tone is already there).
If not, then find a preset that uses an Amp you like, and start turning some knobs.
If you're using FRFR (and never have before), it takes some getting used to.....try lots of different stock IRs, it's quick to do. (use the looper to capture a riff....let it keep looping...use Axe Edit to flip through lots of IRs until you find one you like).
If all of that doesn't get you somewhere that you're enjoying - post a request for someone to share a tone that sounds like - XYZ (audio clip or vid clip always helpful)
 
What kinds of amp tones are you looking to get? You will be able to get some great suggestions from folks here on presets, models, cabs, etc to start with. Are you trying to replicate your tube rig or try something different? Any recorded tones that you are trying to emulate? What guitars are you using? References like this can help the community here get you started on the right foot.
I use a lot of weird stuff. Seems the TL806s and maybe my modded DS-1 are the only “keys” to my tone. Amps I use a 70s Traynor yba-1 but I also get good sounds out of an ancient Randall SS Switchmaster. Guitars are mostly an Electrical Guitar Company standard, several very cheap Korean Danelectros and a lawsuit era Greco Les Paul copy.
I’m open to trying anything….obviously!! Lol
Before I bought the FM3 I was this close to buying a Burman tube amp. It’s been my wet dream amp for 15 years at least. Geordie from Killing Joke, anyone?
 
Definitely check out Leon and Cooper Carter. They will have a lot of content that will be in your wheelhouse. You definitely have some unique and eclectic gear, so I would agree with @BNN for sure - work your way through the presets and see if something sounds good. Try to do so at a decently high volume to avoid Fletcher Munson - @Greg Ferguson explains this phenomenon very well if you are unfamiliar. Good luck!
 
Definitely check out Leon and Cooper Carter. They will have a lot of content that will be in your wheelhouse. You definitely have some unique and eclectic gear, so I would agree with @BNN for sure - work your way through the presets and see if something sounds good. Try to do so at a decently high volume to avoid Fletcher Munson - @Greg Ferguson explains this phenomenon very well if you are unfamiliar. Good luck!
Thanks! Very familiar with ol FM curve.
My main concern is finding something that sounds good direct and finding something that sounds good going into my ss power amp and cabs. The whole reason I bought this was to simplify things! Lol. Especially for gigging and rehearsing since we’ve recently moved to in ear monitors. Hard to let go of the idea of having actual cabs and air and sound in the room, but I’m open to whatever works.
At home I’ll be using the Yamaha monitors, the EV powered pa cab, and some good Akg headphones. I figure between all that I can get a good direct sound. From there I can turn off the IRs and try using those same sounds into my live rig. Ideally I’d like to use both.
Any FOH guys here? What’s your max/ideal decibel level you wanna be hearing from a live cab?
 
Thanks! Very familiar with ol FM curve.
My main concern is finding something that sounds good direct and finding something that sounds good going into my ss power amp and cabs. The whole reason I bought this was to simplify things! Lol. Especially for gigging and rehearsing since we’ve recently moved to in ear monitors. Hard to let go of the idea of having actual cabs and air and sound in the room, but I’m open to whatever works.
At home I’ll be using the Yamaha monitors, the EV powered pa cab, and some good Akg headphones. I figure between all that I can get a good direct sound. From there I can turn off the IRs and try using those same sounds into my live rig. Ideally I’d like to use both.
Any FOH guys here? What’s your max/ideal decibel level you wanna be hearing from a live cab?
Makes total sense. You can accomplish your cab goal by splitting your signal after the amp block to bypass the cab before you send that to the power amp. I don't use this technique, so I'll let others speak to the execution, but it is definitely possible and shouldn't be terribly difficult. That way you can still send the direct signal with the IR to your in ears and FOH.
 
How hard is it to get feedback with the fractal? I’ve looked for this but don’t see a ton of discussion
I like feedback!
Just as easy as a non-modeler. Using the right preset I can hit a note and play with the feedback for as long as I'd like. Having a hollowbody or semi-hollowbody helps.
 
The whole reason I bought this was to simplify things!
Well, a modeler does help simplify the pedal-board->amplifier->post-effects chain, but then you need a very clean amp and speakers, either FRFR or solid-state amp into a cabinet, so the complexity moves to different places when dealing with live sound. In a studio, yeah, in general, it's less complicated.

I can grab my Fractal and two FRFR plus the assorted power and signal cables, or I can grab my tube amp. They're both fun, but I can have the tube amp up and running in about a minute, and it only takes one trip to get everything in. So... simplify? That's a maybe.

More flexible? Oh, definitely, the modeler and FRFR run circles around what a single tube amp can do.

I don't use this technique, so I'll let others speak to the execution, but it is definitely possible and shouldn't be terribly difficult.
Factory preset 381, "Out1:FOH Out2:Cab", demonstrates the concept. Austin Buddy's presets take major advantage of this and are great demonstrations of how to build FM3 presets for live use. And, odds are really good that Leon Todd and/or Cooper Carter have demonstrated how to do this.

In general, the idea of taking a tap after the Amp block and routing that to a second OUT block is the right idea. Section 4 in the manual talks about this, specifically pages 30 and 31, but I'd highly recommend reading the entire section just to understand the "gozintas" and "gozoutas".
 
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