I'm in this strange place with my FM9

[Mark Wein]

It's a nice place, but honestly for the first time in many many years (if ever), I have arrived at a place where I don't want or need anything else. I have an HX Stomp in a box that comes to gigs as an emergency backup but I don't even care to play through it. I had toyed with the idea of getting a ToneX to experiment with a "profiling" type device but I can't imagine not taking the FM9 to a gig. I play cover gigs, showcase rock gigs with artists, jazz, calypso and reggae gigs, country gigs and the damn thing just gets the job done and makes my fellow musicians on stage and sound guys off stage happy.

Sometimes I get a little side-eye from guys when I first play with them. This happened on Saturday night on a private party gig with a Caribbean band full of old school guys. Within a song I heard "that actually does sound great!"

I guess this is kind of a testimonial to how I went from a vintage and boutique amp snob to a happy digital guy in just one year.

 

[Tonedeaf]

I'm in the same "strange place" with my FM3. Let's see if this place has a bar and get a beer.

 

[RoshRoslin]

Happens ALL the time to me in LA. A lot of people listen with their eyes and there's a ton of amp snobs, boutique effects and vintage gear enthusiasts at all levels. Happens if I bring the Suhr guitar (in my profile picture) too.

My goal is always to make them a believer in the first song. But I do keep a tube amp and analog board on standby if a client/artist/bandleader really wants to see a tube amp on stage.

 

[jazzgtrl4]

Yup it is a great unit. I take it to my country gig and it kicks ass..i have a patch setup for my Eastman electric Mandolin, i use an IR from a Wayne Benson Gibson F5. I have gotten a few strange looks and one friend walked by the other day and said i need some Tweed in my life... he did say he heard it from the parking lot and thought it was an amp lol. but ya im int he same boat as you OP..i have to do all types of gigs and styles of music and the FM9 just nails everything.

 

[Mark Wein]

Happens ALL the time to me in LA. A lot of people listen with their eyes and there's a ton of amp snobs, boutique effects and vintage gear enthusiasts at all levels. Happens if I bring the Suhr guitar (in my profile picture) too.

My goal is always to make them a believer in the first song. But I do keep a tube amp and analog board on standby if a client/artist/bandleader really wants to see a tube amp on stage.

I do still have a 1970 Deluxe Reverb and a pedalboard if I really need it but I really haven't had anyone be that specific about it, especially once I've started playing. I actually had a TON of Suhr stuff including two guitars, some pedals and a Badger 30 amp and I gradually found other gear that actually suited me better for my own particular preferences.

When I DID play my Suhr's I would get random people asking if I was saving to buy a "real" Fender strat. You never can win. I'm LA adjacent in Orange County so I'm kind of in the same fishbowl.

 

[RoshRoslin]

I do still have a 1970 Deluxe Reverb and a pedalboard if I really need it but I really haven't had anyone be that specific about it, especially once I've started playing. I actually had a TON of Suhr stuff including two guitars, some pedals and a Badger 30 amp and I gradually found other gear that actually suited me better for my own particular preferences.

When I DID play my Suhr's I would get random people asking if I was saving to buy a "real" Fender strat. You never can win. I'm LA adjacent in Orange County so I'm kind of in the same fishbowl.

Absolutely, OC is basically the same especially since it has the long tradition of having the big name amp and guitar builders as well as boutique offerings.

 

[Mark Wein]

Absolutely, OC is basically the same especially since it has the long tradition of having the big name amp and guitar builders as well as boutique offerings.

I miss Tone Merchants, especially. It was right down the street from my studio.

 

[RoshRoslin]

I miss Tone Merchants, especially. It was right down the street from my studio.

Funny enough, I live down the street from the LA location of Tone Merchants/Dave Friedman's shop. It's where I met Mark Day and many others just hanging in the shop between rehearsals at Mates.

 

[marsonic]

I'm in the same "strange place" with my FM3. Let's see if this place has a bar and get a beer.

Same here.

If the "looks" mattered to me, I'd probably look into getting a 2x12 FRFR thing that looked more like a combo amp (and didn't have obvious branding)....something like one of the mojotone combo cabs with F12s and attach a clean power amp to it.

 

[MN246]

I do still have a 1970 Deluxe Reverb and a pedalboard if I really need it but I really haven't had anyone be that specific about it, especially once I've started playing. I actually had a TON of Suhr stuff including two guitars, some pedals and a Badger 30 amp and I gradually found other gear that actually suited me better for my own particular preferences.

When I DID play my Suhr's I would get random people asking if I was saving to buy a "real" Fender strat. You never can win. I'm LA adjacent in Orange County so I'm kind of in the same fishbowl.

I think anyone who sees a Suhr and asks if you're saving for a Fender, has never played a Suhr. I have to say that I can't really identify with the "snob" crowd for amps or guitars. Being a primarily rock player, I'm very partial to my Ibanez RGs, but it's not out of any blind allegiance. I see guitars, amps, and processors as tools. I always choose the option that works best for me to be creative.

