Fractal FM3. Anyone got one?

mrkb

Having just seen the latest FM3 firmware release after seven weeks (which is mainly bug fixes - the AxeIII has had major improvements in that time), I’m now thinking the FM3 will always be the limited floor version. So I’ve dropped off the FM3 waitlist and into the AXEIII one. So anyone one the list is now 1 closer to a delivery date!

fretmeister

mrkb said:

Having just seen the latest FM3 firmware release after seven weeks (which is mainly bug fixes - the AxeIII has had major improvements in that time), I’m now thinking the FM3 will always be the limited floor version. So I’ve dropped off the FM3 waitlist and into the AXEIII one. So anyone one the list is now 1 closer to a delivery date!

Still better than the KOT - they are now delivering to those who ordered in mid 2017!!

mrkb

Theres a few used ones now on ebay - sellers charging higher that new price which is a bit cheeky.

JohnCordy

Mine is on there as I've just been offered a headphone unit. I imported mine from US so is reflective of the actual price I paid!

sunshinewelly

I am also going to give up my slot and upgrade to the axe fx 3. Happy to wait though 

TeleMaster

I've got one.

I love it so far, through headphones. I will bring it to practice on Monday. I play through a power amp and cab so it will be interesting to see how good it will sound, but I think through headphones I prefer it to the Kemper. And it seems to me it's light years ahead of the Helix. 

I've bought a 2 button footswitch that goes on the side of the unit so it's essentially a FM5 now. 

xscaramanga

I'd quite like one but I think I'll probably be using my AX8 until they discontinue support for the editing software. Without the software it's almost comically unfriendly to use, but it sounds great. It's not always indistinguishable from real amps (or even recorded real amps) but it's more than good enough so unless my earnings mysteriously skyrocket amidst a global pandemic and no-deal Brexit, I'll be staying put. 

WiresDreamDisasters

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/the-fm3-launch-for-me-has-been-one-of-the-worst-experiences-of-my-music-career.2178115/

Reading this thread, I'm glad I stuck with Helix + Kemper personally.

TeleMaster

I used the FM3 at practice last night and I'm blown away at how good it sounds through a Seymour Duncan Powerstage and cab.

I've been a long time Kemper used, and tried to adopt the Helix with little success, although I love the HXFX, and I am so impressed with it. In this capacity it's easily the most realistic and authentic sounding modeller I've ever used. If I didn't know it was digital I wouldn't have been able to guess.

I set up a BE100 HBE preset and it absolutely ripped.

I think I'm a Fractal fan boy now! 

duotone

WiresDreamDisasters said:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/the-fm3-launch-for-me-has-been-one-of-the-worst-experiences-of-my-music-career.2178115/

Reading this thread, I'm glad I stuck with Helix + Kemper personally.

33 pages, Jesus. 

I’m way out of the loop, but what happened with the 1st revision without the headphone sockets?

TeleMaster

duotone said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/the-fm3-launch-for-me-has-been-one-of-the-worst-experiences-of-my-music-career.2178115/

Reading this thread, I'm glad I stuck with Helix + Kemper personally.

33 pages, Jesus. 

I’m way out of the loop, but what happened with the 1st revision without the headphone sockets?

Nothing. I've got one and I believe they're still shipping them. I use a 1/4 inch to 3.5mm jack into an adapter. Works fine.

Apparently the headphone socket one still has a hefty wait time.

That thread, the guy could've just got a USB interface and a lot of his issues would have been solved. 

exocet

I do think that Fractal have hit "resource limits" in recent years and as a result customers have suffered. I've had an FX8 and an AX8 - very similar platforms that appear to have been terminated from a product development perspective a little too soon. Reading between the lines, they had a key individual who fully understood the architecture (Hardware / Software) for both units. He left and as a result, development (some may say support) ceased.
The most recent case is with AX8 Firmware Update - the product is now clearly "end of life". However, last September, before it became officially acknowledged as being obsolete, the head honcho at Fractal (Cliff ?) stated that he was personally working on an update to AX8 and that it was taking some time. Since then, nothing. Only last weekend someone in Fractal Support was fielding requests in the support forum as to whether the firmware update was ever going to appear (12 month on).......the support person denied that any such statement had ever been made but was quickly corrected when the original support thread was produced.
I guess this situation can happen to any company in any vertical, especially niche technology such as guitar signal processing and that a lot of the time, commercial decisions dictate when you kill a product off but it can leave a bad taste all the same.

I sold the FX8 and am quite happy with the AX8, it works for me and I doubt that a "full ARES port" would offer any significant improvements.

mrkb

Looks like the FM3 isn’t going to get direct ports of AxeFX III firmwares (different processors and development team), and will be limited by its much lower CPU ( latest pitch and drive blocks haven’t been ported over yet). So I can see it having a limited development life like the AX8 and FX8 did. That’s a pity as a powerful Fractal floor unit would be superb.

TeleMaster

mrkb said:

Looks like the FM3 isn’t going to get direct ports of AxeFX III firmwares (different processors and development team), and will be limited by its much lower CPU ( latest pitch and drive blocks haven’t been ported over yet). So I can see it having a limited development life like the AX8 and FX8 did. That’s a pity as a powerful Fractal floor unit would be superb.

I wouldn't be surprised if you were right, but it would be silly on their part not to fully support this because if they just drop another product they'll likely lose the confidence of their customers. 

