Help! I'm a newbie and my used FM3 sounds like trash

C

Cobrams

Member
Hello everyone,

a few days ago I bought a used FM3. Long story short, I tried meddling with if for a day and a half following videos by Leon Todd (like "Help, My Guitar Tone Sucks! - Modeller Edition")and Marco Fanton and old threads on this forum to no avail. Power amp and cab modeling are turned on. The firmware is up to date. I reset every setting, deleted the presets and downloaded them again. Sound is still shit, no matter the preset, like a software plugin from 20 years ago heard through a telephone.

If I use the bypass (383), the sound seems ok. Cleans are not terrible either.

Some additional info:
  • the guitar has two fishman modern fluence humbuckers (ibanez rg5120m)
  • I get the same sound through headphones and laptop (via usb)
  • I do not have amps or monitors to do further tests
  • I just restarted playing the electric guitar after a decade. I previously just used a cheap multi effect and an amp, so I have zero experience with fractal and amp modeling

I hope (and I think it's likely) I made some dumb mistake along the way, but I'd like to rule out any fault with my FM3. Is that possible? Is there any sort of troubleshooting procedure?

Thank you
 
  1. Reset it to factory settings. See p. 105 in the manual.
  2. Do a full backup. P. 103 in the manual.
  3. Download and update the firmware. P. 104 in the manual.
You probably should erase all the presets and reinstall the factory presets. See pgs. 105 and 104 again.

You can restore any user presets or cabs if you want.
I just saw this part…
Cobrams said:
Some additional info:
  • I get the same sound through headphones and laptop (via usb)
  • I do not have amps or monitors to do further tests
Click to expand...
  • What brand and model headphones? Are they plugged directly into the FM3 or the laptop?
  • At what volume are you listening? At reduced volume our brain is tuned to hear midrange much better than lows or highs, and you have to be at stage volume for it to even out. Research the Fletcher-Munson Effect if you don’t know how that affects everyone.
  • Are you trying to monitor the sound of the modeler using the laptop speakers? If so, they’re nowhere close to the fidelity you need for a modeler. A decent home stereo system would work better, or even better yet, some decent quality monitors.
 
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Cobrams said:
the guitar has two fishman modern fluence humbuckers
Click to expand...
Make sure to set the Input Pad setting in the Setup menu to -18dB. I did many tests - Fishmans clip the input like crazy. If you'd record a direct sound to your DAW, it will be a Death Magnetic block from the lowest to the loudest note.
And maybe try to lower your pickups so they are deeper in the guitar body and not too close to the strings.

Also, setting Input Trim to 0.5 really helps with Fishmans.

I also set the Output 1 block level to -18dB and compensate for the volume drop by raising Amp block output level. Some might not agree with me but see if it helps.
Please note the volume/output level setting in the Output 1 block and physical volume knob on the device are NOT the same.
 
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Try this quick fix: go to the Cab block, there you'll find a low cut and a high cut. Start with 85 Hz low and 6500 Hz high. They default to full frequency range. Furthermore, go to the Amp block and find Input EQ. Go with the low cut there and try e.g. 767 Hz, go higher or lower from there. 767 Hz is mostly a sweet spot for my guitar, that's why. Good luck.
 
Cobrams said:
Hello everyone,

a few days ago I bought a used FM3. Long story short, I tried meddling with if for a day and a half following videos by Leon Todd (like "Help, My Guitar Tone Sucks! - Modeller Edition")and Marco Fanton and old threads on this forum to no avail. Power amp and cab modeling are turned on. The firmware is up to date. I reset every setting, deleted the presets and downloaded them again. Sound is still shit, no matter the preset, like a software plugin from 20 years ago heard through a telephone.

If I use the bypass (383), the sound seems ok. Cleans are not terrible either.

Some additional info:
  • the guitar has two fishman modern fluence humbuckers (ibanez rg5120m)
  • I get the same sound through headphones and laptop (via usb)
  • I do not have amps or monitors to do further tests
  • I just restarted playing the electric guitar after a decade. I previously just used a cheap multi effect and an amp, so I have zero experience with fractal and amp modeling

I hope (and I think it's likely) I made some dumb mistake along the way, but I'd like to rule out any fault with my FM3. Is that possible? Is there any sort of troubleshooting procedure?

Thank you
Click to expand...
You’re listening thru headphones and laptop? No speakers of any decent size? And the usual - do you have an expression pedal connected so that the wah block is on?
 
DougB415 said:
do you have an expression pedal connected so that the wah block is on?
Click to expand...
This ^^^

Can‘t count the times I thought something was blown only to find the Wah block got auto-engaged accidentally and was on at some point in the sweep. To check, look at the layout screen and see if there is a wah block, and if it’s on. If you’ve looked at all the presets, this isn’t likely it because all of them don’t have a wah, but many/most do.
 
