🤘

Uh oh, we found the b-hurt comment of the day.

Stop being such a hurt fanboy bro

What he said ;-)

@@brians4451 Cultists don't like it when someone leaves.

Yeah when I see people putting together pedalboards with preamp and fx pedals I just think of the logistical nightmare vs having an FM3/FM9 or Helix etc... costs, effort and redundancies stack up... rather just a single modeller at that point.

Agreed. This was my reaction. His argument makes a lot of sense if the use is primarily for recording. As someone who mostly focuses on live playing, I’ll almost certainly never go another route. The consistency of tone and performance is just too good.

Hard to argue with how straight forward a setup that is, so handy!

Yeah for live it completely makes sense, would be my goto out of all the units even the fm9

Before getting my fm9 i thought the sounds would be the most convincing for me, but after replacing every piece of physical gear except my guitar, this thing solved nearly everything. No more worries about patchcables going bad on the pedalboard, connectors breaking and causing buzzing, no more pedals breaking and needing a replacement. No more writing knob-positions on pieces of tape to keep the sounds. No more tweaking stuff between songs. I could've gotten the same with any other modeler (kemper, neural QC, helix, ...) but the flexibility of this thing, and the support you get from the community is unmatched.

I am thinking about buying the FM3 (I currently own the HX Stomp and Native and I am super happy with the UI) because I really would like to have more amps than the HX stomp gives me. There are some oppurtinities nowadays -> the new Mooer GE 1000? Tonex? as an alternative. How many high-gain amps are available as stock in the tonex? Do you think it sounds at least as good as the FM3? In addition I have to say, I need the unit only for recording. Can you use the Tonex pedal as an interface? What would you recommend?

@@scentia_est Tonex sounds better than FM3, but remember.. it's capture technology.. ability to tweak the tones is limited. Digital modelling is inferior but you can tweak and tweak and tweak.

Glad it was helpful!

The same points stand for the axefx3. FM3 is great for live use

I’m definitely a fractal fanboy at heart. It would be amazing if they brought out their stuff as a plugin suite. I’m still on the fence about picking up an axe3 or just holding out and grabbing an axe4, it’s all wants and not needs so we’ll see how the year pans out. If they do announce a 4 I’ll happily grab it on launch cause I only it’ll be supported for 10+ years

​@@ampspedalspickups for sure, a pluginsuite would be incredible i think an fx3 would potentially put you currently in the same boat as now with regards to routing/reamping/cabling etc.. but it's a 'quicker' reamp if that makes sense, depending on how much difference you perceive or see between using the real amps and plugins/modelling for tones, it could be an idea, the non turbo units mk1 are priced quite decently, from what i've seen, and selling the amps you might still own i just kept my vht deliverance, bought a suhr reactive load for doing reamping if/when, and also for my youtube videos , when i'll try different amps i'd also grab a 4 on launch (or at least the FM4 if/when) that being said i've dialed my main preset in to a such an extent, not sure what can really be improved outside of resolution/nuance within the amp model/tone , that was the biggest upgrade for me going from an ax8 which i didn't keep too long to an FM3

Is this a universal audio workflow thing? I have been looking for a similar solution to what you've described.

@@robertpatenit can be any interface with a Loopback channel.

yeah the fractal stuff is pretty crazy, if I could only have one piece of processing I would also grab an axe3. But once I started putting funds into analog routings/reamps/amps/pedals it started to be less and less relevant to have a digital amp... but as a one stop shop its crazy good. Even with all of this I still flip flop back and forth on getting an axe3.... if they announce an axe4 I'll preorder one no question and just keep it for the lifetime but right now for top dollar its a bit hard (especially when i'm still acquiring other gear)

I got to have hardware! there's just something about flipping a switch on and you know those sweet metal lead tones are right there at your disposal. And I can take my pedal board with my on the go. Software sims just seem like audio slavery to me based on ease of use only to control you in the end, AI with the end user being the addicted junky! As they'll probably get everyone hooked on them and then jack the price up to use them, that's what I see coming. I think this guy to me is an studio engineer/musician where its more important he be able to tweak with different tones with his dry signal. I use my HX Stomp as FX ONLY and chain a cheap Zoom G1on into it dramatically increasing power and lowering latency with a dedicated DSP one for amp & cabs, booster and noise gate and the other for audio interface and its FX. Plus I get a 44.1 to 48khz sampling rate conversion 1.5- 2ms latency. All I need is 1 killer metal lead tone, I use it for everything! For blues I back off gain, for ballads I back off gain slightly for neo-classical metal I crank it to 10! Revo-1 Krank amp all the way!

