Thinking of getting FM3 for home use (Recording/jamming/practicing)

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vejichan

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thoughts on getting FM3 for home use (Recording/jamming/practicing)? is it a better option than AXE III?
I have a small desk and FM3 might work better for me. Please share your thoughts and opinions.
thanks
 
I don't think you could go wrong with either. I wanted the FM3 because I wanted a floor unit for live as well as practice/recording. Plus it fit my budget better. I don't have any kitchen sink presets or need 2 amps/cab blocks. Your milage may vary.
 
Here was my thought process:

I knew I was getting an AFX3 or FM3 to have the best amp modeling available. I looked at this same question and decided to get the FM3 and an H9. I had demoed the Eventide plugins with Helix in Logic and loved them and felt that AFX3 was overkill because I knew I would just buy an H9 anyway; so I went for more variety and with Eventide FX which I knew I liked. The only real loss is not having dual amps and future incompatible algorithms like the recent Drive models they havn't been able to port to the FM3. But I can live with that; it is heads and tails above the rest and this was my first Fractal purchase so I didn't know if the hype was real; it is.

Great for home; I have mine on a $50 tripod laptop stand:

IMG-3130.JPG
FM3 Knobs.JPG
 
vejichan said:
thoughts on getting FM3 for home use (Recording/jamming/practicing)? is it a better option than AXE III?
I have a small desk and FM3 might work better for me. Please share your thoughts and opinions.
thanks
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The FM3 is cool, but honestly...if you are going to focus on home recording, go with the III. The audio interface is better, and the FM3 has some issues with freezing up, especially when connected to USB. If you read around the forum, or even TGP you'll see this come up quite often. I have freeze-ups at least once a day since I've had it. I'm hoping they will address in the next firmware update.
 
@mtripp: I am new to the FM3, which i bought both as a practice and live perfoming device. While it will should not be too much of a problem for practicing and recording, I am worried about the freezing-issue you mention particularly for live. How often does this occur, any idea how to avoid it, particular in live situations?
 
jrt said:
@mtripp: I am new to the FM3, which i bought both as a practice and live perfoming device. While it will should not be too much of a problem for practicing and recording, I am worried about the freezing-issue you mention particularly for live. How often does this occur, any idea how to avoid it, particular in live situations?
Click to expand...
I get at least one freeze a day and usually happens when switching to a different scene or preset. What I see is the HOLD function highlight, and it 'sticks'. There are enough acknowledgements on this that I'm not going to bother support, as I'm sure they are working on it. Plus, I've already gone through the fw reinstall, etc.

I was at a rehearsal on Wednesday and had it happen twice. First time I had USB connected and was making changes, and probably did something that caused a USB issue. The 2nd time, there was no USB connected.

To avoid the issue? I'm not sure. Today I have had it on nearly all day and haven't had it happen yet, but I'm watching it like a hawk :D. I would be leery about using it live at this point in time. If I was out playing gigs right now, I would have returned it and just gotten a Helix Floor. I'm giving Fractal Audio the benefit of the doubt, as I said before, I'm sure they are aware and working on the issue.
 
That really sounds a bit worrysome. For live I am used to go directly xlr to mixer/FOH, such a sudden freeze would be pretty bad.
 
mtripp said:
Just had it happen again with the editor. FM3 screen went blank, and Button 2 froze on 'Scene'. Had to reboot.

How intricate are your presets?
Click to expand...

Running around 70%.
Reverbs, Drives, Delays, Amp/Cab, Frequ (because i'm running both FOH and a reg. guitar cab), two IRs, Per-Preset Layouts, Vol.Blocks (Auto-Swell/Standard) aaand Pitch Block (Adv. Whammy) ... nothing super-special, but also not just an amp and a cab :D
 
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MrPond said:
Running around 70%.
Reverbs, Drives, Delays, Amp/Cab, Frequ (because i'm running both FOH and a reg. guitar cab), two IRs, Per-Preset Layouts, Vol.Blocks (Auto-Swell/Standard) aaand Pitch Block (Adv. Whammy) ... nothing super-special, but also not just an amp and a cab :D
Click to expand...
I would say you are quite lucky then.
 
jrt said:
That really sounds a bit worrysome. For live I am used to go directly xlr to mixer/FOH, such a sudden freeze would be pretty bad.
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It is. Knowing Fractal, it will be addressed, so I will just continue documenting when it happens.
 
dejoblue said:
Here was my thought process:

I knew I was getting an AFX3 or FM3 to have the best amp modeling available. I looked at this same question and decided to get the FM3 and an H9. I had demoed the Eventide plugins with Helix in Logic and loved them and felt that AFX3 was overkill because I knew I would just buy an H9 anyway; so I went for more variety and with Eventide FX which I knew I liked. The only real loss is not having dual amps and future incompatible algorithms like the recent Drive models they havn't been able to port to the FM3. But I can live with that; it is heads and tails above the rest and this was my first Fractal purchase so I didn't know if the hype was real; it is.

Great for home; I have mine on a $50 tripod laptop stand:

View attachment 77878
View attachment 77879
Click to expand...
You my friend, have your priorities straight. An FM3, two screens and a coffee machine all within arms length.
 
jrt said:
@mtripp: I am new to the FM3, which i bought both as a practice and live perfoming device. While it will should not be too much of a problem for practicing and recording, I am worried about the freezing-issue you mention particularly for live. How often does this occur, any idea how to avoid it, particular in live situations?
Click to expand...
I've only had this happen once and only when connected to FM3-Edit. Never while playing it as a floor modeler and never while connected to FracPad (which is what I use for editing on the unit). It stays on for 12-14 hours each day with no issues at all.
 
I've never had a freeze either in the year since I got mine. I use mine daily and have done a handful of gigs with it (would have been a lot more if not for Covid).
 
Do any of you have controllers/modifiers assigned? It seems to be happening more on presets that I use these (which is most of my presets).
 
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