Let's see those FM3 rigs!

I've owned a lot of rigs over the years including a ton of tube amps and rack systems, and this might very well be the best rig I've ever put together. The FM3 is perfect on it's own, and I can fit it, the EV2, and the PS170 in a backpack. Coming from a guy that used to fill a 12-space rack system, that's unbelievably amazing. The PS170 is a PERFECT match for the FM3 as well, since it's got such a flat frequency response I can run the power amp sim in the FM3 and just tailor the mids and highs a bit on the PS170 to get it to sound right in the room.

fm3_vl.jpg
 
Finally got my FM3 board put together, so here it is. EP Boost is the only external effect, and I just leave it on for a little sparkle. Moskey dual switch attached with a flat TRS cable from Sweetwater. Cheapie M-gear pedal that does the job and is light, and my Line6 wireless Receiver. Powerstrip mounted under the board. I was a bit worried about having all the connectors plugged into the back of the unit, i.e. bumping them during transport or setup, or some stage mishap, so I cut up some dense foam to support them. Looks kinda lame, but I'll find some grey foam in a shipping box at some point and replace them. Still need to find a short 'left angle' power cord.

Pedalboard itself is a Gator Pro that's 23.5 x 11.5 inches. The Gator came with a decent soft case/bag, but the FM3 sits too high, so the bag isn't really deep enough; it works, but you can't stand it on it's side when you're loading in/out, so it's a hassle. Found this box on Newark that was a perfect fit, and reasonably priced - Newark case. It came with two other pieces of foam, which I'l cut down to fit the perimeter.

Tried the whole thing out today for my church gig, and it was awesome. Guitar in a backpack bag, and carrying the pedalboard case, so I even had a hand free. Put the pedalboard on the stage, plugged into power, and connected XLR to PA. That was less time than it took me to take the guitar out, screw in the trem bar, connect the strap, and turn on my wireless transmitter. Super easy and great tone (which is also working great for my classic rock band).

P.S. Shout out to @Brian Wahl at Worship Tutorials for his FM3 presets. I bought the Matchless and a few others, and they're great.

FM3 Rig - 20200802_172351.jpgFM3 Rig - 20200802_172421.jpgFM3 Rig - 20200802_172454.jpgFM3 Rig - 20200802_174231.jpgFM3 Rig - 20200802_174311.jpgFM3 Rig - 20200802_175724.jpg
 
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Finally got my FM3 board put together, so here it is. EP Boost is the only external effect, and I just leave it on for a little sparkle. Moskey dual switch attached with a flat TRS cable from Sweetwater. Cheapie M-gear pedal that does the job and is light, and my Line6 wireless Receiver. Powerstrip mounted under the board. I was a bit worried about having all the connectors plugged into the back of the unit, i.e. bumping them during transport or setup, or some stage mishap, so I cut up some dense foam to support them. Looks kinda lame, but I'll find some grey foam in a shipping box at some point and replace them. Still need to find a short 'left angle' power cord.

Pedalboard itself is a Gator Pro that's 23.5 x 11.5 inches. The Gator came with a decent soft case/bag, but the FM3 sits too high, so the bag isn't really deep enough; it works, but you can't stand it on it's side when you're loading in/out, so it's a hassle. Found this box on Newark that was a perfect fit, and reasonably priced - Newark case. It came with two other pieces of foam, which I'l cut down to fit the perimeter.

Tried the whole thing out today for my church gig, and it was awesome. Guitar in a backpack bag, and carrying the pedalboard case, so I even had a hand free. Put the pedalboard on the stage, plugged into power, and connected XLR to PA. That was less time than it took me to take the guitar out, screw in the trem bar, connect the strap, and turn on my wireless transmitter. Super easy and great tone (which is also working great for my classic rock band).

P.S. Shout out to @Brian Wahl at Worship Tutorials for his FM3 presets. I bought the Matchless and a few others, and they're great.

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Nicely done! Tight, compact, and comfortably laid out. I'm not sure how I feel about the foam. Either it's protective, or it's just a bigger target for someone to kick. :)

Looks great, though!
 
Here's my first FM3 Board

FM3_1.jpg

It's a Pedaltrain Metro 16 with a slight overhang. I removed one side bumper from the Fm3 so I could velcro it flush to the board. The other bumper is the overhang.
The knob in the top right is my Solo Boost, it's connected to the level of GEQ1 in my live presets with a volume of 0-8dB which makes the knob at 12 o'clock exactly a 4dB volume boost which is my starting point and I can adjust from there. At home it's all the way off so I can practice without an actual volume boost.
The two button foot switch is tap/tuner on the right and the left is rotating layouts 1-3 on the FM3.

I'm very happy with this setup now. I can't imagine this getting any smaller and it's still very flexible. I've also been working on a sort of OMG3+9 set of layouts and you can see the startup layout where I select if I want to use the FM3 on its own or together with the FC6. I have a little bit more work to do and then I'll post these layouts.
 
I may need to consider that for a future board.

Just to close this off @Rex.

I am not sure how many peeps have played with the FM3 in direct sunlight .....but the main screen was not visible.....I really strained to see the tuner.....god forbid I needed to edit a block. Anyone see a solution for this ? I do have Invisishield, iPad like screen tape on, all displays, see above pics. I don’t think this made a difference to visibility.

However, the scribble strips, which are ultra important for me, scene changes.....were very easy to see. I guess it’s a different LCD set up, like monochrome, Black text on Blue.

It was was baking hot and sunny, FM3 sat in the sun and played no issues for 5 hours.
I was very happy with he tones. 1 down :)
 
Just to close this off @Rex.

I am not sure how many peeps have played with the FM3 in direct sunlight .....but the main screen was not visible.....I really strained to see the tuner.....god forbid I needed to edit a block. Anyone see a solution for this ? I do have Invisishield, iPad like screen tape on, all displays, see above pics. I don’t think this made a difference to visibility.

However, the scribble strips, which are ultra important for me, scene changes.....were very easy to see. I guess it’s a different LCD set up, like monochrome, Black text on Blue.

It was was baking hot and sunny, FM3 sat in the sun and played no issues for 5 hours.
I was very happy with he tones. 1 down :)
I'm able to read the main display in sunlight, as long as the sun isn't being directly reflected into my eye.
 
Just to close this off @Rex.

I am not sure how many peeps have played with the FM3 in direct sunlight .....but the main screen was not visible.....I really strained to see the tuner.....god forbid I needed to edit a block.
Same thing here. Used the unit live on a boiling hot day. Was really struggling to see a thing.
 
I wonder if an “inversion” like mode is possible For Main screen ....for daylight usage.
Like I said....the 3 scribbles were PERFECTLY visible.

At a gig, I don’t think most are diving into the blocks for edits, unless you have to, so you can get by with scribbles.
But the tuner resides on the main. Wonder also if there is a way to represent the tuner, other than Only on the main display......signal diodes ? Scribble strips ?
 
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Hi Unix, initially I did yes......with my Maui’s on the Main was the same not visible, like it was off......however the minis were a mess !!! If you know what I mean.....like LED smear in Bold, but legible.
I ditched my suns for the gig as the minis were fine.
 
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