I've got a big problem with the FM3

Paulzx

Paulzx

Inspired
Some of you guys will know I've come from a Helix floor - which i really did get the maximum out of, over to the FM3.. it took a while, but I made the leap!
I was initially concerned about losing the luxury of all the available foot switches on my Helix, I think that's what was holding me back.

So I've had the FM3 for a few months, and I have a very big problem - the tones are so good, I can't settle on one :oops:
Honestly, it really is a problem! I live in high gain world, but since getting the fractal, it has taught me how much i love Marshall amps, even more than I knew, it's ridiculous. I'm really into the JMP-1, I love it, but now I'm into the JS stuff.. and the JVM, and the 800 mod - and the silver jubilee..

And then you have all the other high gain stuff. The result of this is that I don't get anything done. For the first time since I've been using modelers, I just sit there and play my guitars because I'm enjoying the amp models so much - but I never finish auditioning all the amps because I get stuck playing on each one for so long lol. This was not my experience with the Helix. I literally was tweaking every day and not playing much. I had usable high gain tones on the Helix but I was forever tweaking because they just weren't ever quite there.

I find myself getting in fights over on the gear page over this. For some reason, some people are still trying to convince everyone that the fractal is no better in high gain amps than the Helix. One guy said it's just 1% difference in the tones. I'm sorry but it's not even close, it really isn't. It's night and day difference.

The tones are so good in this thing that my concerns about the foot switches just went out of the window. Sure I'll have to add and FC6 or something to have a pedal board back like the Helix, but that's totally worth doing.
 
Exact same experience here. 5 minutes after plugging in my first Fractal unit in 2020 I had better AC30 tones than I ever got with helix after 4 years using it full time professionally. I was honestly kind of pissed that I had been missing out that whole time on how easy it was to get realistic tones on fractal, whereas on helix the tweaking is endless because nothing ever sounds quite right.
 
strabes said:
I was honestly kind of pissed that I had been missing out that whole time on how easy it was to get realistic tones on fractal, whereas on helix the tweaking is endless because nothing ever sounds quite right.
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I can sympathise with that. I do feel that I wasted a few years messing with the Helix, as good as it is for some things, it wasn't good for what I was doing. There is something fundamentally different in the way it re-creates the mids. It's very harsh and thin sounding. Too brittle.
 
Sixstring said:
Sounds like a testimony to me! It's pointless to get into a fight about something that you have made up your mind on for whatever the reason. Be done with it, put your FM3 on the chopping block, get on the list for an FM9 and move on with the good stuff!
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Haha well it's not going on the chopping block just yet. I've got a Helix to sell first. On the fighting with people over on the other forum, to me it's just a case of saving people the time I wasted. I don't have bias towards Fractal or Line 6, I just have the experience and I just want people to tell the truth. They will say it's objective and it's just your opinion.. I disagree though. The differences are far greater than it just being an opinion. The Helix is better in it's layout options, it's just easier to customise, but the tone was just more important to me.
 
i can totally relate, since owning the unit, i've simply played a lot more guitar, not just tweaking /trying out different tones, but actually playing in the process

after 2-3 hour band practice, i'll fire up the FM3 again, and check through my preset, further tweak some effect settings, try out some other things with the patch as well, as it's fun and rewarding

there's so much to just get lost in, and while option paralysis can be a thing, having so many options also opens up so many ideas and avenues that you couldn't do with the oldschool rack/tube gear without taking out a mortgage 😄

i'm constantly discovering more tones with the unit as i take time to make presets and tutorials, there's some really nice surprises in there and that's not just the amps, enjoy the journey =)
 
