How is the switch from the Axe Fx III to the FM3?

parlopower

Inspired
I have been using my Axe Fx III as center piece for my home studio for three years or so. Use it as my audio interface, not only for guitar / bass recording, but also run my mic preamp into Input 2 for vocal recordings, have my monitors and headphones connected to it (with a small mixing desk for independent volume control in between). I don't play live gigs, only recording projects. Now I realised that throughout those three years, all my patches are pretty much one amp block, one cab block, sometimes a drive, and very occasionally a chorus / phaser / tremolo / something similar. I hardly ever use the reverb, I have the FAS-FX plugin and use it in my DAW for adding the reverb.

Now the friend I collaborate with on my songs is interested in buying my Axe Fx III for his studio (he runs a bigger commercial studio, mine is only a hobbyist home studio). And I am thinking that everything I described above will actually be doable with the FM3. My patches would work, I can still connect my mic preamp and mixing desk, I can reamp in the mix... and I love the form factor. The lower price would also allow me to have something left from selling the Axe Fx III that I could invest into another guitar, or potentially a vocal booth, Thomann got an entry level model for about that amount. That is actually still something my home studio is missing and could really use.

What do you guys think? Would I regret it? Just poking around in the dark here - maybe the converters and headphone amps (headphones are important, cannot use my monitors always) are lower quality and would disappoint me after being used to the III? Or is there anything like that that I would notice? I am pretty confident that my needs regarding in/out and CPU power for patches will not change any time soon. I also think the verdict is you don't hear any difference in the modeling, right?

Looking forward to your opinions! Thanks! :)
 
If you don't mind the slower pace of updates on the FM3 then it should do what you need just fine. No need to worry about headphone amp on the FM3, it's great.

I went from the FM3 to the Axe-Fx 3 because I felt I had to do a bit too much block Tetris on the FM3 for my needs while I never have to worry about CPU limits on my Axe-Fx 3. In reality FM9 would probably be the sweet spot device for me but it's nice having the "overkill" of the Axe-Fx 3.
 
all my patches are pretty much one amp block, one cab block, sometimes a drive, and very occasionally a chorus / phaser / tremolo / something similar. I hardly ever use the reverb
FM3 will easily run all this and much more. I have the full AX3+FC12 for live but when recording or practicing most of the time I just use the FM3 so I don't have to unpack the full rig. They sound the same to me on the same settings. In your situation I'd do it and pocket the extra cash.
 
Last edited:
I gotta go the other way here and say definitely keep the III. You already have the best go…I wouldn’t downgrade just to buy something else. Maybe just save up for another guitar? Especially since you use it at home and don’t have to move it. My 2c.
 
I had my FX3 for about 2 years and decided to let it go and get the FM3. I thought the exact same thing as you, that I didn't really need the power of the FX3 for what I was doing at home. I knew what I was giving up. The FM3 is a great machine, but I have to admit I miss my FX3. I did like to shoot the occasional IR. Very easy with the FX3. Tone Matching is pretty fun. I did have a few presets where I had a different amp for each scene using the multiplexer. It is nice to not have to worry about hitting the CPU limit so fast. There are workarounds that many resourceful people have figured out though.
Unless you just want the extra money from selling the FX3, I say keep it. If I see the right deal, I will probably get another FX3.
 
maybe the converters and headphone amps (headphones are important, cannot use my monitors always) are lower quality

From the Wiki about the FM3…
"The converters in the FM3 are the same high quality as those in the Axe-Fx III." [6]
"While the audio path isn't identical to an Axe-Fx III the quality of the path and components is comparable."
Regarding the FX3…
"The audiophile-quality signal path features Burr-Brown SoundPlus and Analog Devices op amps, PPS film caps, a high-voltage bipolar power supply for low distortion and maximum headroom, and flagship-quality Cirrus Logic converters with fully differential input and output circuitry. A thoughtfully designed multi-layer circuit board features gold plating and extensive ground fill for low EMI and immunity to interference. This impressive level of engineering yields the most pristine sound quality, lowest THD, and lowest noise floor of any product we’ve ever created—by far."
The converters in the Axe-Fx III are exceptionally high quality. What most people don't understand is that the converters themselves are only part of the story. The analog electronics interfacing to the converters are at least as important if not more so. Many consumer grade products (our competitors included) use single-ended circuitry. To get the best performance from an A/D or D/A converter requires using balanced circuitry but that costs twice as much. Also the choice of components will affect the performance. We use balanced circuitry on all our inputs and outputs all the way to and from the converters. We also use premium op-amps and poly film capacitors in crucial locations. Most consumer gear uses single-ended circuitry and low-cost TL07x op-amps (or NE5532). The conversion in the Axe-Fx III is reference grade." [36]
Your sound should be fine.
 
If you anticipate that your needs won’t change, I’d say that an FM3 will do you just fine. I have both units and am astounded at what the FM3 can do.
 
From the Wiki about the FM3…


Regarding the FX3…


Your sound should be fine.
That sounds good, thanks for pointing it out!
Do you need XLR inputs? The FM3 doesn't have any...
No, apart from guitar and bass I only connect my mic pre, a Warm Audio Tone Beast TB12, which has XLR outputs and balanced TRS. So I can just run a TRS cable from it into input 2 of the FM3. Otherwise it would also not be a problem, I have some XLR to TRS cables at home.

Thanks to everybody for the feedback so far. Seems opinions are quite 50/50. I will let this sink in a bit. Looks like in practice I will be fine with the FM3, but I agree with those that pointed out that it is worth something to work with the best / flagship product. Even just on a psychological level, through the confidence in your gear letting you work more freely. That might be the more important factor here. So right now I would probably lean towards keeping the III just for that reason.
 
