To FM3 or not to??

[ob1clyde]

Was starting a new rig and looking for a good multi-fx to use with a
Tube amp.

Thatt was a fail! Bought a used MT-15 ended up going back to GC since they misplaced the footswitch and powersupply when they shipped it. PS (I wasn’t impressed either)

and the. The Pod Go I bought new also proved to be DOA. Guessing it was a power supply problem but took it as
An omen to look away from line6 as
I have for
So many years now..

so back to the question.. I have a PA and speakers, I have an Apollo Twin.

should I give it a go and ditch my 4x12?? I’ve stayed away from these types of decisions in the past— going all
Digital that is.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I recently did it and it's awesome. I still have all my tube amps and cabs but plan to sell them all once I have time to get around to listing it all. I plan to keep one amp/cab just as a backup and so I have two amps to jam when friends come over.

I owned the Ultra, II and Kemper in the past (plus older gen POD, Zoom, Boss, etc), they were all okay but never a true amp replacement. The FM3 is great. I was planning to only use it for effects but have been very impressed with the modeling.

 

[ob1clyde]

I recently did it and it's awesome. I still have all my tube amps and cabs but plan to sell them all once I have time to get around to listing it all. I plan to keep one amp/cab just as a backup and so I have two amps to jam when friends come over.

I owned the Ultra, II and Kemper in the past (plus older gen POD, Zoom, Boss, etc), they were all okay but never a true amp replacement. The FM3 is great. I was planning to only use it for effects but have been very impressed with the modeling.

I had an
Fx2xl+ for a minute and at the time thought I’d rather keep
My
Amos
And then use the 11rack for those late
Nights or direct recording.

but they are
All
Gone now. Fresh start, all I have are some Ezmix plugins, and Engl 4x12 and a crybaby wah and two notes torpedo live.

that is down to the bone! Time to take a deep dive I think. Hoping they don’t come out with an Fm3 mk2 in the next 3 months, lol.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I use mine through a Line 6 PowerCab+ and it's awesome. I have never been fully happy with modelers before but this one kicks ass. Very "amp-like" through the right setup. I'm mostly interested in the "in the room" sounds and it's killer through the PowerCab and my poweramp and guitar cab.

 

[Donnie B.]

Have you checked out the Quad Cortex? Early user reviews are that it's a game changer.

 

[McLuther594]

Have you checked out the Quad Cortex? Early user reviews are that it's a game changer.

The user interface seems superb, but from the demos I've seen, it didn't deliver on sound. Especially the hi-gain sounds sounded fizzy..

 

[Chris O]

The FM3 is fantastic! And you only have to go as deep as you want - some people can't help but tinker to the ends of the earth, but I usually set things up (in terms of signal chain) exactly as I would with a real amp. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, but you have every option available should you choose to use them. As far as the basic sound, I don't think it is rivaled by any of the "other guys", and I have or have had them all. I use my thru a pair of KRK 8's - sounds VERY good. Don't necessarily expect "amp in the room" sound - but you can make a tone that sounds exactly like your favorite recorded tones without a ton of effort.

 

[Chris O]

The user interface seems superb, but from the demos I've seen, it didn't deliver on sound. Especially the hi-gain sounds sounded fizzy..

I have one on order, and looking forward to it. I have a bunch of the Neural plug-ins, and they sound incredible. They will be able to be added to the QC at some point if you have already purchased them.

 

[PBGas]

Love the FM3! I run it and my Axe III into a couple of Friedman ACS-10 monitors in stereo. Sounds amazing!

 

[ob1clyde]

The Quad cortex does look pretty good, Ive never tried any neural stuff. SO what i like about the digital stuff is this, NO MORE amp flipping.. Plus the stuff I hate about the 5150.. basically all the NOISE can be eliminated! and then I can really set all my favorite amps up to be 1DREAM amp.. this scenario is one that i havent given much thought too only becuase i like the simplicity and longevity of a tube amp. You know you buy it, and 10 years down the road if you take care of your stuff, its still a solid piece of gear. It doesnt get outdated or turn into a Legacy item only to run out of support.

 

[Donnie B.]

The user interface seems superb, but from the demos I've seen, it didn't deliver on sound. Especially the hi-gain sounds sounded fizzy..

Having owned a lot of Neural stuff I'd blame that on the recording or playback devices and not on the QC.
If there's one area where Neural kills it it's with high gain tones.

 

[Donnie B.]

You know you buy it, and 10 years down the road if you take care of your stuff, its still a solid piece of gear. It doesnt get outdated or turn into a Legacy item only to run out of support.

SO TRUE!!!! The original 1959 and 1987 circuits are still the best 100W/50W plexi tones even 50 years later.
You buy the "BEST!" digital modeler from brand XXX today and in 6 months they'll be marketing one
that's "EVEN BETTER!!!" It's impossible to shake the constant "am I missing out on that extra .00001% of
tone by not upgrading?" voice in the back of your head.

 

[McLuther594]

Having owned a lot of Neural stuff I'd blame that on the recording or playback devices and not on the QC.
If there's one area where Neural kills it it's with high gain tones.

Ok. What do you think about this demo then? A lot of people praise it of course, but for me, there is an unpleasant treble going on.