Part of me wants to hoard every single digital unit from old zoom pedals through to the modern stuff, I appreciate it all. Kempers are a steal on the second hand market atm and I want to get my hands on the liquid stuff (might borrow one off a friend). I’m hoping all the big hardware guys start offering vst options of their sims that will truly open up the hybrid options!

If you think about it, since Kemper was released in 2011, they have been constantly updating and improving the software, it has gotten better and better without they wanted to sell me a Kemper 2-3-4 every couple of years. :) I agree with what you said about the reamp, although now with Kemper's USB audio function, this is easier. I haven't tried it yet. Anyway, thanks for your recent "Peavey 6505+ vs STL Amphub 6505+" video. I have a couple of STL plugins (Tonality stuff) however this subscription thing (AmpHub) is not my world but I liked the 6505+ sound so much that I bought a couple of individual amps. 👍

@@80s_kid wait til you see what I got in store for September 🤜🤛

If you want to really nerd out over this stuff I'd suggest joining the Discord server in the link cause theres some guys on there which know more than me about this stuff. But I think the main questions are how are you using this stuff, just on headphones/speakers or are you comparing some kind of "in the room sound" on the amp vs the sims? I know exactly what you mean there seems to be this untouchable quality that a real amp has. The weird thing is I'll try an amp sim for a while and it sounds "fine"... then I'll try the real amp version and then im like "there it is, thats the sound". But then I'll do a comparison and I can barely tell the comparison apart so its like what is the difference? I've also heard some people say the immediacy of using an amp where there is 0 lag (speed of sound lag) vs even 8-20ms delay using digital, apparently even that small delay is enough to throw some people off. It's highly possible that when all sounds are equal something like this delay is one of the x factors of why something feels different. Back to amp sim vs amp... if money and space wasnt an issue even if I had a wall of amps here I would still use the amp sims first to write music because it just makes more sense. If I was crafting some kind of unique tone with some chorus/delay etc I would ideally have a baller pedal board and I'd use an amp to mess around. I'd then probably digitally recrate that because those effects are just better synced in the DAW than trying to track real time effects. Once I'm done tracking I would then reamp everything through real amps. There are times where I just wanna play guitar and firing up an amp just has a great feel so its almost like productivity I'm taking amp sims, feel and vibe i'm going amps... what a problem to have :)

Yeah, all the tech is impressive and I genuinely think fractal has the most accurate modelling with absolutely everything you could ever want, but something about the warts and all approach means it can take more time to get stuff going… and if you try and do things directly on the unit then yikes. I’ve been watching some vids on the quad cortex and tonemaster pro and they’re dead easy to dial in. I’m certain the modelling is nowhere near as good as fractal but if it gets you going in no time and sounds good enough then there’s enough merit there…. And yeah the fractal pricing in Australia is crazy

Yeah I feel exactly the same way, hopefully they do it!

Yeah I did a video on dynacabs, it’s a really great addition but there’s also software solutions doing the same thing like “mikko2”. It’s crazy the amount of stuff Cliff keeps adding into these units, such a legend

Pretty much identical to my thoughts as well. Depending what they do I'd even be more inclined to grab the rack unit cause I have a rack setup here now and the routing limitations on the FM3 definitely contributed towards it being a bit of a sore thumb when it came to workflow.

An honest opinion is what it’s called 🤘

Ive almost irrationally purchased a QC, TMP and other digital units for the same reasons :) I say to my friends if I wasnt doing this channel or I was regularly gigging again, I'd just have a modeller and maybe 1-3 pedals to accompany it and it's all you ever need. So much of this stuff is just candy, it's insanely irrational to own all this stuff.... but here we are looking at it constantly :) I've bought and sold a few amps in the last couple of years and sometimes I didn't give them the time they deserve... so I'm going to be doing some regular videos grabbing random combos of gear here, dialling in some tones and then sharing NAM captures (and other platforms). I figure why not have a mess around day and share the files around. Current amps here are a Marshall TSL 100 / Peavey 6505+ / EVH 5150 50w / ENGL Fireball 60 / Mesa Triple Rect 150w I've acquired like 20 pedals so a bunch to checkout and mess around with!