I went from AF3 to FM3 because I was gigging and/or going to practices weekly. I made the switch just to save a trip to car when loading in and out. I didn't use the AF3 for anything but guitar (no recording) and most of my patches were simple. However, I did have a few do-it-all presets that I had to compromise on when I made the switch. If I weren't gigging I would have kept the AF3.
 
UPDTAE: I did the switch. Ordered an FM3 from G66, with the safety of knowing I can return it if I am not satisfied, and compared it then with the Axe Fx III.

Lessons learned:

1. I could easily translate all my presets to the FM3, and indeed they are all so simple that I can run the reverb block on ultra high every single time. No downside here.

2. There is a difference I notice in the quality of the converters when playing back music or working in Cubase. But, it is something like the Axe Fx III is the Ferrari and the FM3 a Mercedes. I have used a number of Audio Interfaces over the last twenty years, from M-Audio over Universal Audio and Steinberg up to Apogee and Mytek. The audio interfaces that stuck out for me for their converter quality - all in relation to the price of course - were the Universal Audio Apollo Twin and the Steinberg UR824. The converters of the Axe Fx III are easily better than those. The FM3 is somewhere in the range of those, maybe a slight bit less transparency, but still in the upper class compared to most typical audio interfaces. Definitely good enough for me to work with as a studio centerpiece. As I said, I notice the difference between the Axe Fx III and the FM3 when switching to and fro, but when I just work with the FM3 for a while and don't make the direct comparison, I don't miss anything at all. I am very fine with driving a Mercedes. Summary: This is, in practice, no downside for me.

3. It is a bit more complicated to change the setup of the FM3 between guitar recording, reamping and vocal recording through my external preamp into input 2, since the FM3 has less in/out than the Axe Fx III. That is a bit of a workflow downside, but since I do vocal recording only occasionally, it does not bother me much.

4. I do not know why, what it is, how this works - but somehow I find this little floor unit sitting on my studio desk way more intriguing than the Axe Fx III in the rack. I just fancy switching on that thing and play way more than I ever did with the Axe Fx III. Pure psychology, and I have no idea what the mechanism is. The simplicity? The shiny LEDs around the foot switches? The physical format? I can't tell. I just noticed - I play a lot more now than before. And that is a big plus. Call me crazy for it. (I am anyway, muhahahahaharrrrr!)

So all in all, I do not regret the switch, I am actually really happy!
 
And missing some effects entirely, such as IR Player, RTA, Vocoder... ;)
Yeah, but the OP said this:

"Now I realised that throughout those three years, all my patches are pretty much one amp block, one cab block, sometimes a drive, and very occasionally a chorus / phaser / tremolo / something similar. I hardly ever use the reverb, I have the FAS-FX plugin and use it in my DAW for adding the reverb."

Taking that into effect it looks like he would never use the effect blocks that you mentioned. Now of course things could change in the coming years, but I'd say that an FM3 would do him just fine, based on his current presets. Right now it's like he's using a Lamborghini to run some errands around town 🏎️
 
Keep th III. Firmware updates happen there first. FM3 is missing some parameters for some effects.

And missing some effects entirely, such as IR Player, RTA, Vocoder... ;)

...what he said: :)

Yeah, but the OP said this:

"Now I realised that throughout those three years, all my patches are pretty much one amp block, one cab block, sometimes a drive, and very occasionally a chorus / phaser / tremolo / something similar. I hardly ever use the reverb, I have the FAS-FX plugin and use it in my DAW for adding the reverb."

Taking that into effect it looks like he would never use the effect blocks that you mentioned. Now of course things could change in the coming years, but I'd say that an FM3 would do him just fine, based on his current presets. Right now it's like he's using a Lamborghini to run some errands around town 🏎️

Before the Axe Fx III, I have had an Axe Fx II since 2012 or so. And there it was the same: All presets were amp + cab with an occasional addition of a drive, chorus/flanger/phaser or delay/reverb. I am not great guitar player, even though I play since 1986 - but I have not been practicing on a regular schedule for ca. 20 years now. I am mostly producing my own music at home, hiring somebody on Fiverr for the drum recordings and doing guitar, bass and vocals myself. My strength is the songwriting and maybe arranging, I think I'm not bad at that, the singing and playing is certainly not much better than average hobby musician level. I hardly ever play a lead, I am trying to get my rhythm guitar tracks as good as possible, and most of the time it is simply a Brit 800 left and a Bassman or Vox Style amp right and that's it (ok, that was a bit simplified). I want the pure guitar-into-amp/cab sound as good as possible, and the FM3 delivers that in spades. I never used many effects and I am not an advanced or "progressive" or even "innovative" player by any stretch of the imagination...
 
To give you an impression of what I do, here is a snippet from a song I hope to release soon (will be an EP with four songs) - I wrote and arranged this one, sang the male voice, everything else was played by friends and session musicians. The bass and all guitars were recorded through my Axe Fx II back then. I played them for the pre-production demo, for the actual recording a friend of mine who plays much better did it.
 
For me, the no-brainer is to keep the III, but your 4th argument may keep overruling it :)

I now have a 2nd-tier product for the first time in my Fractal history, and it kinda hurts immediately on several levels... OTOH, I also picked it to be more mobile and take it out to play at friends places, etc. — kind of like your 4th argument, leading to more playing in any room of the house or out..

But as I have more neighbors than I used to have, the headphone AITR stuff is one example that would be great to me, and that I now can't have in the Axe itself...
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom