One thing is still missing with the FM 3 and can not be provided by any firmware update

MrCrossroads83

Experienced
Hello everyone,

first I have to say thank you to everyone at Fractal Audio, all the beta testers and forum members for making such a great unit like the FM 3 and especially releasing Cygnus amp modeling.
But although the amp modeling is so satisfying and the effects sound so good there is one left thing missing that no one can achieve by software:

The feeling of controlling your sound by dialing it in with amp controls, seeing the amp and have that haptic feeling.

So I decided to leave the world of real tube amps completely and my Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170 will get a new housing in a custom amp headshell 😎

The volume knob from the Powerstage and the three band EQ will get dedicated real knobs on the amps frontpanel and to really get every Cygnus goodness with that idea the amp frontpanel will get two additional knobs with expression pedal like potis so that it can be connected with the FM 3s two pedal outs.
So I can program input drive and master volume of any presets amp block to these two knobs to have this classic amplike controls, too 🙂

It will be the best of both worlds:

Digital ampmodeling goodness from Fractal Audio with classic amp feeling 😎🤘

The headshell will have black western tolex like my two cabs (1x12 and 2x12) have.

In the attachment you see a photo of the design I would like to have built from a company from Poland.
The chassis will be made from a bavarian amp builder.

I have not decided for the frontpanels design but it will be something inspired by the Dr. Z Maz 18 with black panel and cream knobs (my last real tube head was a Maz 18 with reverb and red tolex)
But it will not have any brand on it as I do not want to fake anything.
It is enough to have the feeling of playing a real tube amp without all the disadvantages of it.

Unfortunately I am not able to built it all by myself as I do not have these skills but I have the idea 😉

Why am I gonna do this?

I also like the fact that the FM 3 does not provide ampnoise, tubes have not to be serviced and you always get the BEST possible sound and version of any amp model without any issued or surprises.
I got the idea of the custom amp head with the Powerstage built in after testing a Mesa Boogie F-30 combo two weeks ago.
I first wanted to buy that amp as it sounded good and the price was really good but the constant noise of that amp even in the clean channel annoyed me 😀
I am not used to it anymore after selling my last tube amp last year.

I will upload more photos in a few weeks in August when we are back from holiday.

Crazy idea? Absolutely 😀

But it is somehow consequent as I dialed in my sounds with real amps since I started playing electric guitar in 1995 🙂
 

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Thanks 🙂 there is only thing that could destroy the whole idea: the amp builder has to find out if the Powerstage is a servicable unit. If not, I would spend a lot of money for that conversion and the Powerstage could not be repaired one day when it would have any issue...
 
Cool idea. I’m curious how this turns out. Once you rip the Powerstage apart it’ll almost certainly void the warranty but so what? It’s a cool project lol.

I’m using an EVH 5153 50w Stealth as a power amp and luckily have zero noise. It’s a beautifully clean loop and works great as a surprisingly clean power amp. And when I want stereo I use the EL34 version on the other side. :)
 
You can greatly clean noise up, maybe not entirely, but certain tubes in V1 can make a big difference. I was able to knock down the noise in my MP-1 to the point of not hearing it at all while playing, by putting a Mesa SPAX7 in that position.
 
You can greatly clean noise up, maybe not entirely, but certain tubes in V1 can make a big difference. I was able to knock down the noise in my MP-1 to the point of not hearing it at all while playing, by putting a Mesa SPAX7 in that position.
As my Powerstage is over three years old now the warranty is already lost without opening it 😀 the F-30 is a noisy amp in general no matter which tubes you put in. I already read this back in 2003 in a review when the F-Series was introduced.
The EVH is a real nice amp, too.

The conversion will work I think as I choosed an experienced amp builder who wrote that he can do the job after I asked in a german amp builder forum in Facebook. It all depends on the question if the Powerstage is a servicable unit.
I really hope so 😀
 
Interested to see how this turns out. The Power Stage should be fine. It's a stock ICEPower poweramp module combined with Seymoyr Duncan's own preamp.

You could also have a more complex front panel arrangement by having a MIDI knob controller on the front panel and those mapped to the amp block in the FM3. They won't work great when changing presets since the FM3 does not support relative MIDI value mapping but will otherwise work like real knobs.
 
Thanks for the additional information about the Powerstage.
Six knobs on the front panel will be enough for my needs. I do not many different scenes or settings but stick to three main presets. MIDI...SCHNIDI...I do not need it 😀 keep it simple 😎
Of course you could decide to have more knobs and MIDI if you need it. It is a custom solution 🙂
 
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Yeah,
that is also very cool to see and the combo has got a nice color 🙂

But my approach is a little bit different.
I want the perfect illusion:

The FM 3 on the floor as a ampmodeler/FX unit and the Powerstages inner workings (I hope google translated this the right way 😀) will be put into the new designed headshell so that you get the feeling of controlling a real tubehead.
 
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