I started recording in the early 2000's and all I had was a Pod XT Live. With this unit i recorded a ton of songs and never thought about buying new stuff. After a break of some years I recognized there was a huge leap in technology. This was also the starting point I noticed, nothing I own is good enough for me. The result is you are never satisfied even with the most expensive stuff. Irrational is the right word, I couldn't describe it in a better way.

Yeah it’s pretty straight forward to get up and running and if you ever have problems there’s endless workarounds and customisations available, highly recommend

Yeah there’s some really good points there. I guess for me the fm3 tones OR amp sims are a first wave placeholder. From there I can either massaging them into a quick mix or reamp through the amps and pedals I have here. So if I was chasing a quick mix I can alter the amp sim super quickly or if I’m after max quality then I’ll go through the reamping process with real amps and pedals. If fractal had some sort of vst host it would really tip the scales in that direction for me again cause everything else the fm3 does it top notch and hasn’t been matched by amp sims yet

@@chopholtz4950 I’d originally planned to do 30 videos in 30 days but that was just way too intense I might plan it better for next year. I had the s gear stuff on my hit list, softube and a few others that I didn’t get around to here. I’ll still probably do a video on it but I’ll try and give amp sims a break for a bit, got a bunch of pedals and amps to look at 💪

The fractal modelling is truly best in class... the problem is the gap has significantly closed (and will continue to do so). So the reasons to get one are smaller and smaller as time passes. I'm sure I'll pick up their units over and over again its just the nature of the beast there's always a bigger better thing. But yeah for the average/seasoned person a decent computer, interface and DI is all you need to have world class recordings at your fingertips.

Logic Pro is a DAW. How does it "run circles around the Fractal unit"? The FM3 is a portable unit. I can carry it with two fingers from my bedroom to my living room to my car to my cabin to a gig, etc. VSTi plugins in a DAW still sound crappy. It works for a band like NIN because the industrial sound works with that broken tone. A band like Polyphia uses plugins, and has some of the worst single coil tones I've ever heard, if they switched to Fractal their tone would be amazing.

@@NytronX You're comparing the portability/versatility of two very different things. Read my comment again. I made it clear I was not gigging. But you do realise they are BOTH software based, right? I was speaking about the DI experience, and that's where you CAN compare the two. It's the software. VST, Plugins, doesn't matter. What matters is the way they are executed and used. While I think "most" players will get the better performance out of a Fractal (over a DAW), it's because most players haven't invested heavily in high end recording gear. But even in terms of processing alone, an M2 or M3 chip crushes the DSP in a fractal. A really good recording interface and/or outboard gear has noticeably lower latency compared to a Fractal and further reduces processing in the main chipset. Then there is the whole visual interface- I'd clearly prefer the fast and gorgeous graphical views of the Logic Pro X guitar amps on a 36" screen over the primitive dos looking interface of the Fractal editing software. As long as it is supported, I can import any and all plugins from any manufacture I want into Logic Pro. And if you think all plugins suck, you haven't spent much time in a high end recording studio lately, nor have you explored any truly great plugins that function PROPERLY because you have the headroom and SNR to do it. You also have to have developed some skill in setting it all up properly- it has taken me YEARS to learn how to get the best guitar tones from the box, and I have learned a lot from other engineers. You can get decent tone out of a fractal with the push of button in a matter of minutes and if you don't know what's possible in recording technology and software, and if you have entry level equipment, you might be reaching a conclusion similar to the one you have.

