Preferring the FM3 these days

Lenster

Lenster

Inspired
I posted this over at TGP in the amp forum….. no responses at all….:rolleyes:
Will obviously get different responses here..

I've bought and sold a myriad of amps, pedals and guitars in the last 15 years, including modelling devices.
If i had to pick 1 amp that i've enjoyed the most (not necessarily the best) it would have to be the Laney VH100R.
Currently I own the Fender Machete 50w head & Super Sonic 22 combo, a great pedal board that suits my needs and a few modest guitars that i really love playing for various tones.

With that, I find myself using the FM3 / SD170 / 212 cab set up more and more. I'm finding it super easy to dial in tones i really enjoy and feel. I switch back to my amps for a few days tweaking as much as i would the Fractal. When using the FM3 set up i seem to enjoy the experience more, knowing with patience and all the options under the hood that I can achieve tones i just can't with my amp / pedal board rig. I'm not saying that i don't enjoy the amp rig, merely, I'm finding the FM3 rig to be the winner ATM. Really love the Friedman models for dirt.

With that in mind, I'm pondering the idea of selling both my amps and picking up a Friedman, either the Smallbox or BE50 deluxe, having 1 quality amp, my pedalboard and the FM3 Rig.

If the tones i'm getting with the FM3 rig works for me, will the real deal of owning either amp be overkill or has the Fractal enlightened me to what i'm missing out on?

Or….. just go all out AXEFX III / poweramp racked…….
Long winded personal post, sorry, just wondering if others have had similar vibes.
 
I am a tube amp die-hard and have been through a lot of good ones over the last 25 years, particularly between 2009-2015.

There was a time where, in addition to my main stage amp, I used to have 4-5 heads on shelves at home for when the mood would strike. It was ludicrous to have that much $$$ tied up in things that I only used occasionally. The Fractal allows us to go explore other amps and tones without having tons of cash tied up in tube amps. The buying/selling/trading/shipping got to be a real drag!!!

EDIT: I should note that I will always have a tube amp or 2 around. I currently have a Bogner Helios Eclipse that I used at my last gig 2/28/2020 :(.
 
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I recently read that it is the opinion of many users that Fractal did a really great job on the Friedman amp models. Whether it is overkill or not to own the physical amp alongside its Fractal incarnation - only you can answer that for you. I don't think it's overkill... there are people who own several versions of the same amp because each is slightly different from the next, nothing wrong with that. Money's for spending, the tricky part is deciding what to spend it on (haha). Whatever you decide, you are a human being making choices in pursuit of happiness, more power to you! :)
 
I use the Axe Fx III and FM3 because they give me the tone I'm looking for. I'm not all that concerned about ease of use, smaller rig, etc..., I will use what gives me the best possible tone regardless of convenience. If an amp, cab and pedalboard provided better tones I would still be using them. Fact is, Fractal gives me exactly what I want to hear, period. The convenience of less gear and easier setup are just fringe benefits, the consistency of tone from gig to gig is a Godsend.

I still have a Splawn, Orange and Brunetti with a 2x12 cab and various effects. I haven't used any of them in over 2 years. I look at them from time to time but really haven't felt the need to plug them in. I just crank my monitors and have fun.
 
Lenster said:
I posted this over at TGP in the amp forum….. no responses at all….:rolleyes:
Will obviously get different responses here..

I've bought and sold a myriad of amps, pedals and guitars in the last 15 years, including modelling devices.
If i had to pick 1 amp that i've enjoyed the most (not necessarily the best) it would have to be the Laney VH100R.
Currently I own the Fender Machete 50w head & Super Sonic 22 combo, a great pedal board that suits my needs and a few modest guitars that i really love playing for various tones.

With that, I find myself using the FM3 / SD170 / 212 cab set up more and more. I'm finding it super easy to dial in tones i really enjoy and feel. I switch back to my amps for a few days tweaking as much as i would the Fractal. When using the FM3 set up i seem to enjoy the experience more, knowing with patience and all the options under the hood that I can achieve tones i just can't with my amp / pedal board rig. I'm not saying that i don't enjoy the amp rig, merely, I'm finding the FM3 rig to be the winner ATM. Really love the Friedman models for dirt.

With that in mind, I'm pondering the idea of selling both my amps and picking up a Friedman, either the Smallbox or BE50 deluxe, having 1 quality amp, my pedalboard and the FM3 Rig.

If the tones i'm getting with the FM3 rig works for me, will the real deal of owning either amp be overkill or has the Fractal enlightened me to what i'm missing out on?

