Is the FM3 reliable to you ?

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As much as I love this pedal and want continue on falling in love with it , it is scary to rely on it in a live situation . let me explain this is my second unit , the first One started running really loud then would not connect to the computer no matter what I sent it to FAS and they replaced it with a new one . Since I got it I barely connected as I was not playing music . I only made sure this one didn’t have the same problem . Now i am about to join a band I thought I’d set it up for live performance. All of a sudden this thing would have a white screen if connected to my Mac when I turn It off Even if it is off once I connect the usb to it you see it sort of flickering with that white screen started whilstIng ... loud fan noise like overload computer . now I really don’t have the time to keep on paying to send the unit back to Fas and now i am definitely not sure I will ever get one that is solid enough .
 
I felt that way at one time too. Mine was also replaced twice. FAS was awesome in making sure all was good. I've been using it for a while now and not so much as a blink from it. Totally happy and confident in the unit.
 
I can only say that I've never had a problem. Lots of rehearsals and a few gigs before the entire music scene disappeared. Not a hiccup. Even played two gigs where it was raining onto my board for part of the gig, and still no problems.
 
ElectricPhase said:
I can only say that I've never had a problem. Lots of rehearsals and a few gigs before the entire music scene disappeared. Not a hiccup. Even played two gigs where it was raining onto my board for part of the gig, and still no problems.
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I've had a similar experience, rehearsals, hot weather outdoor gigs, rainy gigs.......the FM3 does it's thing. Not one incident, no complaints. FW 3.02
 
Before the last update, my unit froze on me twice at band practice. I didn't use it for a while until the update was final.
Since then, no problems.
 
I've had my FM3 for a few days now. Tonight the scribble strips froze on View 1 of the Looper layout and the switches were unresponsive. I switched to another preset and back using the big knob, and then the strips went blank and the switch lights went out, switches still completely unresponsive. Had to turn it off/on again to reset.

Kind of concerning, would not be good if this happened live.
 
I only got my FM3 about six weeks ago and I was getting period white screens and a thin sounding preset on start up. When I changed the preset and went back to the original one it was all OK.

I installed the latest firmware and haven't had a problem since.
 
No - just got mine back from g66 a few days ago (changed the main board since it was constantly freezing).
But 31 freezes the last three days doesn’t feel very reliable to me. It froze 22 times in just a few hours yesterday. (I’ve started taking notes everytime it freezes)
I just had to give up working on my presets...it mostly happens when editing, but sometimes I can’t even start it up before i have to reboot..starting to get a tiny bit frustrating.
For now I have to tweek (for example bass)->save->tweek->save and so on...(firmware 3.02)
 
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Got mine summer 2020.
Had freezes with origin Firmware but never had one since FW 1.06 and actual using 3.02.
No issues.
Will defenitely do gigs with as soon it ist possible again.
Only had rehearsal till now.
Before I did my gigs with the FX Ultra.
 
Sleestak said:
I've been using Fractal Audio gear for many years. I have NEVER had a problem. Not a single one in hundreds of shows on tour. I can't even say that about my own body.
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The OP is asking specifically about the FM3. Do you have hundreds of gigs with the FM3 under your belt? I honestly have reservations about using it live just from the short time I had mine through the month of February. I bought a B-stock that is waiting for me back home...and of course have valid concerns about that as well...
 
I have at least 50 FM3 gigs so far. Zero problems. Based on my experience touring internationally with Fractal gear, I have nothing to report in terms of concerns. I carried a backup rig (Line6 M9) for about two years in a briefcase, but eventually sold it. I'm just a regular touring musician, but my FAS gear has been 100% reliable, and I haven't had a problem.
 
In 13 years of using all their products, I have never had them fail. Ever. Had a ribbon pop lose once and was a 5 minute repair to unscrew and just manually pop back on. I gig without a backup, because I don't need to. Singer only plays on a few songs and uses an AX8...if push came to shove, I'd use his. But again, never an issue in 500 gigs plus and played tons of gigs with nothing but my main.
 
raccoon said:
Got mine summer 2020.
Had freezes with origin Firmware but never had one since FW 1.06 and actual using 3.02.
No issues.
Will defenitely do gigs with as soon it ist possible again.
Only had rehearsal till now.
Before I did my gigs with the FX Ultra.
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Wow an Ultra huh!!? That was a big upgrade in sound to the FM3 right? Do tell!
 
Really sorry to hear people are experiencing issues. I have had none whether using standalone or connected to FM3 Edit. Really killer product so it must be frustrating for you. @Kim Stenberg, surprising to hear your are seeing further issues from a 2nd unit from G66 given the extensive testing they do in addition to what I presume is testing from Fractal before it leaves the factory?...I to purchased from G66.
 
ColR said:
Really sorry to hear people are experiencing issues. I have had none whether using standalone or connected to FM3 Edit. Really killer product so it must be frustrating for you. @Kim Stenberg, surprising to hear your are seeing further issues from a 2nd unit from G66 given the extensive testing they do in addition to what I presume is testing from Fractal before it leaves the factory?...I to purchased from G66.
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Yes, it is. I had 7 freezes the first hour this morning - then I just gave up.
That’s 38 freezes in a few days. With or without using Axe-Edit - doesn’t matter.
I’ve used the AX8 for years without problems..
 
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