@@michaeltravis3562 I don't gig either. The Fractal is far more versatile for reasons mentioned in my previous post. Using your method, you are beholden to plugins, which don't even make use of the mega-horsepower of Apple Silicon. Regarding the UI, Axe Edit/FM3 Edit is a joy to use on my 36" monitor, the user interface is as good as the best DAWs out there. I came from (and still have) Ableton Live, Roland Octa-Capture, with AmpliTube, BIAS FX, and Guitar Rig. Fractal blows it out of the water. I am also able to play a lot of regularly now, because I don't have to boot into my computer just to be able to play. For example, I can rip Stairway to Heaven during lulls in meetings while working from home. Can't do that if I need to boot into another machine, because my work PC is using that monitor.

@@michaeltravis3562what are your recommendations for great tone in the box with plugins? I’m considering that as an alternative and would be great to learn more as I have a few Neural plugins. Thanks!

This is actually one of the most legitimate points to having a hardware modeller! I’m used to the mild 8-12ms or whatever is added but some amp sims that chew up a bit more it can throw me off I know tube guys who just can’t adjust to the most micro of delay so that’s a super valid point. I guess the reamping trade off there is worthwhile if you’re gonna get a better performance from the guitarist in the end

For me, the issue of latency is an “everytime I launch it” thing. For all of neural’s plugins, I have to adjust the sample rate, then adjust it, then switch it back and the latency goes back down. It’s stupid.

It's why such few people choose vst for live performance. It's just dumb and then you got an OS to deal with behind it. I have all the things mentioned in the video. And vst will not be coming with me to gigs.

@@azzazelo yeah... I know there's a few "pioneers" running NAM pc rigs live (little computers or tablets)... Just not my vibe at all. A modeller/poweramp solution or Amp Setup/Pedalboard is the way to go for me as well

Yeah the fractal stuff is not super "tweak on the fly" friendly... especially in a time sensitive setting like "you have 2 minutes before you play" haha.

I guess it’s all situational. I’ve got an RME which is hardly a generic interface. I’m also running a dedicated DI/reamp box which helps with getting a crisp DI then that signal goes through the RME which is very decent/good in the interface world. From an AD/DA point of view I’m sure this surpasses the fm3 but to be honest even low mid to mid grade audio devices now are all great so it’s kind of a moot point. Then you look at the processing, at the end of the day the fm3 stuff is just algorithms and modelling just like a plugin it’s all code. Yes the fractal stuff is great but sims have come a long way and the gap between them can be small/non existent. I’d say where the fractal shines is the amount of tweaking that can be done. But if you pull up a great sounding 5150 sim it’s not like the fractal will be “better”. It will have more flexibility in mangling it but that doesn’t equate to more fidelity or anything it’s just flexible The purpose built thing makes sense if you’re gigging, I wouldn’t use sims and a pc for gigging so yeah the fm3 is far superior for that setup. But like I said in the video with the fm3 or any hardware modeller you need to reamp tones in real time vs plugins which can be tweaked on the fly I love the fractal stuff but I basically went from having an fm3 only to a bunch of amps, pedals for analog recordings as well as a bunch of plugins which sound indistinguishable from the fm3 in a recording (and is easier and faster to work with). So the reason to hold onto the fm3 was hard to rationalise

Yeah I feel that for sure. A couple pedals to try and cobble something together and you’re almost at the price of an fm3, it’s pretty crazy I’ve been eyeing down an axe3 for similar reasons so never say never

@@ampspedalspickups 100% about the price. Also, assuming I don't wait for end-of-year sales, the cost of, say, 5 Neural plug-ins is not insignificant and I need to factor in the cost of the computer I'm using. In any event, best time ever to be a guitarist.

Its all in the video but it basically boils down to if I want to use a digital amp then an amp sim via VST in the daw is quicker and easier because you can change the tone on the fly. 90% of the time I would never dial in an FM3 amp sound that fit as perfectly as I'd like in the mix so it meant reamping the DI back into the FM3 which added time to the process. It also meant I was constantly recording DI + Wet into the DAW whereas if I'm using an amp sim its DI only (nothing major but less tracks is neater). If I'm going to reamp things I have now built up my collection to have real amps and a loadbox, so there's joy in that process. When all I had was the FM3 its a super capable unit and I still love it, but once you have a bunch of amp sims and a bunch of real gear it just puts the FM3 square in the middle of things, its like the worst parts of analog recording and digital recording from a workflow point of view. This can also be said for the kemper / quad cortex / any digital unit. I'm hoping Fractal will have SOME kind of vst intgeration even if it needs to be paired with hardware... if that happens I'm grabbing their stuff in an instant, love it

Still my fav hardware pedals/units on the market, top tier stuff!

