New Fractal FM9 floor unit - looks good!

Jonathanthomas83

firepaulmusic said:

Tried out my new patch based on a single amp (Shiva clean) plus modelled and analogue drive pedals at a gig last night. It was way more natural sounding without the jumps between amp types…

Can you talk us through how you're managing the gain staging? What kind of drives (in and out of the box) are you using? I'm assuming the amp is pure clean?

firepaulmusic

Jonathanthomas83 said:

firepaulmusic said:

Tried out my new patch based on a single amp (Shiva clean) plus modelled and analogue drive pedals at a gig last night. It was way more natural sounding without the jumps between amp types…

Can you talk us through how you're managing the gain staging? What kind of drives (in and out of the box) are you using? I'm assuming the amp is pure clean?

Shiva Clean through a 4x12 TV Mix 7. Zen Drive,   AT BB Preamp and Full OC. Amp 1 clean, Amp 2 Shiva Clean with more amp gain. Scenes with various OD pedal variations. Worked really well and felt like a more natural way to work. Outboard pedals are Thorpy Peacekeeper and Suhr Riot. Hardly touched either of these as the Fractal pedals were so good…

Jonathanthomas83

Thanks, I was keen to hear how much you used your actual pedals, so that's very encouraging to hear that it wasn't a lot! I'm positively blown away by my Axe FX III. It makes put a smile on my face every time I play through it.

Good to see how you've set up your staging, too. Mine's a clean Hiwatt with a RAT at the moment. I need to try and find an amp that suits me better, drive-wise, so that I can experiment with just using amp gain with pedals (ITB) for flavours. The drive block route is working fine right now though, can't fault it, and I agree, the Fractal algo's for drive pedals are super. Before I sold all my stuff to buy this, the 1981 DRV was top of my list of favourite pedals, I think the Fractal model of it is absolutely superb.

DavusPG

New beta firmware has been released for FM9 and this time we've got a new effect before the AxeFx3. Bosom Boost is based on the Friedman Buxom Boost I believe. Looking forward to trying the Paragon wah too:

Added new amp model: "59 Bassguy Reissue Jumped”.

Added new Drive effect model: "Bosom Boost".

Added new Wah effect model: "Paragon", based on Tycobrahe Parapedal.

AMP effect 'Input Dynamics' control is added.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/fm9-firmware-version-4-01-public-beta-1.190863/

fastonebaz

I was so close to buying one last year but I know that I'd find the 4 sounds I liked and constantly be depressed I'd spent £2k and was only using 4 of the 4000 tones analysis and thus I wasn't making the most of it. At least with my amp and pedalboard I only get 4 tonnes so don't have any choice unless I buy more stuff  

Oh god I still want one who am I kidding  

Jonathanthomas83

fastonebaz said:

I was so close to buying one last year but I know that I'd find the 4 sounds I liked and constantly be depressed I'd spent £2k and was only using 4 of the 4000 tones analysis and thus I wasn't making the most of it. At least with my amp and pedalboard I only get 4 tonnes so don't have any choice unless I buy more stuff  

Oh god I still want one who am I kidding

Honestly, at the end of last year, I got sick of the chase. Everything I'd invested in sounded nowhere near as good as I wanted it to sound and I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. I think what you've mentioned there is the point. You don't need the 4000 sounds it has in there, nobody does. You pick you favourite and run with it, like you would a real amp. Then you pick your favourite pedals and add them to the preset. Done. People overcomplicate these devices so much - and that's allowed, but there's no reason to feel guilty about it. Do you feel guilty that you spend 2-4k on ONE amp and a bunch of pedals...that perhaps, IMO, is more of a reason to feel guilty.

Me, I quite like the fact that on one preset I can have the entire setup I spent last year saving for and building...and consequently selling. And on another preset, I can have a set up I built three years ago! I can safely say that the Axe FX nails it all and I'm happy!

DavusPG

Yup, in the years I've been using Fractal stuff I've steadily simplified things to the point that I now use 1 amp almost exclusively - and that's fine so long as when I plug in I like what I'm hearing and it inspires me to play - which it does.

Add to that the huge selection of effects that are on tap if and when I want them, and the fact that say I have the urge to use an AC30, or a Mesa JP, or a 5150 and scores of other amps then they're already in the box, all of a sudden £2k seems a bargain.

Can honestly say that the fractal gear has been the biggest GAS killer for me. Only reason I swapped the 3 for the FM9 was portability. 

FarleyUK

The only negative I've found with any modeller, including Fractal, is the pitch shift and harmoniser. I've just purchased a Digitech Whammy DT to put in the signal chain of both my AFX3 and FM9 to overcome this. Kind of annoying, but hey-ho!

Nerine

The thing that I was always skeptical about when it came to modellers was "how accurate are they really" and how I would feel playing a "copy" or digital facsimile of a classic amp/or my rig. Could I convince myself that I would be happy with it, or would I hear the "fizz", the "digital-ness", being a staunch valve amp user prior. 

I took the plunge on the FM9 as a bit of an experiment to be honest. I wanted a giggable solution that was portable, sounded decent and took the stress out of setup and teardowns. 2/3 gigs per weekend with a load of travelling in between will do that to a man. 

The first time I plugged it in, I was quite impressed. Defo a step up from my previous modelling experiences, including the Kemper which I still owned at that point. This was through my studio monitors. 

I then had a mate come over with the monitor he uses for his live Kemper rig. I liked what I was beginning to hear through a good/large FRFR monitor. This improved the experience. Moving a bit more air.

I then started doing a lot of messing about and comparisons. I think I had to believe the unit was doing what it claimed. That for me was the key to accepting it into my world. Some of those things are detailed in this thread. 

