I've got a big problem with the FM3

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.
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I’ve had my FM3 since November of 23, and all I can say is it is an amazing tool and blows line 6 away. And I won’t argue about it. So MANY kick ass tones !! I always power down satisfied…….Right out of the box it was dialed in!!
 
Paulzx said:
Yeah I mean Helix floor is still the most versatile functionality with the foot switches, pedal board layout and rocker pedal, I've always said that openly, and if you're on a tighter budget it's a good buy in most cases, but it's not in the same league for high gain tones and I don't know why people can't just be honest about it. You know these guys know the truth because they never claim the Helix is better, they just say they sound close enough to not notice.

It's BS, they don't sound close. I run them side by side every day, they never sound close in any circumstance - not in high gain.
Surely the artist roster for Fractal alone tells you a story!
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I used a Helix briefly when I was waiting for an AX8 to be delivered, that's how long ago that was. I posted a review of it on the board and I thought it was pretty good and compared to other Line 6 products it had come further in both Interface and sound. The competition that FAS had introduced was a good thing for Line 6. Their take on the interface was really intuitive and easy to navigate and thought the sounds were usable.

Once I received the AX8 and was able to compare the two side by side in a steril listening environment I could hear a noticeable difference in the sounds. Put that difference in the context of a mix and most would probably never hear it.

Fast forward to the release of Cygnus and the difference was not subtle but a very noticeable one! I felt the difference between the old firmware and Cygnus coupled with the new platform was another leap forward with respect to clearity, dynamics, usability and flexibility, one could not only hear but feel the difference! At that point it was obvious that FAS had not only out classed it's current line of products but Line 6 products as well! With all of the things that FAS had introduced with the Cygnus firmware, Axe FX III and FM Platform it had become a whole new ball game.

I know Line 6 has released a new firmware since but I never had the chance to play through it since that time so I have no experience of really sitting down and diving in to see if the improvements are as good as I have read about. Truth be told I'm really not interested, I have vested my self in FAS products for the last 17 years and I haven't really seen a reason to change! I like how Cliff and company are running there deal and coming from someone that is just a hobbyist musician may not mean much to others that pay their bills with playing guitar, I do know enough to know what I like in a product! So I might express an opinion from time to time but have no need to defend my decisions on FAS products as it does that all by itself!
 
Sixstring said:
I know Line 6 has released a new firmware since but I never had the chance to play through it since that time so I have no experience of really sitting down and diving in to see if the improvements are as good as I have read about.
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I have the up to date firmware in my Helix floor, I haven't sold it yet but I do need to really. The new firmware was an improvement, but it was an improvement coming from an already slightly sub par place. On some tones, you can do better with the new cabs, others still need IR's really.

It's not an improvement that brings it any closer to the Fractal, it's just an improvement for Helix users. There is still a very fundamentally digital harsh tone being produced in the high gain amps that they just can't get rid of. When you fire up the FM3, particularly in my case because I now have a dozen or so finished presets I use regularly, it's different sound. It's somehow warmer with more depth, it doesn't have that harshness.

To be honest, none of the Helix high gain amps are close to any of the fractal models. The L6 Oblivion amp is perhaps the best modded marshall type of tone they have, but it's still considerably less good than anything in the fractal. I think it's just down to the way their tones are produced on that unit because you can bet your life that if L6 could replicate the fractal tones, they would.
 
EleanorCowan said:
Regarding the quarrels on the gear page: there will always be different points of view and preferences. Some people may not like their experience with one device, while for others it may be perfect.
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TGP is a mixed bag. Honestly, all the forums, facebook groups, discord servers, and other online communities are. Cultures develop, which pretty much always leads to an in-group preference, hive-mind-ish preferences, and some degree of groupthink....all of which just come from that culture that develops.

I do think this is one of the most open and inviting online music communities, but...if someone came in hating on fractal, they probably wouldn't stick around long unless they just enjoyed trolling.

I've joined a couple such communities that I knew I'd kind of clash with specifically to try to get a different perspective on a few things (like trying to figure out what "audiophile buzz words" might actually mean). It's hard not to respond to things you know are BS, but...if you can do it, it helps.
 
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