Going from Axe Standard to FM3

M

MistyViolet

Member
Is there a big leap forward in the range of sounds/presets that can be conjured up on the FM3 versus the old standard? I understand that the amp emulation has evolved a lot and that the new unit probably has much more horsepower than the standard. Still, there's only one amp block on the FM3, whereas the standard can combine amps in the same preset (or have I been misinformed?). Are there more limitations like this or can presets on the FM3 generally be more complex than those on the standard? I really want to upgrade to an FM3 because of the form factor and all the new features but I'm unsure exactly how much more versatile I can expect it to be.
 
Big leap forward on amp modeling tone and feel. Big leap forward in effects. More amp models and more effect types. Those things make for a lot more versatility.

But if your definition of “versatility” boils down to “How much stuff can I cram into a preset?,” then get an Axe-Fx III.
 
The FM3 does only allow one amp block but with the reworked drives (making them quite stellar BTW) there's a lot of options for second "amp" tones.
 
There's been significant changes to the way presets are organized too. Scenes and channels mean you can hand all the sounds you need for a particular gig/song /part in a single preset.
 
Rex said:
But if your definition of “versatility” boils down to “How much stuff can I cram into a preset?,” then get an Axe-Fx III.
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Would love to, but sadly out of my price range. Also, the portability of the FM3 is a major factor and I'm mainly concerned with real life comparisons to the Axe Standard (or Ultra as a reference point for that matter).
JoKeR III said:
The FM3 does only allow one amp block but with the reworked drives (making them quite stellar BTW) there's a lot of options for second "amp" tones.
Click to expand...
That's what I'm hoping for, that the expanded and improved stock drive/amp combos will reduce the need for cramming presets with everything but the kitchen sink trying to reach those more elusive signature sounds (thinking Pink Floyd, Marillion/Steve Rothery). I've heard a lot of FM3 clips that sound promising (thumbs up, Leon) but I'll have to sell my standard to finance the FM3 so I'd like to be convinced that it at least has the potential to replace all the sounds I can get from my old Axe.

I remember somebody, maybe fremen, sharing some fantastic sounding "prog presets" for the Ultra back in the day, and then me having to cripple the sound in one way or another on my standard because of their excessive CPU usage. Grass is always greener, i suppose...
 
MistyViolet said:
Would love to, but sadly out of my price range. Also, the portability of the FM3 is a major factor and I'm mainly concerned with real life comparisons to the Axe Standard (or Ultra as a reference point for that matter).
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Understood.


MistyViolet said:
...I'll have to sell my standard to finance the FM3 so I'd like to be convinced that it at least has the potential to replace all the sounds I can get from my old Axe.
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Well, it can't replace all the sounds you could get with an Ultra (as you noted, only one Amp block), but it might just replace all the sounds you're currently getting with your Ultra. If you need to have two amps running simultaneously, it's not for you. Maybe consider an Axe-Fx II.

What's the most complex preset you have?
 
MistyViolet said:
Would love to, but sadly out of my price range. Also, the portability of the FM3 is a major factor and I'm mainly concerned with real life comparisons to the Axe Standard (or Ultra as a reference point for that matter).

That's what I'm hoping for, that the expanded and improved stock drive/amp combos will reduce the need for cramming presets with everything but the kitchen sink trying to reach those more elusive signature sounds (thinking Pink Floyd, Marillion/Steve Rothery). I've heard a lot of FM3 clips that sound promising (thumbs up, Leon) but I'll have to sell my standard to finance the FM3 so I'd like to be convinced that it at least has the potential to replace all the sounds I can get from my old Axe.

I remember somebody, maybe fremen, sharing some fantastic sounding "prog presets" for the Ultra back in the day, and then me having to cripple the sound in one way or another on my standard because of their excessive CPU usage. Grass is always greener, i suppose...
Click to expand...

Fremen has Floyd based presets available for the FM3 I think. Maybe have a look at some of his demos to get an idea of what it's capable of?
 
Rex said:
If you need to have two amps running simultaneously, it's not for you. Maybe consider an Axe-Fx II.

What's the most complex preset you have?
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I don't think I ever used a multi-amp preset extensively and for the moment my C-bank of stripped down Ultra-patches (I'm on a standard) is archived on my computer somewhere. This was a bank with some very involved Gilmore/Rothery/Latimer presets that really needed an Ultra to do them justice. I could get them running by turning some effects off but they never sounded quite like the original after that.

Anyway, at the moment I see a preset in my unit that has:

1 x amp, cab, drive, reverb,
pitch, wah, compressor, filter, delay, enhancer, 2 x eq
parallel blocks of chorus, tremolo, flanger & rotary

This has to be around the limits for my standard because if I try to add say a second delay the CPU chokes. It is far from a "keeper" preset, but I wonder if the FM3 would have any issues with a similar setup, maybe even with an additional drive? The cab is hirez stereo.
 
JoKeR III said:
The FM3 does only allow one amp block but with the reworked drives (making them quite stellar BTW) there's a lot of options for second "amp" tones.
Click to expand...
I remember the drives being reworked on the AxeIII, but when were the drives reworked on the FM3?
 
guitarmike said:
I remember the drives being reworked on the AxeIII, but when were the drives reworked on the FM3?
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The FM3 has not received all of the Axe III drive updates yet but looking at the Wiki, the FM3 has all of the drive updates through Axe III firmware version 10. Coming from the Axe Standard to the FM3, the difference in the drives would be quite noticeable.
 
I had an Ultra, an AX8 and now FM3.
At first I did not felt much of a difference from my dialed AX8 presets.
I just needed a few days to realize the magic of FM3 and Ares full modeling.

The feel is awersome.

The drives can really transform an amp tone and feel.

Wow, just wow.
 
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