This product, with its size, form factor and stylings could be their biggest earning product if they can convince people to leave Helix and Kemper to give that a go. They need to better market the intuitive control system. You can go to multiple scenes with one footswitch. I had 6 scenes set up on three footswitches and then could hold one to go to another preset, which then gave me a further 6 scenes.

Personally, I think this is leagues ahead of Helix in terms of sound and it's a third of size with a huge amount of functionality. If they were in local guitar shops I think they could clean up. 

WiresDreamDisasters

TeleMaster said:

duotone said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/the-fm3-launch-for-me-has-been-one-of-the-worst-experiences-of-my-music-career.2178115/

Reading this thread, I'm glad I stuck with Helix + Kemper personally.

33 pages, Jesus. 

I’m way out of the loop, but what happened with the 1st revision without the headphone sockets?

Nothing. I've got one and I believe they're still shipping them. I use a 1/4 inch to 3.5mm jack into an adapter. Works fine.

Apparently the headphone socket one still has a hefty wait time.

That thread, the guy could've just got a USB interface and a lot of his issues would have been solved. 

If you're spending this kind of money on equipment, you really shouldn't have to.

I remember when I had my Axe FX II I tried plugging a Roland TD-20 into the midi input to get midi into my DAW. The Axe FX couldn't keep up with the midi stream at all and would regularly collapse.

Support team told me it wasn't a supported use case.

My Helix doesn't struggle with anything like that. *shrugs*

If they're gonna bill their device as an all singing all dancing thing that can be the centre of your home recording hub, then it really needs to. ... erm... well... do that.

Seziertisch

If I had bought an AX8 I’d be pretty non-plussed by it no longer being really supported.

TeleMaster

Ultimately, of course you're right. But the thing the guy was saying was that it lost him a lot of money, or he couldn't deliver on studio work because of the issues, when a £100 interface could have stopped that.

Devices have teething problems when they're released. I got a HXFX when it came out and the USB  type B port snapped off, it seemed to happen to a few people, the Kemper Stage has switches that are are extremely fragile, amongst other issues that were both fully aware of. 

New devices always have issues, and if you rely on something as a source of income you shouldn't put all those eggs into that basket. If you're a recording musician or work from home in that capacity, you should have simple backups like a £100 Focusrite pre that you can plug into Garage band and use those sims.

Again, you're right that products should do what they say they will from release day, but we live in an age of release now, patch later, and I just don't think he can realistically blame Fractal for the loss of income in this scenario. 

WiresDreamDisasters

TeleMaster said:

Ultimately, of course you're right. But the thing the guy was saying was that it lost him a lot of money because of the issues, when a £100 interface could have stopped that.

Devices have teething problems when they're released. I got a HXFX when it came out and the USB  type B port snapped off, it seemed to happen to a few people, the Kemper Stage has buttons that are are extremely fragile.

New devices always have issues, and if you rely on something as a source of income you shouldn't put all those eggs into that basket. If you're a recording musician or work from home in that capacity, you should have simple backups like a £100 Focusrite pre that you can plug into Garage band and use those sims.

Again, you're right that products should do what they say they will from release day, but we live in an age of release now, pafch later, and I just don't think he can realistically blame Fractal for the loss of income in this scenario. 

Sure enough. And I've seen it from the other side too. The kinds of market forces companies are up against now make deadlines ridiculously tight. I'm not completely without empathy for Fractal. It must be rough for them, particularly when they were seen as being the absolute crem de la crem a la Edgar once upon a time.

TeleMaster

WiresDreamDisasters said:

TeleMaster said:

Ultimately, of course you're right. But the thing the guy was saying was that it lost him a lot of money because of the issues, when a £100 interface could have stopped that.

Devices have teething problems when they're released. I got a HXFX when it came out and the USB  type B port snapped off, it seemed to happen to a few people, the Kemper Stage has buttons that are are extremely fragile.

New devices always have issues, and if you rely on something as a source of income you shouldn't put all those eggs into that basket. If you're a recording musician or work from home in that capacity, you should have simple backups like a £100 Focusrite pre that you can plug into Garage band and use those sims.

Again, you're right that products should do what they say they will from release day, but we live in an age of release now, pafch later, and I just don't think he can realistically blame Fractal for the loss of income in this scenario. 

Sure enough. And I've seen it from the other side too. The kinds of market forces companies are up against now make deadlines ridiculously tight. I'm not completely without empathy for Fractal. It must be rough for them, particularly when they were seen as being the absolute crem de la crem a la Edgar once upon a time.

Personally, I still seem them as that. I think Kemper is up there with them for recorded sounds, but are lacking heavily in the effects department. I don't rate Helix as highly as Fractal and Kemper. But that could be my sucky tweaking skills. 

I have no patience for tweaking, and the irony is that the Fractal stuff is meant to be all about the deep dive, and I got better live tones in 20 mins out of this thing than in 9 years of trying with Kemper. I had some good stuff with the Kemper, but I've always maintained that it's a recording device first and a live tool second. 

If you're on the waiting list and you have the chance to get one, seriously consider it. 

kjdowd

Got mine yesterday. Really impressed so far. The form factor is good - very portable, seems fairly rugged and looks like it could stand up to a few gigs. Screen is good and readable and operation is pretty intuitive (to the point where I've been editing on the unit rather than using the editor). Sounds great (if you like the fractal stuff). What's not to like? Am very much looking forward to comparing it with the quad cortex...

three foot switches are a limitation and would take some reasonable careful gig planning but, that's said, using and swapping between the foot switch modes is very intuitive, as is scrolling across the footswitch 'pages', for want of a better word...