Q for those who also own an FM3: Ambient Sounds

bigfoamfinger

Inspired
I know the differences in numbers of blocks and all that good stuff, but for those who own both devices and do ambient sounds: Do you find that your III is really THAT much better at this than the FM3?

Historically been a straight plug and play rock guy, but now getting into the more ambient stuff. Figuring out if having both units makes sense
 
Depending on how ambient and if you plan to add synth and/or other things you might run into limits with the FM3 and will not with the Fx3. I am by no means elaborate with the presets and I cannot run a normal reverb with my presets because of the limits. I use a Plex Delay block and get by. I decided to keep the Fx3 and sell the FM3 because of the limitations. The FM3 is great. The Fx3 is awesome and you could run a band off one device for not much more money.
 
I play on a Worship team so a lot of ambient stuff. I used the AX8 for about a year and never had any issues getting the ambient tones that were needed. I bought an Axe III and have used it live for a few months now, then bought the FM3. The FM3 allows me to do more than the AX8 did, a lot of that has to do with the cloud reverbs. The Axe III has more power, of course, but I wouldn't call it better when it comes to ambient tones, just allows for more stuff in a preset so you can go crazy with some sounds.
 
I know the differences in numbers of blocks and all that good stuff, but for those who own both devices and do ambient sounds: Do you find that your III is really THAT much better at this than the FM3?

Historically been a straight plug and play rock guy, but now getting into the more ambient stuff. Figuring out if having both units makes sense

I've been going through the factory presets for the FM3, and there are wonderful ambient sounds available. The FM3 can do more than you'd expect.
 
The key for me is running the effects in series, rather than parallel, for ambient tones. Placing delays (Delay, MultiDLy, Plex) in front of the Reverb allowing the tails to be 'smeared' with the reverb.
 
Do you find that your III is really THAT much better at this than the FM3?

Better is subjective to the ears of the behearer ;) .

With that said, you're more capable for deeper ambient sounds requiring more CPU power. However, you are able to make some beautiful tones with the FM3 similar to how the AX8 did.

Can you get me a song or tone that you're going for and I might be able to recreate with a preset. Let me know, cheers.

Here's an example of the capabilities from a recording we did at church this year:
 
Ambient tone = crank up the decay time and level on reverb, add delay before or after the reverb if you want.
 
I know the differences in numbers of blocks and all that good stuff, but for those who own both devices and do ambient sounds: Do you find that your III is really THAT much better at this than the FM3?

Historically been a straight plug and play rock guy, but now getting into the more ambient stuff. Figuring out if having both units makes sense

I recently finished creating my ambient preset on the FM3, based on the Axe-FX III preset I created some time ago. Well, I ended up copying the FM3 preset over to the Axe-FX III :D I am running at 74% on the FM3.
 
I think the Axe-Fx III is the winner here.

For me, ambience is all about space.

Axe-Fx III has two Reverb blocks, FM3 has one.
Axe-Fx III has two Plex blocks, FM3 has one.
The additional delays and dual synth blocks are also key.
The Axe-Fx III can create presets with all four of the above.

Make no mistake, the FM3 is a mini monster, but then, the Axe-Fx III is a massive monster.
 
I think if you really need alot of ambience ( Reverb and Delays ) you can pair an FM3 with an external Reverb pedal and you have all you need. It's still cheaper than an AE3 and you have the capability of going very mobile if you so choose.
 
I think if you really need alot of ambience ( Reverb and Delays ) you can pair an FM3 with an external Reverb pedal and you have all you need. It's still cheaper than an AE3 and you have the capability of going very mobile if you so choose.

Yes but you would be sacrificing all of the interactive features that are possible inside of an Axe-Fx III or FM3.
Ambient music is dynamic. It evolves. The modifier system is ideal for this.

I stand by what I said: the FM3 is a monster. The Axe-Fx III is a mega monster.
 
I own both, you can definitely do ambient sounds on the FM3. You can just do way more complex ambient sounds on the Axe-FX III, there's just so many delays that you can use at once.

One of my main patches on the Axe-FX III uses two multi-tap delays, a regular delay, plex, reverb, multiband compressor, plus a bunch of other effects I toggle on and off. You just simply can't do that on the FM3 because of block and CPU limits. I had to create a cut-down version that only has one multi-tap delay, no multiband compressor, fewer effects, etc.
 
Damn gang, my ambient presets run maybe a plex+reverb+delay haha. 200% stereo spread helps too.

There is a thing as too much, too. I need to learn how to layer ambient sounds better to make the space feel bigger.
 
It adds up pretty quickly for certain sounds. The multitap delays I use to reproduce some of Holdsworth's UD Stomp patches, which for me are really key. The regular delay I use for rhythmic tapped delays when I want that... basically a single dotted 1/8th repeat at near 100% volume with no feedback. Plex I blend in for that plex reverb sound or for some pitch shifting effects. Etc.
 
I own both and play 100% worship music these days. I really had to learn how to use the multi-tap delay, this block transends delay and reverb without the CPU overhead. Using the diffusor smears the delays into more of a reverb sound and having chorus in that block fills in the empty space. Really versatile block, get familiar with it and leave the reverb block at home. :)
 
A 30m multi-tap deep dive tutorial isnt the worst idea lol.

The smear thing works well (i think diffusion is in most delay blocks too?) But sometimes you just want a reverb-y sound.

The tools are all there for epic ambience, which is awesome.
 
Damn gang, my ambient presets run maybe a plex+reverb+delay haha. 200% stereo spread helps too.

There is a thing as too much, too. I need to learn how to layer ambient sounds better to make the space feel bigger.
Just like other tones, ambient covers a broad range from basic reverbs, like North or South Church, Deep Space, to more complex algorithms like the cloud reverbs to multi-layer pitch-reverb-delay combinations for shimmer or organ tones to broad reverb washes with modulation.
 
Definitely. I basically paid for my Axe-FX by selling all my reverb and delay pedals, and it does more than my whole pedalboard did. Incredible value just for that alone.

I sold off my touring rig to pay back my band + fund a rig replacement. Thanks to a member here, that became reality.

It's a long road ahead but Im very excited to continue to create, record and release my own material. Even though I dont actively want to become a great engineer or producer. Im glad with the axe fx I have the ability to at least get a great core sound "to tape" without gear-related hassle.

And a decent chunk of that sound is spacey as I dare get ;)
 
FM3: It depends on how much stuff one actually needs going on at one time: You can create vast evolving soundscapes with reverb, some variation of the plex or multitap delay and another modulation effect and then using expression pedals, LFOs or other modifiers to morph the signal over time. There's enough DSP to add another CPU intensive effect or a couple of lesser ones: but if one wants multiple delays, mod effects, pitch shifting, synth etc on the same patch, then no; the FM3 can't do all that at once: Personally, the most satifying ambient sounds I get rely on two or three effects plus the core amp/cab tone: the FM3 can usually pull that off even without going Economy on the reverb. For complex evolving pads and morphing sounds and the like: using an FM3 as an effects engine for a keyboard synth is really rewarding.
 
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