Yep. Could very well be screwed up system settings. Best to start anew. System reset and reload factory presets.
Especially if the previous user was using it with a guitar amp or just didn't know what he was doing it could be really screwed up.

I imported all my presets from my AX8 and they were really mucked up in the FM3. Totally useless and some even dangerously loud.
 
Cobrams said:
Hello everyone,

a few days ago I bought a used FM3. Long story short, I tried meddling with if for a day and a half following videos by Leon Todd (like "Help, My Guitar Tone Sucks! - Modeller Edition")and Marco Fanton and old threads on this forum to no avail. Power amp and cab modeling are turned on. The firmware is up to date. I reset every setting, deleted the presets and downloaded them again. Sound is still shit, no matter the preset, like a software plugin from 20 years ago heard through a telephone.

If I use the bypass (383), the sound seems ok. Cleans are not terrible either.

Some additional info:
  • the guitar has two fishman modern fluence humbuckers (ibanez rg5120m)
  • I get the same sound through headphones and laptop (via usb)
  • I do not have amps or monitors to do further tests
  • I just restarted playing the electric guitar after a decade. I previously just used a cheap multi effect and an amp, so I have zero experience with fractal and amp modeling

I hope (and I think it's likely) I made some dumb mistake along the way, but I'd like to rule out any fault with my FM3. Is that possible? Is there any sort of troubleshooting procedure?

Thank you
Click to expand...
Honestly, you may just not like Fractal’s modeling, which is the unpopular opinion. Sometimes the models can sound a little “stiff” especially through headphones no matter how good the cans are. If you’re using headphones, you really need to add a moderate amount of reverb to make it feel “in the room.” Otherwise it will just sound like a cabinet being pressed up to your ear. I think if you used good studio monitors or FRFR speakers, it would sound a lot better.
 
Dutch said:
Yep. Could very well be screwed up system settings. Best to start anew. System reset and reload factory presets.
Especially if the previous user was using it with a guitar amp or just didn't know what he was doing it could be really screwed up.

I imported all my presets from my AX8 and they were really mucked up in the FM3. Totally useless and some even dangerously loud.
Click to expand...
To add, check out and reset the global EQ in the settings I/O menu.
 
While the OP tried to give some information about his setup and what he has done to try and fix it. IMO, there’s just way too much unknown information needed to get any real bearing on this situation. One of the first questions I have is how well does he know his guitar. There’s more than a few comments the OP made that makes me question all sorts of stuff. First, it’s a used unit. Is this a new guitar or a guitar he is familiar with and has played through other typical equipment (like a basic guitar amp) and gotten good sound?

I would say after the OP is certain he has done a complete reset of the unit and properly installed the latest firmware and latest factory presets a recording of a factory preset he finds to be particularly bad using either the onboard USB audio interface or if he has a separate audio interface using output 1 with balanced XLR cables and post it.
 
So are you saying your guitar playing sounds like trash? That’s the best thing to do ,stay on the bypass and use a pedal👍🏻
 
Hi guys, thank you for your suggestions. I immediately tried everything you said, but it did not help. Then I got busy with other stuff and kinda forgot the issue.

Before buying the FM3, I had already planned to get rid of the Fishman pickups on my Ibanez and replace them with the usual Dimarzio Air Norton and Tone Zone combo. A week ago I modified the guitar and experimented with the FM3 again. Sound is still terrible, pretty much the same quality as before.

I recorded the attached samples with a few random high gain presets. Before doing that, I reset all of the system parameters to factory default, reinstalled the firmware (6.02) and re-imported the default presets. I did not touch a single option/parameter. I have no pedals attached.

I used the bridge pickup and tone knob set to max brightness.

What do you think?
 

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  • FM3 Samples - Default Presets.zip
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Cobrams said:
Hi guys, thank you for your suggestions. I immediately tried everything you said, but it did not help. Then I got busy with other stuff and kinda forgot the issue.

Before buying the FM3, I had already planned to get rid of the Fishman pickups on my Ibanez and replace them with the usual Dimarzio Air Norton and Tone Zone combo. A week ago I modified the guitar and experimented with the FM3 again. Sound is still terrible, pretty much the same quality as before.

I recorded the attached samples with a few random high gain presets. Before doing that, I reset all of the system parameters to factory default, reinstalled the firmware (6.02) and re-imported the default presets. I did not touch a single option/parameter. I have no pedals attached.

I used the bridge pickup and tone knob set to max brightness.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need to cut some low end out. It’s a bit muffled, but not enough to be able to immediately tell from the recording what it could be. So you’re saying these recordings were direct from the FM3 USB to computer? What software were you using? The sound almost sounds like it’s going from analog outs and through a poor audio interface and that is coloring the sound. How far are the pickups from the strings? I guess what I’m saying is that the sound isn’t great, but not so far off that something like improper pickup height or EQ could be causing the muddiness.

Oh and did you “Refresh after Firmware”?
 
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