What is the biggest ‘lift” going from the FM3 to the Axe3

sparkle

Inspired
What is the biggest ‘lift” going from the FM3 to the Axe3 besides the obvious, power, 2 amps..etc

So I bought the FM3… needless to say just sold my Kemper stage which got demoted to backup…

I am considering either to buy another FM3 as back up….(I am on the list for the FM9…)
Or the AXE3….(I have a fc6 already)….
 
I went the other way. I have a III and wanted something portable for a pit band so I got an FM3 (keeping the III of course).

The biggest difference is the CPU ceiling which is not a surprise as it’s clearly stated. I can build much more intensive presets on the III. I feel like with the III I can keep Axe Edit running while I’m rehearsing my parts and everything changes smoothly but there is more of a lag with FM3 Edit

It’s a matter of knowing what you are using them for. I don’t need my FM3 to duplicate what the III does. They scratch different itches.
 
I went the other way. I have a III and wanted something portable for a pit band so I got an FM3 (keeping the III of course).

The biggest difference is the CPU ceiling which is not a surprise as it’s clearly stated. I can build much more intensive presets on the III. I feel like with the III I can keep Axe Edit running while I’m rehearsing my parts and everything changes smoothly but there is more of a lag with FM3 Edit

It’s a matter of knowing what you are using them for. I don’t need my FM3 to duplicate what the III does. They scratch different itches.
I am in a few bands… 2 bands the Fm3 is perfect… the 3rd a cover band the Axe3 I could do ‘everything’ in one preset…
 
I, too, went the other way. I don’t need two amps at a time or 4 cabs; I never tone match, don’t really care about the RTA, etc etc. I love the portability of the FM3 and it’s got the same sounds as the flagship.

The main things you’re getting are more I/O options and more DSP.
 
I'd say "elbow room". The entire product line sounds great, and you can usually do whatever you can imagine in any device. The FM3 and FM9 require a bit more planning if you want to use "kitchen sink" type presets and use the device to its max.

I found I had more presets on the FM3 and fewer all-purpose kitchen sink presets on the III.

The constant improvements in preset switching speeds and things like channels / scene-ignore get you much more mileage out of the "lower end" models than ever before.

I love my FM3 as a grab-and-go unit for any gig. If I'm loading in to a multi-week show, I'll use the rack unit and FC12 and stretch out.

Haven't gigged my FM9 yet...
 
What is the biggest ‘lift” going from the FM3 to the Axe3 besides the obvious, power, 2 amps..etc

So I bought the FM3… needless to say just sold my Kemper stage which got demoted to backup…

I am considering either to buy another FM3 as back up….(I am on the list for the FM9…)
Or the AXE3….(I have a fc6 already)….
Your question doesn't tell us enough to make good recommendations. The two machines, besides sharing a lot of sounds, aren't really that much alike.

What is your experience with modelers? What do you want to do? What do you need? Are you traveling a lot and having to carry your own gear, or do you have a portage company? What sort of sounds/presets are you making and what do you envision?
 
I really like blending cabs so having the ability to have 4 IRs in the Cab block of the Axe III, 2 IR slots in the FM3, is a definite plus. I also like the bigger grid in Axe Edit III and not having to compromise on presets due to CPU. I can do what I need with my FM3 but I continue to use the Axe III for everything for now.
 
I've been considering getting an Axe FX III as well after owning the FM3 for almost 3 months now. I absolutely love the FM3 and the tones I get from it are awesome... but I am getting a little frustrated with the processing limitations even though it's rare that I hit them. The FM3 seemed like the easiest way to dip my toes into the Fractal modeling world... but now that I understand this system fairly well and know where the limits are, I am questioning whether I should sell it and get the III. In terms of portability, it's really a non-factor for me as I am not gigging currently with my FM3 and have no immediate plans to.

I am not really a kitchen sink kind of preset person, and I imagine the FM9 would solve my issues, I think I'd rather just spend a bit more to get the III than jump to an FM9 (which are also hard to come by anyway). In the end I think it'd be great to have the limits of the sound creation be my own ability to make them versus a hardware limit.
 
