So, I bought a new Fractal FM3 Turbo. Now what?

scottosan said:
What are the “go to” free or budget IR that you guys can recommend?
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York Audio has a killer Recto 2x12 for like $2 as a try-out kinda thing, but man, I really wouldn’t even think about IR’s yet. Try the DynaCabs out first and see if you even feel you want more than that.

Also, Leon Todd has his IR’s for free, he frequently uses the same one so if you’re getting tweaking tips from his vids, they translate really well. Leon Todd Mix 7 is the one I believe he uses all the time.
 
Dialling in the amps on the Axe FX as a beginner is easy. Just pull up the model and away you go, they’re almost plug and play out of the box. However, as you go along, you’ll find yourself playing with traditional controls such as gain, bass, middle, and treble, as well as presence and depth. It really is that simple, the sounds out of the box are really incredible. And don’t forget to try out the factory presets, some of them are golden.

When it comes to cabs, it’s a never ending nightmare diving down the IR rabbit hole. Instead, I’d recommend checking out the new Dynacabs with the Axe FX. They are really quite impressive and work in the same way that TwoNotes DynIRs do, where you move around and position a virtual mic on a choice of cab. And you can do this for up to four mics on one cab, or 8 mics on two cabs if you’re using stereo cabs, for some really good tones. But does that sound too complicated? Just pull up a dynamic mic and position it against a 4x12 Recto Slant or Straight cab and you’ll be good.
 
Man if I was brand new to IR’s I would literally just buy the GGD Cali plugin for like 30-40 bucks, try out which cabs you like, and then export them into your axe fx. It’s pretty hard to screw that plugin up when it comes to getting great quality IR’s. Some IR’s and ir packs you can screw up if you don’t have a clue about any of this stuff. The GGD Cali is not one of those.
 
RevDrucifer said:
The no-frills/get-to-the-tone-the-fastest-

Open a blank preset, load an Input, Amp block, Cab block, Output, pick an amp you’re familiar with that doesn’t require weird settings in the pre-amp (IE- don’t pick a Mesa unless you know how to dial in a Mesa, particularly the Marks because it’s exactly the same in Fractal land) and then hit up the DynaCabs. Fuck IR’s at this point. I have over 50K IR’s and ever since the DynaCab update, I haven’t used a single fuckin’ one and there’s only like 15 or so DynaCabs available, they’re just that easy to dial in.

Don’t even adjust the amp block (preamp), go right to the Cab block and start moving the mic around, once you’re in the ballpark then go tweak the amp.

The most common issue I see people experiencing is trying to get something out of an IR/cab that just isn’t there. There’s a million tweaking points in the amp block, but why the fuck go through the hassle if you don’t have to? That’s basically re-designing an amp because the cab ain’t right. Those extra parameters are only there if you’re hellbent on figuring out what they do. Outside of that, the Tone page (actual amp knobs) works just fine.

It’s so much easier than it’s made out to be, as long as you can keep yourself from touching every option in it.
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This is 100% on point. The DynaCab addition makes such a huge difference and being able to just adjust the mic position and get the sound you want is so much easier than having to audition several IRs until you find the one that works for you.

As Rev said above, keep it simple and you will really enjoy the Fractal world. Once you get the hang of it you can get as complicated as you want, but you don't have to to get incredible tone.
 
scottosan said:
Just ordered new today. I have no idea where to even begin with this, but my intent is to use this for more polished and consistent pickup recordings. I am a little scared of how much work will be needed to dial in the tones I need based on my previous experience with modellers and profilers.

I always expect stock patches to be either be way over the top or just unconvincing, but the sounds people are putting out are undeniably good. But, can those tone be had with minimal recording experience?

1. How interchangeable are the patches between the hardware versions?

2. Can I get decent patches without investing a bunch in 3 party patches.

3. Can patches be exported freely between individuals.

Any suggestions as to how I can best acclimate to being a first time Fractal owner would be much appreciated.
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Also, what kind of tones are you after? Give me some examples, I can steer you in the right direction in the IR world. And has been said before, “most” of the amps behave like the real amp with eq settings etc. so, If you like a recto and Set it up a certain way, start there, it’ll behave the same.


Big big thing alot of people forget: keep the damn master volume LOW on high gain tones. They model power amp behavior in these amps, and contrary to tube amp folklore and Internet forum idiots, high gain amps ( in general) do not sound good cranked up. I never have the Rectos master volume above 9 o’clock. Ever. The headroom meter is gotta be one of the best damn things they have added in a long time, this will really help you out. If you are hitting 0db, you are overdriving the power amp. 5150? Master volume never above 10 o’clock. 5153? Herbert? Same thing. If you are getting muddy tones, start here; I’ll bet money the master volume is far too high. This how I set all of those amps that I own in real life as well.

The only “tweaky nerdy” stuff I do is I’ll occasionally drop the bias on some of the high gain amps to 35-40 percent or so. Colder amps generally sound better to me doing high gain, especially the herbert, and 5150 models. This is not make or break by any means, but it’s something you may wanna play around with.


Speaker impedance curve: probably THE best thing to come out in a really long time with the axe. This can really make your low end better than anything you’ve ever heard. I couldn’t live without this now that I’ve heard it. I generally live on recto straight, recto large, the Marshall BV, and 5153 SIC’s. Those are also just about the only cab IR’s I use as well.

But all in all, the thing is as plug in and play as you want, or as complicated as you could possibly make it. Long gone are the days of having to tweak endless parameters to get a good sound out of these things. If it was still like this, I would t be into it at all, and I wouldn’t own one.
 
VESmedic said:
Man if I was brand new to IR’s I would literally just buy the GGD Cali plugin for like 30-40 bucks, try out which cabs you like, and then export them into your axe fx. It’s pretty hard to screw that plugin up when it comes to getting great quality IR’s. Some IR’s and ir packs you can screw up if you don’t have a clue about any of this stuff. The GGD Cali is not one of those.
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I'd recommend this pack also. I picked it up shortly after it came out and I still integrate a mix of some of those IR's into my core IR blend I use for all of my higher gain tones.
 
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