Thinking to buy FM3 but..

zerolight said:
On the other hand. His wife will be tired. There'll be feeding thru the night, sleeping in, afternoon naps. A modeler and headphones us definitely handy. Even now, I know for sure that my teenage kids and my wife are much happier when I use headphones when I butcher 80s hair rock.
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Seems some kids find the Dad Rock meanderings of their Fathers soothing. Maybe I just got lucky. :)

Not sure if I am old-school, or just an arse, but I will never understand this notion of having
to live like a stranger in your own house just to appease the natives. ;)
 
For what it’s worth, I had both but sold the Helix. I ABSOLUTELY loved the interface and extra buttons of the Helix for usability, but it always comes down to sound for me. This is a no-brainer, I LOVE the tones I’m getting from my FM3 even though the trade off of less buttons and ease-of-use is not the same, it’s worth it for me. Good luck!
 
George Homme said:
Greetings. I am new to the Fractal camp and a tube amp user. But....as we are expecting a baby i will need to ditch my amp and play almost with headphones. I have Sennheisers HD600. My style is Country rock, rockabilly , rock plus i have a band which we play downtune fuzzdriven rock stoner stuff.

My budget currently allows for 1300-1500 Euros for new gear. So i am thinking either FM3 or Full HElix FLoor / Rack.

My concerns or the FM3 as i can t find one to try are

1. My needs are 1-2 Drives(1 Fuzz) + Amp + Cab + Delay + Reverb + EQ maybe(if i need one). Will i be alright with the FM3 CPU Capabilities?

2. What about the input impedance of the FM3. The Axe fx iii or Helix for example has Auto Inpedance (Variable) but on the FM3 the input impedance is locked in 1Mohm. How this will affect my sound and if yes in which case?

3. IS there a possibility that the FM3 will be abandoned as the FM9 is out?

4. I have read some threads on various forums that the FM3 has some issues still like feedback etc. Are those issues been taken care of with updates or not?

5. Some people say that the Axe Fx FM3 editor is slow. What they mean with that?

6. IS the Virtual Capo usable with the FM3? I am asking this because my guitar is tuned in standard tuning and with one of my bands we play 2 tones down (D or C). IF its usable and provided that you don t hear any Warbling / cracking noises etc how much Cpu /Dsp it uses?

7. How is FM3 with Headphones.?

8. After Cygnus update is the FM3 using more cpu than when running Ares ?

For people that used FM3 and Helix do you think that is better to go with the FM3 or the full Helix platform which i will not have any limitations Cpu etc? Regarding of tones i suspect that FM3 is quite better if not similar to helix.


Thanks in advance.
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1. No problem. My main preset looks a lot like that. You will have to use economy quality reverb but that still sounds better than most other units’ reverb.
2. Never had an issue with this.
3. No.
4. Not in my experience. Feedback will depend more on your amplification system.
5. It’s not unless you have other issues.
6. It is usable but not as good as the Axe-Fx 3. We are hoping that we would get an upgraded one in the next firmware.
7. Excellent as long as your headphones are good. The Sennheisers you have will work well.
8. Not enough for it to matter.

FM3 and Helix can do most of the same stuff. The limitations are in different places. The channels feature on FM3 lets you have more of the same effect but Helix can run things like two amps in parallel but not as many different amp models in a single preset. I had a Helix Floor but stuck with the FM3 mainly because it is more compact. Helix is easier to use from the front panel but FM3 has a better computer editor.

I would recommend the FM3 but you may want to add a MIDI controller to it. I don’t recommend the FC foot controllers because they are expensive for proprietary controllers and quite large as well. I use the XSonic Airstep.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
Both are in beta-testing for new firmware releases
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OP, to be clear, everything Fractal makes always has a stable release firmware and a beta firmware concurrently available. Your FM3 will ship with stable release firmware. Your participation in open beta firmware testing is voluntary. Should you choose to run open beta firmware, you can be sure that there aren't going to be any issues that will damage your unit. You should, however, take care to exercise some precautions:

1 - Back up working presets, blocks, and user cabs.

2 - Have a copy of the release (or previous beta) firmware in case you need to revert for whatever reason.
3 - Understand that beta firmwares often include new features but can sometimes "break" your presets due to changes in fundamental ways things work, leaving you to have no sound. Minor troubleshooting may be required.

4 - Functionality may disappear altogether. Parameters can become obsolete because subsequent innovations render them unnecessary, or they can be moved around in blocks so that the unit can run on more efficient code. This leads to decreased CPU usage, which allows you to use more bells and whistles.

5 - Patience is not only a virtue, but a requirement in the betaverse. One should not become huffy and petulant about features available on the flagship device (the Axe-FX III) that are not yet available on the FM3 or FM9. The FM's are by design less powerful, less expensive options and development is by nature an exercise in trickle-down economics. This is frustrating for some. Those features and capabilities may take a long time to be ported over, and some may never be dues to the constraints of the hardware.
 
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Btw I am a reverb snob and I prefer the fn3 reverb on economy. Don’t know why but sounds better to me... and I max out the reverb time usually, like 100 seconds.....
 
Well you can now get a brand new FM3 for $999 from Fractal. On Reverb.com they are still trying to sell used ones for over $1K. How ever in most cases they they will except a lower offer etc. An excellent condition FM3 value is probably in the $800-850 range right now. The FM9 is fast becoming the popular unit in that price range. The only issue is you can't get one and you will be on a long waiting list.
 
My presets are more complicated than what you are laying out (or at least have what you listed, and a couple more blocks). I've never hit 60% CPU. You will be fine from that perspective.
The FM9 absolutely did not make the FM3 obsolete. I had that same concern, until I got the FM3 and fell in love.
The editor is excellent. The firmware is outstanding.
I actually thought about selling my Axe 3 to buy a second FM3 (I know, blasphemy...and I talked myself out of it).
I can't stress this enough - its awesome, the end. Buy one and you will be happy.

Also, look at resale value - worst case, you buy it, use it for 6 months...and lose 100 bucks selling it (which you won't).
 
BBN said:
My presets are more complicated than what you are laying out (or at least have what you listed, and a couple more blocks). I've never hit 60% CPU. You will be fine from that perspective.
The FM9 absolutely did not make the FM3 obsolete. I had that same concern, until I got the FM3 and fell in love.
The editor is excellent. The firmware is outstanding.
I actually thought about selling my Axe 3 to buy a second FM3 (I know, blasphemy...and I talked myself out of it).
I can't stress this enough - its awesome, the end. Buy one and you will be happy.

Also, look at resale value - worst case, you buy it, use it for 6 months...and lose 100 bucks selling it (which you won't).
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