I went from III -> FM3 -> III Turbo

To summarise:

  1. I find it much more 'relaxing' when building presets - that sounds stupid, but I don't do a lot of massive presets and I would find myself looking for workarounds the whole time to balance DSP
  2. Especially for me is using two reverbs in high quality for true stereo reverb - I love that for realism, FM3 I had an external reverb which worked - but saving the Midi hassle and i/o hops is great
  3. There are some features I use that just won't be available on the FM3 - cab smoothing, full-res IRs, bias tremolo in the Amp block that I use reasonably frequently
  4. And - not a practical reason but something I enjoy tremendously - being on the flagship product. This sounds daft - but the III gets the goods quicker, often I would be frustrated waiting for features to come across to the FM3

None of these are showstoppers - so it's really down to two things for me, budget and space - if you want a really small board and no rack unit, well it's FM3. IF you can stretch to the money and can stand the different footprint - III is worth it in my mind
 
I've used both, among other units. For a while now just have an fm3.

The biggest "lift" (at least as a feature I'd use) in axe FX III is the EQ matching function. Not quite as many fractal users seem to care much about that, but a lot can be achieved that way. There's been cases where running EQ matching on the III would get me where I wanted quicker than FM3.

That said, I grew relatively adept at tweaking the fm3, pretty fast, and was quite confident in being able to replicate nearly any tone I'd imagine, that way. I replicated nearly all my favourite Kemper profiles without even shooting an IR (one was a challenge, eventually bridged by shooting IR). Spot on in every way? No! Close enough? Yes -- with an advantage for "feel" in most cases. And it was the same against real amps, minus perhaps the feel advantage, at least with the latest firmware at the time.

Long story short, having EQ matching for me personally does not quite justify going to the III -- never mind portability reasons.

But sure. That's the biggest upside the III has for me compared to fm3, hands down. It would certainly see the light of day if I had an axe fx 3. Not nearly as much as I once believed, but for sure can be very useful, especially in some cases.

Cab smoothing is not something I care about much at all.
 
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Only have an fm3 that satisfies my needs, but :
  • Double synth block; really powerful synth presets
  • Double amps = morphing between amps
  • Full power reverb, the economic algorythms are fine but the density of normal quality rvb sounds better imho
  • Double Plex delay
  • Endles cpu power as said hereabove
  • No cables on the floor at your feet (only your footcontroller and monitor)
 
FM3 -> Axe-Fx III Mk II Turbo

I don't play live anymore, and here are few frustrating aspects of when I had the FM3:
  1. Gap at preset/scene change
  2. CPU limits
  3. Obviously, the screen on the floor... nonsense just being in the studio
  4. Less blocks and routing possibilities (smaller grid)
Sure, you can find walk-around, sure you can find "compromises" and ... If I'll gig again I'll probably keep the AFIII in the studio and get the FM3 again.
 
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Your question doesn't tell us enough to make good recommendations. The two machines, besides sharing a lot of sounds, aren't really that much alike.

What is your experience with modelers? What do you want to do? What do you need? Are you traveling a lot and having to carry your own gear, or do you have a portage company? What sort of sounds/presets are you making and what do you envision?
I have had a kemper and Atomic before… got the FM3 for about 4 months…and it is great… I just sold the kemper…and I was thinking do I get axe3… i would only use the axe3 at my cover band gigs…as the other bands I only need 1 preset with 3 scenes… I am leaning on the FM3 as a backup until my number comes up for FM9…. 2023..lol
 
I've been considering getting an Axe FX III as well after owning the FM3 for almost 3 months now. I absolutely love the FM3 and the tones I get from it are awesome... but I am getting a little frustrated with the processing limitations even though it's rare that I hit them. The FM3 seemed like the easiest way to dip my toes into the Fractal modeling world... but now that I understand this system fairly well and know where the limits are, I am questioning whether I should sell it and get the III. In terms of portability, it's really a non-factor for me as I am not gigging currently with my FM3 and have no immediate plans to.

I am not really a kitchen sink kind of preset person, and I imagine the FM9 would solve my issues, I think I'd rather just spend a bit more to get the III than jump to an FM9 (which are also hard to come by anyway). In the end I think it'd be great to have the limits of the sound creation be my own ability to make them versus a hardware limit.
Same here… it would be nice to, chorus and pitch block….lol
I quickly figured out lower reverb and cab settings… but not having to do that would be cool also.
 
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