Keep or move on

J

jonb3auchamp

New Member
I received my FM3 a week ago. I was quite excited after researching all of my options. After spending a half day not getting a 3 button midi switch, 2 button analog, and volume pedal set up, I moved back to my other rig because I was out of time and needed to prepare for my show that weekend.

Now, a week later, I have made little more progress than that, and am honestly pretty frustrated. I have worked on far more complicated hardware and midi/other configurations, but am flummoxed at how hard it is to find any information on how to integrate external hardware with the Fractal. I find myself debating returning the FM3 and moving on to its competitors. Why? Primarily:

- The switch work flow is cumbersome for live shows, thus the need for external hardware
- Very little/unclear information on how to configure additional hardware. I don't think I should have to depend on Youtube, forum threads, and google searches to figure out "how to"

I truly am not trashing them on my way out the door. I want to be talked out of it...I WANT to like my purchase.

However, nearly halfway through my "returns accepted" window, I have not even been able to assess tonally if I like it (but I think I will). Beyond that, I don't want a ~$1300, hard to use live, investment.

I value the experience of this base...PLEASE if you have experience...help me determine to stay or go.

Again - this is not a message intended to flame Fractal. I want to love it. Please help!
 
Sorry for your frustrations. There is a lot of help here on the forum , in the manual, and on YouTube. It does have a learning curve compared to amp and pedals, but it does so much more, once you figure out the work flow, but it is not for everyone. Good luck in your decision.
 
Same with me but kept it bcuz I do mostly recording with it and Its great for that, but gave up on a few routing ideas I wanted to use due to no info..
 
I have both FM3 Turbo and an FM9. Maybe, the FM9 is better for you. Just an expression pedal added in and you have all the stuff at feet (literally).
But I found that using the PAZTAG FM3 ALONE Layouts (easily found on the forum) really made a difference for me-easy.
It is worth the effort for sure.............Hope you get it going!~
 
There is a learning curve, and it takes some time both to understand the options and to decide what works best for your needs/workflow.

I’ve used midi-controlled rack rigs, midi-controlled pedalboards, and all-analog rigs for 35 years. Now I gig with just an FM3 for most gigs, and sometimes FM3+FC6, and there is very little it can’t do compared to the much bigger and more expensive rigs, and the tone is mostly better (and never objectively worse) and it is infinitely more reliable/consistent. There are a handful of small things it can’t do - like have an envelope filter trigger off of the input to the wah block (as opposed to the input to the FM3) but they are minor and are things I can easily live without.

With the FM3-only rig I sometimes need to do 2 or 3 button presses instead of one, but with the FC6 (or an external MIDI controller) I can get everything down to one button press for anything I need within a preset. Increasingly though I use just my FM3 with one XPDL and an external 2-button switch.

So if you’re willing to put in the time I’m optimistic you can get there - BUT I don’t recommend switching over to it as your main gigging rig until you’ve got it dialled and are confident that the setup will do what you need.
 
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Hey there.
Yes, there‘s a learning curve. The great tone makes up for it.

It sounds like, that you‘d be happier with a fm9. Or maybe buy a fc6.

I have a fm3 and fc6. When i play at home or with my classic rock band, i just stick to the fm3. When i‘m playing with my pink floyd band, i use the fc6 also. Its great to be able to have the option to go even more compact.

Since i have that setup, my axe3 and fc12 are collecting dust.

I hope you find the right soltion for your demands.
 
Yeah you have to put in some work to learn it. 1 week if you’re new is not much. What are you using for amplification and speakers? As for integrating other hardware there is a ton of available info on that. The little FM3 is really good after you learn it, and after you get used to full range speakers if you’re trying that. Resale value on these units is good. So learn it and keep using your regular rig until you’re comfortable and happy with your tone. When I got mine, I was bringing both rigs to practice until I switched over completely.
 
So if I read this correctly, you've spent a total of 1/2 day learning/configuring the FM-3? Maybe you're brighter than me, but I've read the manual and the Wiki for literally dozens of hours, built patches from the ground up using both FM-3 Edit and the front panel,and my understanding of the FM-3 increases each time I do these things. I've owned mine for ~8 months, and am nowhere near having it "figured out", let alone optimized for my use yet.

Fractal stuff is labyrinthine, very adaptable to your personal workflow, endlessly configurable in terms of both tone and layout, and virtually every parameter is adjustable and often interact with other parameters (e.g., adjusting treble on some amps affects gain, etc.). To my mind, none of this suggests that anyone can wrap their head around this during 5-6 commercials while watching an NBA game.

All this to say I think Fractal gear requires a serious time and education investment. There are other ways to go; you can get a 5f1 and a cable, and you still won't have it completely sussed out in 1/2 day, but you might get 40% or more of the rig figured out in that time. You might understand 3% of the FM-3 in that same amount of time. Or less.

I find that exciting and challenging, but I can see where it could be frustrating, depending upon use case, time available to thoroughly study the capabilities, and your disposition, whether you are an "RTFM" type or prefer to just turn pots and change things in a freeform manner. It may or may not be the tool you need.
 
Bobbyoso said:
So if I read this correctly, you've spent a total of 1/2 day learning/configuring the FM-3? Maybe you're brighter than me, but I've read the manual and the Wiki for literally dozens of hours, built patches from the ground up using both FM-3 Edit and the front panel,and my understanding of the FM-3 increases each time I do these things. I've owned mine for ~8 months, and am nowhere near having it "figured out", let alone optimized for my use yet.

Fractal stuff is labyrinthine, very adaptable to your personal workflow, endlessly configurable in terms of both tone and layout, and virtually every parameter is adjustable and often interact with other parameters (e.g., adjusting treble on some amps affects gain, etc.). To my mind, none of this suggests that anyone can wrap their head around this during 5-6 commercials while watching an NBA game.

All this to say I think Fractal gear requires a serious time and education investment. There are other ways to go; you can get a 5f1 and a cable, and you still won't have it completely sussed out in 1/2 day, but you might get 40% or more of the rig figured out in that time. You might understand 3% of the FM-3 in that same amount of time. Or less.

I find that exciting and challenging, but I can see where it could be frustrating, depending upon use case, time available to thoroughly study the capabilities, and your disposition, whether you are an "RTFM" type or prefer to just turn pots and change things in a freeform manner. It may or may not be the tool you need.
Click to expand...
You nailed many of my thoughts.

I started to post something similar, but it's evident the OP is concerned with making a judgement inside the return window. That's nowhere near sufficient time to learn the system.
 
I sent you a PM with an offer to help directly.

1. Using an external MIDI controller with the FM3 can seem a challenge because there are so many things MIDI can do, but assuming you know how to set up your 3rd part controller, it isn't difficult once you learn the basics of the SETUP > MIDI/Remote Menu.

2. You're trying to set up three external switches and one expression pedal connected to the FM3. That won't be possible. With one expression pedal, it can only support two switches.

3. As for switch workflow, if you don't like the default settings, they are extremely flexible and can be configured to do an amazing range of things. The first challenge is deciding what you want. Easy for you, but it isn't clear here. Let's connect privately and you'll get the answers you need.
 
Thanks everyone...I really do like the Fractal plaform, and I would like to stay this route. I am getting closer to having it workable.
If I could find a way to replicate the "View+1" and "View-1" it would be huge. My biggest concern at the moment is I can use my midi switch to increment through scenes, but I would really like a way to go from scene 1 to scene 8 (for example) in the most efficient way possible (without having to hit the increment button seven times).

Also uploading a pic of my hardware in case that is helpful.

PB.jpg
 
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