Help me prevent buyer's remorse

alex1fly

alex1fly

Inspired
Okay, yes, it is a bit of a clickbait title. Sorry for that lol.

I have an FM3 arriving today. It is without a doubt the nicest piece of gear I'll ever have owned. I'm frugal to a fault, and have spent the last 21 years wrangling tones out of a few pieces of budget gear. I decided enough's enough and I should give a pro-quality piece a try, so I went with the Fractal FM3. Even though I can afford it comfortably, I know that my frugality will strike and I'll be counting the days on the return policy to justify my purchase. My brain will say "sure this is nice but do you NEED it?" And the answer is no, I don't need it. Then my brain will say "would the Kemper or Helix be a better decision?" And the answer is I can't know without buying those too, but any of these units would take more than 2 weeks will be needed to really become familiar with.

So, any advice to help me head off this incoming inner dialogue? I'd love to fall in love and not have any FOMO.




Corollary question - I do a live one-man show with guitar and bass guitar into a looper. Can the FM3 handle two instruments simultaneously, or would I need some kind of switcher pedal?
 
Fire up a basic preset, then look at the other gear you have and then consider that you can basically do everything it does but in the virtual realm, in stereo, without having to worry about things like phase issues, noise, cabling, buffers, switching it all or moving it around. On top of that you now have a virtual studio worth of gear in a compact box that you can call at a whim.

Above all remember that you can allow yourself to have nice things. We are on this planet for only so long and can't take anything with us so might as well enjoy the finer things in life if they are within your means.

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laxu said:
Fire up a basic preset, then look at the other gear you have and then consider that you can basically do everything it does but in the virtual realm, in stereo, without having to worry about things like phase issues, noise, cabling, buffers, switching it all or moving it around. On top of that you now have a virtual studio worth of gear in a compact box that you can call at a whim.

Above all remember that you can allow yourself to have nice things. We are on this planet for only so long and can't take anything with us so might as well enjoy the finer things in life if they are within your means.

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I am struggling with a purchase right now. This is the kind of push I needed :cool:
 
Congrats! You will now own one of the best amp modelers and effects units on the market and that, like anything, has a learning curve. My advice is that you read the manual, watch tons of Leon Todd videos, and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Between the users on this forum and the plethora of videos available, you should be able to dial in YOUR best tones.

My biggest advice to new users is to make sure to play with the drive and effect blocks when auditioning the factory presets. Many of them have things like boosts bypassed initially to give you a sense of what the amp sounds like itself. For example, we all know that most people prefer a Recto with a boost up front. A factory preset may not necessarily have that boost active. I think many new users miss this.

Sorry if this was long-winded. I smoked a little before hitting the reply button.
 
To be honest, no one can help you with the upcoming inner dialog. You’ll receive your shiny new FM3, you’ll play with it, and you’ll reach your own conclusions about whether it was a good idea. I could try to hypnotize you into acceptance (“You will receive your new FM3, and you will love it.”). But that would be bogus.

To answer your specific question: yes, you can connect two instruments and process them both in the same preset. Even simultaneously, if you have enough hands to pull it off. :)
 
It’s not a question of how your FM3 duplicates what your budget gear does. It’s about what it will allow you to do that the budget gear doesn’t. For a start, better audio quality, more sophisticated effects combinations and switching. There will be things that I bet you haven’t thought about yet. Switching stage lights via midi for example.
 
Roland said:
It’s not a question of how your FM3 duplicates what your budget gear does. It’s about what it will allow you to do that the budget gear doesn’t. For a start, better audio quality, more sophisticated effects combinations and switching. There will be things that I bet you haven’t thought about yet. Switching stage lights via midi for example.
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Good point. Future needs may change as I discover functions and dream stuff up.
 
Go out and buy every amp in the fm3 ,for the price ,of a friedman, or soldano ,or any high end amp the fm3 is a bargin,plus you get effects and a million ways to run it . All depends how you look at it 🤪
 
EdgE said:
Go out and buy every amp in the fm3 ,for the price ,of a friedman, or soldano ,or any high end amp the fm3 is a bargin,plus you get effects and a million ways to run it . All depends how you look at it 🤪
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I'm pretty sure I would implode into literal nothingness, everyone's memories of me would disappear, and time would rewind to the point of my conception.