Tube amps are great, but I would bet there are very few people who can actually tell the difference between a tube amp and a Fractal unit in a blind test. That said, why would a person limit themselves to a handful of tones with no effects, for the privilege of carrying around an expensive, heavy, often inconsistent device (depending on power)? Nostalgia is a powerful emotion that often clouds people's judgment.

 

[Lance Holland]

I may be kicked off the board for this... but I'm also in a weird place. Similar situation....have an FM9, and a mini-board with a Stomp, expression pedal, and a couple of dirt pedals as my backup. Because I'm in IT, I know that backups are only good if you verify them. Periodically, I'll bring my mini-board to rehearsal to make sure I can get through our material without a problem. With the new Helix cabinet updates, that little old stomp sounds as good as my FM9. Of course, this is a ridiculous comparison as the FM9 is a monster of a device that's meant to be my entire rig and the Stomp is an amp and a couple of switches for effects. But, side by side, everyone in the band said that the Stomp sounded just as good for a basic guitar tone. Even flipping between the two...I couldn't argue...the Stomp held its own. I use a single kitchen sink patch on my FM9 so I have whatever effect I might need if I decided to try a new sound and have scenes for my acoustic, clean, and dirt. For the most part, it's just wah, amp, delay, and reverb.

So, I'm looking at this almost $2K beast and wondering whether I really need it. I know... sacrilege. I doubt I'd sell the FM9 but it made me question my assumptions about these boxes.

Another thing I've found is that I kinda like sticking a couple of drive pedals in front of a modeler. It's much easier to deal with live. Yeah yeah...per-preset pages...I know. But, being able to bend over and twist a knob quickly and intuitively is important when you're gigging.

But, like the OP, I'm in a weird place where I don't really have GAS for other stuff. There's nothing that I can't do with the FM9.

 

[Fat Dad]

The convenience matches the sound quality, IMO. I let the last of my tube amps go earlier this year. I was building a pedalboard around my tube amp that mirrored what I was using the FM9/FM3 for and it was cumbersome, redundant, and kind of silly just to be holding on to a purist mentality that just doesn't exist for me or my situation any more.

 

[Mark Wein]

I think anyone who sees a Suhr and asks if you're saving for a Fender, has never played a Suhr. I have to say that I can't really identify with the "snob" crowd for amps or guitars. Being a primarily rock player, I'm very partial to my Ibanez RGs, but it's not out of any blind allegiance. I see guitars, amps, and processors as tools. I always choose the option that works best for me to be creative.

Tube amps are great, but I would bet there are very few people who can actually tell the difference between a tube amp and a Fractal unit in a blind test. That said, why would a person limit themselves to a handful of tones with no effects, for the privilege of carrying around an expensive, heavy, often inconsistent device (depending on power)? Nostalgia is a powerful emotion that often clouds people's judgment.

Most people (including musicians) can't tell the difference sight unseen. Most of the time the "SAVING FOR A REAL FENDER" question is from some drunk guest at a wedding or gig who knows a little about guitars and wants to make conversation. Still annoying.

I do have to say that I'm much happier not carrying this around everywhere on top of a 70lb combo amp:

The Iridium was there just as a backup incase my amp croaked (which has happened a few times over the years). Now I just carry an HX stomp in my "extras' case.

 

[Mark Wein]

I may be kicked off the board for this... but I'm also in a weird place. Similar situation....have an FM9, and a mini-board with a Stomp, expression pedal, and a couple of dirt pedals as my backup. Because I'm in IT, I know that backups are only good if you verify them. Periodically, I'll bring my mini-board to rehearsal to make sure I can get through our material without a problem. With the new Helix cabinet updates, that little old stomp sounds as good as my FM9. Of course, this is a ridiculous comparison as the FM9 is a monster of a device that's meant to be my entire rig and the Stomp is an amp and a couple of switches for effects. But, side by side, everyone in the band said that the Stomp sounded just as good for a basic guitar tone. Even flipping between the two...I couldn't argue...the Stomp held its own. I use a single kitchen sink patch on my FM9 so I have whatever effect I might need if I decided to try a new sound and have scenes for my acoustic, clean, and dirt. For the most part, it's just wah, amp, delay, and reverb.

So, I'm looking at this almost $2K beast and wondering whether I really need it. I know... sacrilege. I doubt I'd sell the FM9 but it made me question my assumptions about these boxes.

Another thing I've found is that I kinda like sticking a couple of drive pedals in front of a modeler. It's much easier to deal with live. Yeah yeah...per-preset pages...I know. But, being able to bend over and twist a knob quickly and intuitively is important when you're gigging.

But, like the OP, I'm in a weird place where I don't really have GAS for other stuff. There's nothing that I can't do with the FM9.