@@ampspedalspickups people want a one thing only and sell all of the gear they have to get it. Keep a good amp, in my case kept my JVM, Jubillee and BE-100 knowing the FM3 is an option, got a Headrush 112 for it again knowing for home use, gigs that come up quick with five bands on the bill , or any need for an amazing sounding and light rig. It is invaluable.

Digital is digital, some is better than others sure but if I’m going to go through the full process I’d rather use real amps. For everyday recording vsts are just a lot more convenient. Digital units are perfect for live use but for studio I just find them in between worlds. I still love the fractal stuff and I’ll be the first one to preorder an axe4, but for now I just wasn’t using it because of the reasons I mentioned

Yeah this is pretty much utopia for a recording/studio setup. The only reason I’d currently own a floor unit is if I needed to gig or have a portable rig. The combo of amp sims and real amps is top tier

A plugin basically, can be tweaked in real time etc

Tons of solid info here, you really get perspective from actually using the stuff! Yeah the new kemper one is puzzling. I hear they used the same processor as the other Kempers for ease of cross use. Apparently they’re going to offer things with a paid unlock as well as a secondary unit to bolt on profiling capabilities, all a bit strange. I kind of go in circles from analog gear rules, digital hardware rules, amp sims are more convenient and also rule… there are just so many options/solutions out there now. I’ve been soul searching on this topic for a month or two and I think I might end up picking up all the latest modellers and keep upto date with firmwares and comparisons And yeah if I was gigging or rehearsing the fm3 is a no brainer. It’s funny seeing “sleek” pedalboards with multiple Strymons and other things, they stack up to 2-3x the cost and more headache with running a board. In that aspect the fm3 is a pretty nuts offering

@@ampspedalspickups I think the worst thing with the new kemper is the price. $200 more bucks and you can buy an FM3 and have a mountain more capabilities. Yeah it's not as small but you'd need a lot more space consumed to equal the FM3's offerings. Anecdotal rant: Funny you mention sleek boards as I just sort of finished a somewhat failed experiment attempt to replace the FM3 with more analog gear. I had a Friedman IR-X for the amp (since I really only use a friedman in the FM3) along with the strymon cloudburst and Dig and an Eventide Tricerachorus. Absolutely killer tone but problem #1 is that with the other pedals I have to have (Wah, Volume and some kind of drive/boost pedal), my board wasn't big enough so I'd have been looking at another expense for a bigger board and case but the bigger problem is that I'm also moving from using an FRFR behind me to my Mako amplification 1x12 cab and the duncan powerstage 200 amp. IMO that just sounds so much more natural hearing a guitar sound coming from a guitar speaker and the footprint on stage is the same. This presented a new challenge in that I needed a signal without cab sim being sent to the powerstage. I used the IR-X effects loop for the 3 effects pedals and since they're all stereo I was able to send one signal from the chorus pedal to the powerstage and the other signal back into the FX return of the IR-X. I thought that would do the trick but the nail in the IR-X's coffin finally reared it's head in the form of a REALLY bad sounding preamp tone. It just flat out sucks which really surprised me becuase the sound with the pedal's built in IR's sounds SO good. No amount of EQ tweaking on the powerstage could fix it. Thinking maybe my ears were messing with me, I did the same preamp-only test with the FM3, the Stomp HX and my Silver Jubilee and all 3 of those sounded fantastic. It was a serious bummer because the IR-X feels and sounds like a real tube amp and produces some stellar tones IF you are using it's main output with the IR's. Sure I could just stick to using an FRFR behind me and everything would be fine but the sound quality difference (IMO) in terms of sounding, feeling, behaving like a real amp are more so with a real guitar cab and decent power amp than with an FRFR. With the FM3, I just send output 2 to the powerstage before the IR block and I'm done. It was 3 clicks in the software to achieve what several hours of frustration with cables and stuff took with the other pedals and even after A/B'ing the IRX with the FM3 using a splitter pedal to really try and pick apart the sounds, I was able to tweak the FM3 to get "close enough" to the IRX that I didn't have any hesitation hitting the refund button on amazon for the IRX. If nothing else, the pedal helped me fine tune my patch LOL. After having this discussion with a couple other guitar friends, apparently now they're taking it as a "well have you tried this or that..." other products to try and see if they can dethrone the FM3 but man... simplicity wins for me. Maaaaybe a quad cortex later down the line when they have more of their desktop plugins integrated but I still feel like I'd be paying nearly 2 grand for a lateral move. /end rant