Or….. just go all out AXEFX III / poweramp racked…….
Long winded personal post, sorry, just wondering if others have had similar vibes.
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I considered this too. However I plugged directly into a few of my tube amps yesterday and they have that punch-you-in-the-gut experience you can’t get with FRFR.
 
I get the "amp in the room; punch in the gut" thing. Luckily I don't need to have that anymore. When I get the Mission Gemini II up to around 90dB I'm very happy. And , more importantly the wife can see wall space and floor in my "office". No more "it looks like Guitar Center threw up Dave Freidman in here!" Yes, she knows who Dave Freidman is...
 
Mr.Modeler said:
I considered this too. However I plugged directly into a few of my tube amps yesterday and they have that punch-you-in-the-gut experience you can’t get with FRFR.
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Yeah, I get that.
That’s why I still use power amp and cab with the FM3. At one point I was using a Marshall 9100 & 212 cab, that thing was sooo heavy.
Occasionally I go direct, but not that often.
 
Mr.Modeler said:
Not to me. Even at the same dB level, tube amps have something extra going on. Surprised me too. Hadn’t played the tube amps in a long while.
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I agree. Have to get the FRFR to a higher volume than a traditional cab to start feeling close. I’ve measured. And this is with a CLR as FRFR, which has a very wide dispersion.
 
For me, The FM3 has killed my gas. This past week, I've sold all of my pedals (I had a shit-ton), my UA Ox Box and am in the process of selling off my amps. Every tone & effect I've ever wanted is in the FM3. After selling off my pedals, it allowed me to snatch up a sweet deal on an LsL Bad Bone 2 tele to add to my guitar collection.
 
Lenster said:
With that in mind, I'm pondering the idea of selling both my amps and picking up a Friedman, either the Smallbox or BE50 deluxe, having 1 quality amp, my pedalboard and the FM3 Rig.
Click to expand...

I should recieve my FM3 soon and after that I’m in same situation like this (except a different amp) and I must say that it’s the optimal for me. I play rube rig in rehearsals, except the last ones before show and use fractal to everything else.
Edit. I have had Axe fx 2 for 4 years
 
I've been using modelers exclusively as I never need amp volume levels. I traded for a tube amp this summer and didn't like the tone of it at home levels nearly as much as I like my modelers.

Honestly I would be much more interested in having a good power amp and speaker cab than I would be interested in having a tube amp to integrate. Because the FM3 will get you close enough to tubes that you won't care, but nothing will recreate amp in the room like an actual speaker in the room.
 
Lenster said:
With that, I find myself using the FM3 / SD170 / 212 cab set up more and more.
Click to expand...

Can you tell me what SD170 / 212 cab setup is more specifically?
I also just ordered an FM3 & I am thinking I will use the FM3 for the Smaller Stage Gigs (When we can Gig again)
 
Probably always have a tube amp, Fm3 pretty much taken away my G.A.S . Fm3 does the studio guitar sound and band playing out PA sound .my power amp in dead now ,but I had great tone with a power amp ,guitar speaker set up and my ax8
 
Anyone want to recommend a nice pedalboard for FM3, two EV-1's and room for FC6 later? Doesn't have to be road tough but I'm just looking to get it off the carpet and learn to put the foot switches to use.
I had a 36"X16" Pedaltrain years ago...
 
Pavel said:
I recently read that it is the opinion of many users that Fractal did a really great job on the Friedman amp models. Whether it is overkill or not to own the physical amp alongside its Fractal incarnation - only you can answer that for you. I don't think it's overkill... there are people who own several versions of the same amp because each is slightly different from the next, nothing wrong with that. Money's for spending, the tricky part is deciding what to spend it on (haha). Whatever you decide, you are a human being making choices in pursuit of happiness, more power to you! :)
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I will see if I can dig it up but on TGP IIRC Tone Merchants said that with the AFXII they sent Fractal amps and that they had a good working relationship and Dave answered any questions Cliff had.

EDIT: Found it, was Rig-Talk:

https://www.rig-talk.com/forum/threads/some-friedman-love-from-schon.150721/page-2#post-1721056

Feb 5, 2014
"Cliff and I have a great working relationship and we do what we can to help each other out and build each others businesses. Cliff can really nail an amp model if given the right tools. For the Friedman models, I provided him the amps with all the schematics and Dave answered any questions Cliff had. I think the Friedman models on the Axe are killer." --Tone Merchants
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