When was the last time FM9's were available?

S

SpudMan

Inspired
I am looking at an FM3 but thinking maybe an FM9. I have read the threads about availability but was wondering if anyone could comment on when the last batch of FM9's shipped? Basically, I would love to get an FM9 but if it is going to be a year or two, I would go with the FM3. I like the AXE III but it is likely overkill for me as I don't gig or do intensive home recording.
 
Fractal is still filling the first day of wait-list requests.

As customers we have no knowledge of how many are on the list, how many units will come in the next batch nor when that will be available.

If you need something "soon" the FM9 is probably not going to be your best option.

The good news is that Fractal products hold their resale value well so the FM3 can always be resold later if you want to upgrade.
 
I don't normally like the scalpers market, but as an Axe III MkII Turbo (FC-12) owner, I'm actually glad I spent the $2k on my FM9 backup/church rig (plus an FC-6)
last year. I'm not that far from where the warranty date would have run out, and I'm way down on the wait list.
 
According to my spreadsheet, which is unofficial, Dec. 10, 2021 at 1:02 pm was the last time posted to either the GoogleDocs spreadsheet or to the Waitlist Email thread that I saw, which serviced a reservation request made on August 28 at 4:02 am. August 27 at noon-ish was the initial FM9 announcement and opening of the signup list and they processed 211 orders to us regular users before they couldn't get any parts. I can break it down further, but that answers the question plus a little.

Knowing when the last ones were invited/ordered isn't really of much use because nothing has changed and we don't know when the needed parts will be available.

The important thing to know is that when they can start production again invitations will start flowing and there'll be a major announcement. If you want an FM9, add yourself to the list.
 
Just wondering why the FM9 is not available due to supply chain issues, but the AXE III and FM3 are? Wouldn't the parts be mostly similar, and aren't all the Fractal products made in China. Seems like if the supply chain is a problem, all Fractal products should be impacted? Or is there a particular part unique to the FM9 that is holding up production?
Either way, I put my name on the Waitlist, and am still struggling with whether to get an FM3. I just haven't used a Modeler yet and am unsure if it will deliver what I am looking for which is emulation of amps and effects. In particular, the various equipment used by artists like Robin Trower in particular. Meaning Marshall amps, Deja Vibe, etc.
 
The Wiki has all this information, but to summarize a bit…

SpudMan said:
Just wondering why the FM9 is not available due to supply chain issues, but the AXE III and FM3 are? Wouldn't the parts be mostly similar […]
Click to expand...
There are many components and assemblies in common, but, because they use different CPU/DSP, the glue chips that surround them are also different. In addition, there are some ancillary chips that differ. Any of those could be the problem.

SpudMan said:
, and aren't all the Fractal products made in China.
Click to expand...
All the products made in China? Hardly. The CPU/DSP are domestic and either made in New Hampshire or Europe somewhere. Some lesser assemblies seem to be made in China, but the final assembly occurs here.

SpudMan said:
Seems like if the supply chain is a problem, all Fractal products should be impacted?
Click to expand...
No, just because the supply chain is impacted doesn't mean that all the needed parts are impacted the same.

SpudMan said:
Or is there a particular part unique to the FM9 that is holding up production?
Click to expand...
We don't know. That's part of company-confidential information we don't need to know.

You could probably figure it out if you looked at the parts, identified the sources, then looked at their allocation to their customers, but, again, that'd be company-confidential information for them, and contractual obligations tend to prevent discussing that sort of information in any detail.

SpudMan said:
Either way, I put my name on the Waitlist, and am still struggling with whether to get an FM3. I just haven't used a Modeler yet and am unsure if it will deliver what I am looking for which is emulation of amps and effects. In particular, the various equipment used by artists like Robin Trower in particular. Meaning Marshall amps, Deja Vibe, etc.
Click to expand...
Heh. Oh, you can get an amazing Trower sound with the FM3. Hendrix, Clapton, Eric Johnson, etc. are all in there if you know the artist's gear and what's in the Fractal modeler's blocks you can put the sound together. That's not to say YOU will sound like them though, because their touch and thinking have a huge amount of influence on their sound.

It might not be instantaneous because amps and pedals can vary, especially from the ones used by Fractal as references, but the sounds are in there.
PS - Search the list of factory presets for "vibe" and you can probably find some great candidates.
 