Haha man that does not sound fun. I really like simplicity and sometimes 1 or 2 pedals into an amp IS the simplicity... and other times an FM3 or single device modeller is the simplicity. If I look at the pedals I have here to build a live rig I'd go GTR --> TC Sentry Gate --> TubeScreamer --> Preamp Pedal --> --> one way FOH / other way poweramp/cab Sentry - $120 JHS Bonsai - $250 Fire & Sword - $250 TC IR Loader - $130 For an absolute barebones "top tier" tone youre looking at $750 in pedals alone, and thats no effects or alternates or really boutique pedals (ok the Bonsai is expensive you can go cheaper of course)... plus the board/power/cables and you're at the cost of an FM3 easy... plus failure etc. I'm totally on board with an FM3 for live use. I was so close to keeping mine and if I'd even used it 10 times a year outside of the studio I would have kept it just for that. My ideal gigging rig would be FM3 + Duncan Powerstage (or Orange Pedal Baby) + 2x12 Apparently Friedman are looking at releasing some poweramps for this kind of setup this year... I might end up grabbing something... or you know, add it to the never ending wishlist of stuff to try out.

Except at 09:50 where I did mention it 😉

😂😂😂

It’s all in the video but the quality of sims is great these days and they can be tweaked in real time. If I’m going to the effort of reamping I might as well use my amps pedals and loadbox not a digital unit. No knock on the unit at all I’ve just amassed analog gear so for my “digital” solution sims are quicker, workflow is a lot better

fractal aussi reamp en temp reel@@ampspedalspickups

Yeah for live use the fractal units would be my goto as well. I’ve been running modellers through the power section of a 5150iii into a cab and it’s great. We have so many options these days it’s pretty amazing

Most modern punk/metal players would be happy with a 5150 tone (6505/5150iii), they really did nail that one. I think its a combo of trying to stay relevant/upto date and how much different can a guitar tone be 50-60-70 years later. A lot more experimentation with amps and fx... kind of seen a lot of it done now / harder to sound unique and good at the same time. I'm all for it though!

Hahaha what are the chances like exact setup 😂. Nah mines fine, I have it set to 13dbu on 0 gain with instrument checked and passives are fine (even when chugging crazy). You can try 19dbu and it should knock it down a bit. Worst case from there you can uncheck instrument in rme total mix and it should go down even more. Very strange it’s that loud for you in the first place

@@ampspedalspickups I'am on the +19 dbu mode already. I posted that issue on Rme forum. But didnt get any good solution. Btw i also have mesa 4x12 and peavey invective. My invective crushing any other amps in the mix even Stealth. But u have to spend some time to dial that amp. It's very tricky cos of that master boost knob, post gain knob etc. Thx for the answer Bro!

@@thanos4480 I low key want an invective, stealth 100, el34 100. It’s so irrational but the lineup is just too good. I’m in the process of moving house and will be back up and running in a week or so but man… moving with a bunch of amps and audio stuff is not a great time

It’s more that amp sims have gotten a lot better than they were many many moons ago. Pair that with being way more convenient in a recording environment so the balance of it all has shifted against these units a fair bit. Nothing has changed from a standalone unit point of view they are truly amazing, but you can’t ignore how good the rest of the guitar options are getting (and for a fraction of the price).