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Paul Bradshaw said:
i can totally relate, since owning the unit, i've simply played a lot more guitar, not just tweaking /trying out different tones, but actually playing in the process

after 2-3 hour band practice, i'll fire up the FM3 again, and check through my preset, further tweak some effect settings, try out some other things with the patch as well, as it's fun and rewarding

there's so much to just get lost in, and while option paralysis can be a thing, having so many options also opens up so many ideas/ideas and avenues that you couldn't do with the oldschool rack/tube gear without taking out a mortgage 😄

i'm constantly discovering more tones with the unit as i take time to make presets and tutorials, there's some really nice surprises in there and that's not just the amps, enjoy the journey =)
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Totally.. I haven't even done most of the stuff I want to do - Gilmour etc, because I'm stuck playing this bloody thing every time I switch it on. What really shocked me about the FM3 is that when I dialled in a high gain that I really liked.. I still liked it the same the following day. That never happened with the Helix. I only do the basic edits on the fractal models such as high and low cut, maybe a tweak of the treble or bass, that's about it. Not bashing my previously beloved Helix but that was a constant psychological war every day with the tweaking.
 
I felt the same going from a helix rack to an AX8 many years ago. Now have an axe3. Fractal was the best gear purchase I've ever made.
 
this is exactly what happened to me. Always used valve amps since the 80s, when I was in my teens, I really wanted to like those other multi-effect plastic things (not naming names) I've converted about 3 people across from Helix to Fractal after being blown away with my FM3. everything just sounds so analogue, but the icing on the cake, is the feel. Cliff said he wanted to prove that digital could replicate the sound and feel of analogue gear, and he done just that. I'm a genuine convert. 2024 is the year is sell off all my old gear.

I remember the day I got the FM3, I was less than impressed with it, mostly because of the sheer volume of tweakability. My missus (who plays a bit of guitar herself) turned round to me and said, "... good enough for Metallica to ditch their valve amps and use them..." with a wry smile.. shut me right up.
 
Huge +1 .. I'm coming from amp sims so I dont know how good tube amps or other modellers sound but since owning the FM3, I'm so happy and don't feel the need to try anything else out.
 
I went from my old AX8 to the line 6 world for a few years, but I could never get any real amp sounds I liked, particularly the crunchy Marshall sounds. The line 6 wasn't bad and I gigged with it for a few years but I missed the amp sounds of my old AX8 so I bought a used FM3.

I really think the sounds are better. The real star of the show for Fractal is their amp blocks, they just get closer to tube amps than anyone else.

I you need more footswitches you can add a two-button switch to one of the expression jacks, or there are many good midi footswitches that work well on the FM3. I've just also purchased a used FC6 and it really works well with the FM3 using layout links. It's problem is it is very pricey new ($1500 here in Aus).
 
Paulzx said:
Some of you guys will know I've come from a Helix floor - which i really did get the maximum out of, over to the FM3.. it took a while, but I made the leap!
I was initially concerned about losing the luxury of all the available foot switches on my Helix, I think that's what was holding me back.

So I've had the FM3 for a few months, and I have a very big problem - the tones are so good, I can't settle on one :oops:
Honestly, it really is a problem! I live in high gain world, but since getting the fractal, it has taught me how much i love Marshall amps, even more than I knew, it's ridiculous. I'm really into the JMP-1, I love it, but now I'm into the JS stuff.. and the JVM, and the 800 mod - and the silver jubilee..

And then you have all the other high gain stuff. The result of this is that I don't get anything done. For the first time since I've been using modelers, I just sit there and play my guitars because I'm enjoying the amp models so much - but I never finish auditioning all the amps because I get stuck playing on each one for so long lol. This was not my experience with the Helix. I literally was tweaking every day and not playing much. I had usable high gain tones on the Helix but I was forever tweaking because they just weren't ever quite there.

I find myself getting in fights over on the gear page over this. For some reason, some people are still trying to convince everyone that the fractal is no better in high gain amps than the Helix. One guy said it's just 1% difference in the tones. I'm sorry but it's not even close, it really isn't. It's night and day difference.

The tones are so good in this thing that my concerns about the foot switches just went out of the window. Sure I'll have to add and FC6 or something to have a pedal board back like the Helix, but that's totally worth doing.
Click to expand...
“They all sound the same”

Have you tried the Cameron CCV? 🤘 :cool:
 
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