The most recent was a shootout with a real Klon Centaur into a Two Rock Custom Reverb Sig. An amp that would likely show up any deficiencies in the model against the real thing. It was indistinguishable. Everyone in the room agreed. 

I have also previously "replaced" the preamp in my Small Box with the digital version in the FM9 run straight into the fx return, and again, I couldn't tell a difference in tone or feel when playing through the modelled preamp and real power amp and cab. I should also add that I was actively trying to find differences, deficiencies, harshness, "digital-ness" etc. 

I've not found any limitations as far as the modelling goes. So now I feel I can trust it. I know it's doing what it claims. I know I can't tell a difference between the models and the real life counterparts. 

How's it been working live? I love it. The Yamaha DXR10 MkII I monitor through is superb. It's loud, gobs of low end etc. The experience of playing it live is great. I get a real kick out of engaging some of my more effected scenes and the audiences being slightly baffled with how the sounds are being created etc. I don't miss the "amp in the room" or "amp behind me" thing. In fact, I would even go as far to say that's not even really too much of a thing and is used as a excuse to not get into the "daunting" world of modelling. I used to use very loud amps behind me and still sometimes struggled to hear what I was doing due to logistical setup issues, or other band members. Now? Nope. I can always hear myself fine, I get loads of brute force coming back at me through the monitor, and I can have it as loud as I like without spoiling the experience for the crowd. I can coax feedback. I can do everything I could with my analogue rig. It's just as satisfying, if not more so. 


Fast forward to today. Yesterday, for shits and giggles and another experiment, I decided to put my Murphy R9 Les Paul to the test and build a rig based on one of Bonamassa's (one of my favourite players) rigs. So, wide open Silver Jubilee and then some Dumbles mixed in that you can switch in and out, as Joe did live - or at least a variation thereof. Add a big plate, and some Leslie, bit of fuzz here and there etc. Couple of big Dumble and Marshall 4x12's with EV speakers in them loaded up. It's just sublime, and is the closest I have ever gotten to capturing his live sound I've heard on record so much. Once I'm done with the preset, I'm going to make it available for people on Axechange to check out. The point being is that it was totally inspiring and sounded so "right".

What's next? Well, I have no GAS other than for perhaps another DXR10 so I can build rigs in stereo and make them sound even huger. I'm considering offing my Small Box and some other stuff that I feel could become redundant. 
I've never had so many Eureka moments with a piece of gear as this. It's as complex or simple as you want it to be. The editor is incredible, the sounds are amazing, the effects are ridiculous, the switching is hugely flexible.

I think it's a huge upgrade to my previous analogue rig in terms of flexibility, FOH sound, portability etc. 

It actually makes my analogue rig feel very limited in comparison whenever I plug into that nowadays. Which is becoming rarer and rarer. It's also loads better for practice, I'm not burning through valves or power (defo a consideration nowadays), there's very little to go wrong, etc. 

I was very wary at first and very skeptical as I've mentioned, but now I've gotten acquainted with it, I feel like it's a massive leap forward. It makes my valve amp feel archaic and old fashioned. It's inspiring. It makes me want to play. I can have any amp I want. I can have any pedal I want. I can create any sound I want. ALL with the qualification that I know the sounds are legit and what I am hearing is as close as I'm going to get to ever owning multiple £5k+ rigs for any style that I could possibly imagine. 

That's not a lot to dislike... 

  

Jonathanthomas83

I agree, wholeheartedly. I think the key for me was that bit you mention about acceptance that it's not an inferior clone/mimic. It basically captures the nuances I loved about my old JCM 800 and Dual Rectifier and the DRV as I mention above. I've never really had that with modellers before now and have always been left wondering if I could do better. I don't feel like that any more. That's worth its weight in gold as far as I'm concerned.  

mrkb

That new Busom Boost has a great way of tightening/reducing low bassiness.

firepaulmusic

Does anyone know of a list that shows the overdrive pedals that the Fractal ones are based on e.g. Clone Chiron = Klon Centaur?

DavusPG

firepaulmusic said:

Does anyone know of a list that shows the overdrive pedals that the Fractal ones are based on e.g. Clone Chiron = Klon Centaur?

The Fractal Wiki will answer this and so much more:

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Drive_block

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Axe-Fx_II_Wiki_Home

firepaulmusic

DavusPG said:

firepaulmusic said:

Does anyone know of a list that shows the overdrive pedals that the Fractal ones are based on e.g. Clone Chiron = Klon Centaur?

The Fractal Wiki will answer this and so much more:

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Drive_block

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Axe-Fx_II_Wiki_Home

Cheers, exactly what I wanted…

DavusPG

An interesting watch. Relatively simple setup and some nice sounds. The AC20 has never really been on my radar but will give it a crack having seen this

firepaulmusic

DavusPG said:

An interesting watch. Relatively simple setup and some nice sounds. The AC20 has never really been on my radar but will give it a crack having seen this

In part two he goes into detail about the patch. I tried to replicate it and it came out great. His tip about using the same cab IR for the whole patch for sonic continuity makes total sense…

Roland

Cooper Carter uses the same pair of IRs for the whole gig. Leon Todd does the same. 

Nerine

Roland said:

Cooper Carter uses the same pair of IRs for the whole gig. Leon Todd does the same. 

I also do the same. The IR change is more jarring than changing the amp, IMO. I’m a nobody, in relative terms, though. 

firepaulmusic

Nerine said:

Roland said:

Cooper Carter uses the same pair of IRs for the whole gig. Leon Todd does the same. 

I also do the same. The IR change is more jarring than changing the amp, IMO. I’m a nobody, in relative terms, though. 

Your opinion is as valid as anyone else…

mrkb

Huge firmware update released for beta tests - gapless switching and loads of amp and effects updates -

(1) FM9 Firmware Version 6.00 public beta (1) | Fractal Audio Systems Forum