 

[GOHOINC]

Just got my fm3 about a month ago. It's my first modeler or "processor" of any kind. Ive always been an amp and pedal guy..

After 1 month. I love it. The only tube amp I've turned on since I got the fm3 is my butterslax and I only turned it on because I ran the fm3 into the loop return to use the power amp... I had to wait on the list for 2 months and that was cheaper than buying a used one...

Tones are really great and infinitely tweakable. I see lots of people complain they spend more time tweaking than playing and I could see how. But I've honestly spent more time playing than before I got it. It's cool also because you could set up presets to send output 1 to a daw / monitor or frfr and output 2 can be sent via shunt before the amp block into the front of an actual amp so you get the same front end and switching.

The ability to assign footswitches is great, could easily get by with just the fm3 and an expression pedal for a wah. That said I did add an fc because I'm so used to my old ways I still wanted direct access to individual effects, amp channels, scenes and presets. In any case, I'd say go for it. I'm not getting rid of my amps yet but I sense a couple may move on in the near future...

 

[Donnie B.]

Ok. What do you think about this demo then? A lot of people praise it of course, but for me, there is an unpleasant treble going on.

I don't put much stock at all in internet videos anymore.
I've proven myself wrong so many times in the past because of them.
Neural (and Darkglass - same people) have proven themselves top shelf
for many years now.
Personally, I'd expect the QC to be the same.

FOR ME, the FM3 has too few FSW, the UI is outdated, and it has processing
limitations. Just an opinion.

 

[McLuther594]

I don't put much stock at all in internet videos anymore.
I've proven myself wrong so many times in the past because of them.
Neural (and Darkglass - same people) have proven themselves top shelf
for many years now.
Personally, I'd expect the QC to be the same.

FOR ME, the FM3 has too few FSW, the UI is outdated, and it has processing
limitations. Just an opinion.

And those are valid points. If the sounds and feel do not take second place to the FM3 it seems to be the better deal. I´ll wait for some more tests where the units are compared.

 

[ErikT]

Have you checked out the Quad Cortex? Early user reviews are that it's a game changer.

This...if it ever comes out. Thought the latest vid from Andertons sounded pretty great. Really want to hear it with the "final" software that it'll ship with and more of the effects. Mostly interested in it as an effects and general rig control device.

Had the Axe iii it's a killer unit. Would love to have one again for home recording or the FM3 for the same and more portability when live music returns.

Been super interested in rack gear lately (no thanks to this place) and have also toyed with the idea of running a TC G Major II as my effects unit.

 

[Donnie B.]

And those are valid points. If the sounds and feel do not take second place to the FM3 it seems to be the better deal. I´ll wait for some more tests where the units are compared.

Last point I'll make is that the FM3 and the QC (once released) will both be hard to come by and should both be great on the resale market for a while. The QC dealers give you a 30 day return with no questions asked - not sure about Fractal. The other dig on the FM3 is that the included warranty is only one year and is non-transferable if you chose to sell.

 

[MatrixClaw]

FOR ME, the FM3 has too few FSW, the UI is outdated, and it has processing
limitations. Just an opinion.

What processing limitations? Obviously, it has less power than the AxeFX 3 but I seriously doubt 95% of users will ever run into overloading its processor. If you for some reason need to run 8 delays, 2 amps, 4 cabs and a ton of other effects, sure. I just don't see why you'd really need to, personally.

The FM3 + FC6 is also cheaper than the Quad Cortex. The UI is definitely not as slick as what Neural is showing on their demos. I feel like they could've gotten rid of a bunch of knobs and buttons and it would've been more intuitive to use, but once you get a hang of it, it's not bad.

The downside of the QC for me is that it's a profiler. It's not super clear whether the models on it actually modeled or just profiled and recreated like their plugins. Profilers are cool but they're meant to capture one sound of an amp with a specific EQ and cab. You're also profiling the miced sound of the amp, so the sound of the mic and speaker placement is captured, which isn't necessarily reflective of the amplifier's true sound. That's not to say it can't get a great sound, but they're not modeling the actual circuit of the amp like Fractal does, so they are different things all together.

Also, the touchscreen is great for bedroom/studio use but I could see it becoming an absolute nightmare live. The buttons are also way too close together. I'd be afraid to setup any of the vertical buttons to do different things because I'd be hesitant to say the spacing is large enough to accurately press the right one live until I tried it myself. QC is also $600 more than the FM3, so comparing both is a bit silly, regardless.

 

[Donnie B.]

I seriously doubt 95% of users will ever run into overloading its processor.

Spend some time on other boards and you'll read lots of complaining about running into limits
and having to make compromises. It's not my opinion - it's a fact based on reading about
a years worth of feedback from real-world users.

The downside of the QC for me is that it's a profiler.

You need to read up on the unit more. It's a modeler that can also 'capture' physical amps.
Everything Neural has released to date has been models with real word tone and gain controls.

Also, the touchscreen is great for bedroom/studio use but I could see it becoming an absolute nightmare live.

Only if you plan on creating your patches or scenes live on stage.

QC is also $600 more than the FM3, so comparing both is a bit silly.

Whether it's silly or not is up to the buyer. Also, it's only a big price difference because
Fractal recently slashed the FM3 price by almost 25%. I find that curious for a product that's only
a year old. That and there's currently 18 of them on Reverb.