@@ampspedalspickups If you only want a few VSTs, then yes. But this is comparing an apple to a truckload of oranges. Buying the equivalent to match the number of amps in the FM3 would cost a considerable amount. I'm getting away from amps because of the exorbitant amounts of cash, and they're going up almost monthly. One amp head is an easy $2-4000 new, and used Mesa Boogies are getting pricey. I sold my Mesa recently because I am using VSTs for recording and playing. But then I don't go jam anywhere and recording a 50/100 watt amp in your basement isn't really the most neighbour friendly thing. Then once you start looking at boutique pedals it really starts piling up. At $300 or more per unit, or something like the Boss SDE-3000EVH at $600 US, you're well on your way to a FM-3 or FM-9. That's without getting into any kind of switching for your pedals. It's literally a cost saving measure if you look at it that way. Buying multiple amp heads and a wall of pedals is far far more expensive.

​@@sunnibird Yeah I guess I've broken things down into 2 main categories for noodling at home and recording, Analog and Digital ironically. If I want to use a digital ampsim, cab, delay/reverb/any effect then all of that is covered in something like Amphub and other software. Everything I was doing in the FM3 I can do in the box... but faster every single time. The only drawback is that Fractal has all the options under the sun but I would only reach to those when I was messing around or in very very few situations where I was reamping and something wasnt sounding right so I had to dig in and do some transformer changes etc. I have no doubt that Cliffs modelling of a 5153 is infinitely more accurate than the 40 x 5150 amp sims out there... but accuracy doesnt equate to good recorded tone imo. If the amp sim can give you good recorded tone then what else do you need? So I get the whole argument of well the FM3 is the price of one amp and it has hundreds inside, but I'd counter argue and say that an amp sim is 1/20th the cost of the FM3, can give you the same "end results" and is quicker and easier to use. Like I said in the video, I wish in some way shape or form they'd offer all their tech in a vst or some kind of plugin format even if its coupled to the hardware, that would be the best of both worlds. Either way I'm going to be gassing for the axe4 when it launches. I've owned the last 2 gens of Fractal products and am still a fanboy at heart, but the productivity of amp sims atm is just a superior workflow. All the analog stuff is nice to haves and totally a luxury, they come and go at a much slower pace :)

I think Cliff said he wouldn't do a plugin version due to piracy. I love all my Fractal gear but I also love my tube amps. Get a Two-Rock amp. You will not be disappointed

I know but there’s gotta be hope 😂 He also said he wouldn’t do profiling but I highly suspect the next iteration will have it, and it will be better than others but that’s a tale for another time

I said in the video that amassing gear bit by bit is half the reason I sold it. Amps, Pedals, Loadboxes, Reamp, DI and of course an interface. Yeah the fm3 or any of them work insanely well as a one stop shop solution but when you spend thousands on the rest of the setup it starts to make less and less sense (which is what the video is about basically). I still rank Fractal as the top hardware modelling solution, and you know I'll be on the axefx4 preorder list 😆

Lol that’s amazing. I knew it sounded kind of rough but didn’t realise they admitted it. Hopefully it’s a lot better with an update cause it wasn’t great in the demos I heard

I still think it’s one of the best / most authentic modeller out there. But if the result you’re getting from all the other ones leaves you lacking then you’ll probably have the same with this. If you can try someone else’s it’s always the best way to give it a go without buying

Yeah that’s awesome. There are endless solutions out there these days and when you find something you massively gel with it’s just awesome

Yeah for gigging it makes way more sense than studio use only. If I'd have picked up the axe3 when it launched I probably would still have it but the fm3 filled a hole in my studio but then I sort of outgrew it. I'm hoping Cliff has some aces up his sleeve for an axe4, will definitely be keen to grab one again.

Yeah for sure! I said in the video this is all about studio use, live is a whole other beast

The AxeFX and AxeFX2 picked up popularity from Misha and a bunch of other people as being serious studio tools as well as live units. The FM3 has 95% of what's in the AxeFx3 so it's kind of a no brainer studio/live tool, makes sense to be used heavily in both settings. But yeah amp sims are just more convenient for studio use and they've come a long long way. For strictly live use of course the FM3 is a fantastic unit but the tide has risen for studio options so it just became less appealing. I say all this but I still look at the AxeFX3 :). The I/O makes it more of a hub in a studio so there might be a redemption arc here.