Couldn't find an appropriate emoji to go with that idea :balloon:
 
No one is EVER able to talk someone out of their default psychological hangups.

I've literally been the target of the best advice in the entire world in the past 50+
years and am still addled with copious amounts of fucked-uppery. :)

Oh, as for the FM3. It is KILLER! So much so that I am the proud owner of 2 of them. :)
 
alex1fly said:
Thanks y'all for indulging my emotionally needy post. Kind of a weird way to introduce myself the community, lol
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That's OK, just don't do it again. :)

The FM3 has incredible bang for the buck, and is an ideal tool to get your feet wet in modeling and recording at home. Add the FC6 and it's a great unit for a small stage or as a backup or when traveling because it's so easily carried.

I think we all get buyer's remorse, but purchases like this should be considered as tools used to further a goal, perhaps an "improving your playing while doing so quietly because there's a been a no-noise policy put in place and keeping the peace is good for the relationship" kind of reason. I look at my guitars, amps, pedals and modelers as tools, and I should have clear reasons for having them. "'Cause I wanna" is occasionally OK but eventually I decide I want to thin the herd and start looking at the utility of having something. I don't like clutter and don't see much reason to have something I'm not using regularly, so I pare down the gear until I cover the bases with a little overlap for backup. As long as we're not trying to fulfill some emotional need by purchasing gear I think having toys to grow into are good.

Besides, it's not like you bought a Ferrari. :)
 
The FM3 is a great unit however a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Get a good set of studio monitors or an atomic clr or something similar.
DO NOT skimp on the monitors, its like buying a Lamborghini and limiting the speed to 30 mph.
 
As said by redbud, this may fly against your "frugality" grain, but you're gonna need the right monitoring gear, so you won't be tempted to send it back when you ask the question so many here have asked, which is, "Why can't I get this thing to sound like my ______?" (Insert whatever amp of choice you know the sound of.)
Plus, you didn't mention whether your current setup involves real amps, because if it does, there's another aspect of modeling to consider, which is, this gear reproduces the sound of an amp miked up, using certain speakers (which you can change), and certain mics (which you can also change.) So depending on your familiarity with how modelers reproduce great amp tones, this aspect too can make you wonder, "Why doesn't it sound like my amp?" (This is the AITR (amp in the room) thing you'll see and read about here also.)
Get yourself familiar with the manual, especially these 2 things, while waiting, and watch some videos that address these issues specifically, and get past the frugality thing (even though @la noise is right ;) 👍) if you want your new FM3 to sound like it's designed to sound. I mean, if you had a really crappy-sounding guitar, and then was disappointed the FM3 didn't suddenly make your tone sound great, it wouldn't be the fault of the FM3, in the same way using the wrong speakers for a top-line modeler wouldn't be the modeler's fault that it didn't sound good.
If you handle those 2 things, I see no reason why you'd have buyer's remorse, (unless it's that you didn't get the FM9 or Axe III instead! J/K)
Good luck & welcome!
 
Thanks all! Very good points all around. I guess I should have mentioned that I have a couple FRFR setups that I use already, one for gigging a one-man looper show and one for home practice. Hopefully they'll fit the bill. Heck, I've been playing completely ampless for my shows (just guitar directly into EQ pedal into FRFR) and getting surprisingly good results, so I'm optimistic that having actual amp choices will be a revelation. And since I've only ever had a couple of cheap amps of each type (SS, tube, modeler) my expectations are low for it functioning exactly like any particular piece of gear. "It MUST function like my 2005 Line 6 Spider III!" would be a hilarious expectation, lol.

Anyways, thanks again. Y'all have talked me down considerably, and it'll be great to have something I can grow into. Plus since I missed the UPS drop-off yesterday, I have one more day to read these responses and get prepared, lol.
 
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