Seriously considering the FM9 MKII Turbo today

Puddle Jumper

Puddle Jumper

Member
New forum member and first post, but I've been reading the forum off and on for years.
I'm not a high gain amp user, just occasionally for fun. I live in the clean and edge of break-up territory to crunch most of the time, and use my guitars volume knob a lot.
I see a lot of amps listed in the Fractal that are a fit for edge of break-up use, but I don't find that many demonstration videos focusing on that area. Does the Fractal perform well in this area?
I tend to lean towards a more dry rig, I keep the effects pretty low, so my main focus is the sound of the amp model itself. Any advice from others that use the unit in this matter would be appreciated!
 
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The FM9 Turbo Mk II is a great unit, but that’s true of all the Fractals in the current generation also.

I play blues and rock through them, using them exactly how you described using single-coils and humbuckers, and solid and semi-hollow bodies. I also have my friends use the modelers to get their opinions on their playability and sounds as I wander the room listening, and their comments are really positive.

I’ve had several units from the competition over the years, like many others here have, and I believe these are the best units available. You can’t go wrong with any of the current generation Fractals. The FM9 Turbo Mk II is a great workhorse/tool.
 
Like you, I am not a high gain guy. My presets typically have three levels I would classify as quite clean, mostly clean, and slightly overdriven. I typically use reverb and some tremolo but other effects are rarely used. Very occasionally I will use a drive block in front of the amp.

I think the AxeFx3 does an amazing job of clean, somewhat clean, and edge of breakup tones. There are a number of amps which are good for this. My favourite with my strat is the Div/13 FTR37, and with my tele the Morgan AC20.

I don't have experience with other modelers so I have not compared them but I don't think you will be disappointed with Fractal.
 
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Puddle Jumper said:
Does the Fractal perform well in this area? I tend to lean towards a more dry rig, I keep the effects pretty low, so my main focus is the sound of the amp model itself.
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Yes. Emphatically: yes.

I do not play high gain tones. My tones with my FM9 are amazing. The Fenders? Gorgeous. That AC20 model? Stunning. The SLOs? Like you're standing next to Warren Haynes without the hearing loss.

Just check out @Cainer's recent posts for amazing EOB type sounds that are all about blues and rock. There are plenty others like his floating around the forum as well. If you hear the AFIII doing tones you like, 99.9% chance you'll have those tones in the FM9 as well. The only impediment would be more blocks in the AFIII path than the FM9 supports in some cases. But for EOB tones that will literally never be an issue for you.
 
iaresee said:
Yes. Emphatically: yes.

I do not play high gain tones. My tones with my FM9 are amazing. The Fenders? Gorgeous. That AC20 model? Stunning. The SLOs? Like you're standing next to Warren Haynes without the hearing loss.

Just check out @Cainer's recent posts for amazing EOB type sounds that are all about blues and rock. There are plenty others like his floating around the forum as well. If you hear the AFIII doing tones you like, 99.9% chance you'll have those tones in the FM9 as well. The only impediment would be more blocks in the AFIII path than the FM9 supports in some cases. But for EOB tones that will literally never be an issue for you.
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Thanks for the input and links, I do really appreciate it.
 
I'll just toss this out there as I generally do for anyone on the fence. You can test drive the unit for relatively little risk.

Option 1: Buy new and you have 15 days to decide if you like it. Just make sure you indeed have the time set aside to really explore the unit. Return policy here https://shop.fractalaudio.com/return-policy/ (Excludes B-Stock and does not cover return shipping) .

Option 2: If you don't require the larger display scribble strips you should be able to find a used unit you can easily resell for your purchase price. Fractal hardware retains it's value in my experience for a very long time. Any of the current hardware is a very low risk investment in my opinion.

I love the FM9. Darn close to perfect for my live needs. I do really want the newly released hardware with the larger displays and I've already purchased one so my current FM9 Turbo will be up for sale soon. Keep an eye on the classifieds here.
 
I likewise primarily set up my Fractal presets like my analog rig: "pedals" into stereo edge-of-breakup amps. The amps behave the same way their analog counterparts do when hit with overdrive and boosts, and Fractal is the only platform I've found where the amps also accurately take wet effects into the front.