At the end of the day, it is what makes the most sense for your own particular needs. I've never spend much time with the Stomp to dial it in beyond the few "must have" sounds that I need for a gig and I'm not super in love with it but I also haven't invested 1% of the time I have dialing in my FM3 and now FM9 over the last year and a half. This is about as far as I've gotten:



We have full size Helix and Helix LT units at the conservatory that I work at and I DID spend quite a bit of time trying to get sounds for the students to use for a show and I really struggled not only getting what I thought should sound good but also with them reliability-wise. A bit of that is middle and high-school kids treating everything like a village bicycle but some of it was just Line 6 not being as bulletproof as I've found the fractal stuff to be. I did like some of the UI differences in the Helix but not enough to consider bailing on the FM9.

I've shared this a few times on the forum and I've actually refined the preset a little more since this show but the idea that I can sound like this with no sound check makes me very happy:

 

[PSea]

I may be kicked off the board for this... but I'm also in a weird place. Similar situation....have an FM9, and a mini-board with a Stomp, expression pedal, and a couple of dirt pedals as my backup. Because I'm in IT, I know that backups are only good if you verify them. Periodically, I'll bring my mini-board to rehearsal to make sure I can get through our material without a problem. With the new Helix cabinet updates, that little old stomp sounds as good as my FM9. Of course, this is a ridiculous comparison as the FM9 is a monster of a device that's meant to be my entire rig and the Stomp is an amp and a couple of switches for effects. But, side by side, everyone in the band said that the Stomp sounded just as good for a basic guitar tone. Even flipping between the two...I couldn't argue...the Stomp held its own. I use a single kitchen sink patch on my FM9 so I have whatever effect I might need if I decided to try a new sound and have scenes for my acoustic, clean, and dirt. For the most part, it's just wah, amp, delay, and reverb.

So, I'm looking at this almost $2K beast and wondering whether I really need it. I know... sacrilege. I doubt I'd sell the FM9 but it made me question my assumptions about these boxes.

Another thing I've found is that I kinda like sticking a couple of drive pedals in front of a modeler. It's much easier to deal with live. Yeah yeah...per-preset pages...I know. But, being able to bend over and twist a knob quickly and intuitively is important when you're gigging.

But, like the OP, I'm in a weird place where I don't really have GAS for other stuff. There's nothing that I can't do with the FM9.

any chance youd consider sharing your fm9 kitchen sink preset?

 

[stm113]

I do still have a 1970 Deluxe Reverb and a pedalboard if I really need it but I really haven't had anyone be that specific about it, especially once I've started playing. I actually had a TON of Suhr stuff including two guitars, some pedals and a Badger 30 amp and I gradually found other gear that actually suited me better for my own particular preferences.

When I DID play my Suhr's I would get random people asking if I was saving to buy a "real" Fender strat. You never can win. I'm LA adjacent in Orange County so I'm kind of in the same fishbowl.

How much more does that Suhr cost than a “real” Strat?

 

[stm113]

At the end of the day, it is what makes the most sense for your own particular needs. I've never spend much time with the Stomp to dial it in beyond the few "must have" sounds that I need for a gig and I'm not super in love with it but I also haven't invested 1% of the time I have dialing in my FM3 and now FM9 over the last year and a half. This is about as far as I've gotten:



We have full size Helix and Helix LT units at the conservatory that I work at and I DID spend quite a bit of time trying to get sounds for the students to use for a show and I really struggled not only getting what I thought should sound good but also with them reliability-wise. A bit of that is middle and high-school kids treating everything like a village bicycle but some of it was just Line 6 not being as bulletproof as I've found the fractal stuff to be. I did like some of the UI differences in the Helix but not enough to consider bailing on the FM9.

I've shared this a few times on the forum and I've actually refined the preset a little more since this show but the idea that I can sound like this with no sound check makes me very happy:

I have a Helix also, it’s a good piece of kit, but to get good tones it takes A LOT of dialing. With the FM9, I have found that if you’re running into a power amp and 2 or 4x12 cab you can select probably 85% of the amp models and get a good serviceable, if not great tone with the stock settings. Going direct or FRFR takes a smidge more tweaking, especially trying to find the right IR for you but you can still treat it like a real amp.

Helix takes a lot more tweaking, often need to use a drive in front of an amp that I would not do in real world situations. You can get good and even great tones but you gotta put in the extra effort. Plus you can’t just dial the amps like you would the real world versions, which you can do with the FM9.

 

[Mark Wein]

How much more does that Suhr cost than a “real” Strat?

Back then (2002) I paid $2350 for a Classic S and the American Standards were about $1400 or so IIRC.

 

[Lance Holland]

Here's my all-in-one. I can't share the 3Sigma Martin acoustic IRs, however, you can plug those in on channel B of the cabinet. Note, I don't use and haven't dialed in scene 5, the "high gain" one. We don't have any material that uses that style sound but I'll eventually dial it in in case we need it....more of a placeholder.

I'm also including my master layout that drills down from patch to scene to effects as that's how I use this. It uses layout links for the drill down. Most effects have a hold function to swap a different variety of that effect

 

[Admin M@]

I can't share the 3Sigma Martin acoustic IRs

I have some of those too. Very nice!