SpudMan said:
Just wondering why the FM9 is not available due to supply chain issues, but the AXE III and FM3 are? Wouldn't the parts be mostly similar, and aren't all the Fractal products made in China. Seems like if the supply chain is a problem, all Fractal products should be impacted? Or is there a particular part unique to the FM9 that is holding up production?
Either way, I put my name on the Waitlist, and am still struggling with whether to get an FM3. I just haven't used a Modeler yet and am unsure if it will deliver what I am looking for which is emulation of amps and effects. In particular, the various equipment used by artists like Robin Trower in particular. Meaning Marshall amps, Deja Vibe, etc.
Click to expand...

Greg Ferguson said:
The Wiki has all this information, but to summarize a bit…


There are many components and assemblies in common, but, because they use different CPU/DSP, the glue chips that surround them are also different. In addition, there are some ancillary chips that differ. Any of those could be the problem.


All the products made in China? Hardly. The CPU/DSP are domestic and either made in New Hampshire or Europe somewhere. Some lesser assemblies seem to be made in China, but the final assembly occurs here.


No, just because the supply chain is impacted doesn't mean that all the needed parts are impacted the same.


We don't know. That's part of company-confidential information we don't need to know.

You could probably figure it out if you looked at the parts, identified the sources, then looked at their allocation to their customers, but, again, that'd be company-confidential information for them, and contractual obligations tend to prevent discussing that sort of information in any detail.


Heh. Oh, you can get an amazing Trower sound with the FM3. Hendrix, Clapton, Eric Johnson, etc. are all in there if you know the artist's gear and what's in the Fractal modeler's blocks you can put the sound together. That's not to say YOU will sound like them though, because their touch and thinking have a huge amount of influence on their sound.

It might not be instantaneous because amps and pedals can vary, especially from the ones used by Fractal as references, but the sounds are in there.
PS - Search the list of factory presets for "vibe" and you can probably find some great candidates.
Click to expand...

Machine Gun factory preset all the way, BOOM instant Hendrix ;)
 
Greg Ferguson said:
According to my spreadsheet, which is unofficial, ... they processed 211 orders to us regular users before they couldn't get any parts.
Click to expand...

I was wondering roughly how many FM9s were in the wild. That's an amazing stat/estimate. I'm feeling lucky to have one to be sure. I'm hoping for everyone's sake things get sorted and they can start working through the rest of the wait list.
 
BCy2k said:
I was wondering roughly how many FM9s were in the wild. That's an amazing stat/estimate. I'm feeling lucky to have one to be sure. I'm hoping for everyone's sake things get sorted and they can start working through the rest of the wait list.
Click to expand...
By my estimate that's a small percentage of the real number.

Think of it this way; the numbers we've been tracking via the waitlist, and the open spreadsheet, are the result of those people who were watching threads on Fractal's forum. That's not the only social media that had notices of the FM9's availability, so other sites had people hitting their reservation list. Word of mouth was also at play.

Fractal told us right away that the response was unprecedented, so I expect there are still a lot of people who are not on this forum who are on the list. If you're waiting for an invite, be patient. The FM9 will begin shipping again, and it's a really nice unit.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
By my estimate that's a small percentage of the real number.

Think of it this way; the numbers we've been tracking via the waitlist, and the open spreadsheet, are the result of those people who were watching threads on Fractal's forum. That's not the only social media that had notices of the FM9's availability, so other sites had people hitting their reservation list. Word of mouth was also at play.

Fractal told us right away that the response was unprecedented, so I expect there are still a lot of people who are not on this forum who are on the list. If you're waiting for an invite, be patient. The FM9 will begin shipping again, and it's a really nice unit.
Click to expand...

Indeed. And actually, I’m not even on that list and I got mine the first week they started shipping.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
By my estimate that's a small percentage of the real number.

Think of it this way; the numbers we've been tracking via the waitlist, and the open spreadsheet, are the result of those people who were watching threads on Fractal's forum. That's not the only social media that had notices of the FM9's availability, so other sites had people hitting their reservation list. Word of mouth was also at play.

Fractal told us right away that the response was unprecedented, so I expect there are still a lot of people who are not on this forum who are on the list. If you're waiting for an invite, be patient. The FM9 will begin shipping again, and it's a really nice unit.
Click to expand...
I didn’t get on the list until early December so I probably won’t see an FM9 invite for at least a year. Which kinda sucks because I’m hitting the CPU limit all the time on my FM3. I hope things get sorted soon.
 
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