The amp models are accurate, but you need to monitor them the same way you monitor your real amps. No modeler can magically transform a cheap plastic PA speaker, studio monitors, headphones, or consumer desktop speakers into a cranked guitar cab in the room with you. If you want the Fractal to sound like you're playing through your real guitar cabs in the room with you, you'll need to disable the cab block and run an amp model into a good power amp and your real guitar cabs in the room with you.

On the other hand if you're comfortable with the studio paradigm of mic'ing your cabs in another room (i.e. pretty much every recorded guitar tone you've ever heard) and monitoring that signal through whatever speakers you plan to use (ideally good studio monitors in an acoustically treated room), then you'll have no problem getting similar tones when running the fractal direct with the cab block enabled.
 
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Hi,
I know these are just words, but I have been stunned by the ‘reality’ of the axe fx 3 amp models more times than I can count. The fm 3 or fm 9 will give you the same realism. The only regret I have towards my Fractal units, is that I didn’t start purchasing them earlier. Is it a lot of money? Maybe, however it’s rare that you miss the money when you are purchasing the best of the best.

Thanks
Pauly


Puddle Jumper said:
New forum member and first post, but I've been reading the forum off and on for years.
I'm not a high gain amp user, just occasionally for fun. I live in the clean and edge of break-up territory to crunch most of the time, and use my guitars volume knob a lot. I see a lot of amps listed in the Fractal that are a fit for edge of break-up use, but I don't find that many demonstration videos focusing on that area. Does the Fractal perform well in this area? I tend to lean towards a more dry rig, I keep the effects pretty low, so my main focus is the sound of the amp model itself. Any advice from others that use the unit in this matter would be appreciated!
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Probably because I listen to YouTube on a cheap laptop or on cheap PC speakers, many demos are not that convincing and sound similar. I always like to tell everyone it sounds WAY better in real life!!! (on great monitors)

Even the Axe-Fx II was already very good in EOB regard. When you hit it off with some amps it is crazy good!
Due to circumstances I have hardly played my FM9T so far, which I'm sure is now crazy, crazy great! ;)
Unless modelers may not gel with you, don't hesitate for a second.

I remember when I first heard a great subtle EOB edge for funky chords in a preset, and hearing "WOW, this thing can do that!!"

The II was also known for preset 1 being so good people could not get past it for an hour (Bassman) -- not sure it is still preset 1.
 
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Puddle Jumper said:
@scarbodave, thanks for the input, the Morgan is one of my favorite AC style amps.
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Like the others said here it is stunning, one of my favorites. Do yourself a favor and setup a Griddle Cake Overdrive block in front of it. It models the Crowther Hotcake that is highly regarded with AC style amps. I get the hype now.

I like the Dirty Shirley model for this as well.
 
Puddle Jumper said:
New forum member and first post, but I've been reading the forum off and on for years.
I'm not a high gain amp user, just occasionally for fun. I live in the clean and edge of break-up territory to crunch most of the time, and use my guitars volume knob a lot. I see a lot of amps listed in the Fractal that are a fit for edge of break-up use, but I don't find that many demonstration videos focusing on that area. Does the Fractal perform well in this area? I tend to lean towards a more dry rig, I keep the effects pretty low, so my main focus is the sound of the amp model itself. Any advice from others that use the unit in this matter would be appreciated!
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What are ya waiting for? Get it. That's my advice.
 
I've only touched the presets for about an hour so far (it showed up today), and I'm blown away by how sensitive everything is touch-wise. I'm playing a warmoth jazzmaster/strat hybrid with CS 69 pups through it, and it's really lit the guitar up for me. The fact that its endlessly tweakable has me incredibly excited.

Youtube search "John Mayer Axe FX tone" and watch a few videos.
 
I've been away all day and just got back home and had a chance to catch up reading the thread. Thank you all for chiming in and sharing your insights.
I placed an order for the FM9 MKII Turbo a few minutes ago, seeing it's a holiday weekend I figure the unit may arrive sometime around the end of the month. Got a lot of tutorial videos to watch between now and then! Again, thanks for everyone's help.
 
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