It’s like a double edged sword. Profiling can get the exact sound at the exact settings and does a “perfect” job. But if you’re trying to pull a new sound then flicking through things is painful I personally like “models” when creating a tone, but I use profiling to “archive” a tone or a piece of gear I get to try out. The end game solution for me would be some piece of technology that basically dials in your “models” to sound exactly like the profile, and then you have all the freedom to move the knobs around after the fact. That’s basically how the kemper works there’s baked in models under the hood and the capture chooses the best one then slams a bunch of eq after it to match the tone

@@ampspedalspickups I thought that’s what liquid profiling was supposed to solve, but again, I’m new to this.

@@thisguy2973 “kind of” would be my answer. On face value kemper just does a profile of an amp and then once captured the controls were generic eq curves, saturation etc. So with liquid you still do a capture but then tell it what settings you did. So all the eq and saturation controls “should” be modelled. There’s still some levels of interpretation with how accurate the capture is to start, does the user input the right settings, and lastly how good is their modelling? Its a great system but too many fragments If the modeller can just hear my sample audio and make a preset for me with insanely high accuracy, that’s utopia

As far as I could see running 2 interfaces at once in windows had its fair share of problems so people just use one or the other. If I only used one interface at a time I'd need to switch my speaker monitors between the two, or buy a switch which has its own problems. I have a full reamp setup here anyway so there's not really a benefit using the FM3 as the interface for reamping, I can just use analog and its fine. For me my computer is always on, firing up reaper and an amp sim takes like 10 seconds so its not a big deal getting that going, horses for courses I guess. Yeah fractal definitely still has that special sauce over every other modeller (software or hardware). I'll definitely be incorporating the inevitable axefx4 into my setup here. Its just hard to justify an axefx3 when I have so much digital and analog gear around here but never say never. If I'd bought the axe3 I would have kept it for all the I/O and a few other things... the FM3 just was in a weird spot. If I was doing any sort of jamming or gigging I would have kept it around but it kind of just didnt make sense. There's still days I miss it but eh, gear comes and goes... great unit!

@@ampspedalspickups there a many ways to skin a cat. I just don’t think it’s fair to knock the fm3 because of specific “needs”. Reamping isn’t for everyone but it’s a lot simpler than you described with the fm3. It’s all about your workflow. In fact, if you wanted to put fractal modeling in your studio and not dish out axefx3 money, it’s completely reasonable to buy an fm3, wire it up for reamping and hide it in a drawer.

There's no way to magically make the reamping setup easier... you can digital reamp which isn't viable for me because I already use a different interface and hopping ports isn't a solution / getting a switcher isnt a good solution for me either. It's still reamping in real time like an amp and if im going to reamp in real time then I'll just real amps. When I use digital stuff I would ideally like the instant nature of a vst. Pair all that with the fm3 had limited I/O for the studio, no impedence options on the inputs, it was noisy for 4cm setups compared to the fm9 and axe3 and I could also sell it at a time that I didnt lose any money after owning it for 2+ years. If I was gigging and wanted a beast tone machine then the FM3 is the way to go but for what I'm doing around here it just didn't make sense because I already have a good analog setup with amps as well as endless amp sims in vst, it always kind of sat in the middle. One of the best things on the FM3 was trying out the new firmware and I'd rather get an axe3 because it obviously gets flagship firmware updates, has more ports, better for 4cm and more horsepower for things like dual amps, and also it has the tone match block that the FM3 didnt have. The FM3 is great but it didnt work for me and I shared a video about it, not sure whats hard to understand haha. If it works for you then great.

The fractal stuff is just so open ended there's really no boundaries IMO. If you want something extra punchy, smooth etc etc its all in there so yeah I agree you can land yourself in a better position than plugins. Yeah if you're using it live or rehearsing with it as well then absolutely no reason to sell. When I got the fm3 it was basically my one stop shop for tones... but as I grabbed a loadbox, pedals, amps, DI unit etc etc it just became "another piece of gear". People seem to think that I've simply replaced the fm3 with a $10 amp sim... when the truth is it took 5x the cost of the FM3 with all that other gear to make me go... you know what, I cant justify having the fractal when I have so much invested in all of this other analog gear haha. I'll definitely be eyeing down the axefx4 whenever it drops, still my favourite hardware units on the market! Also sick tones and playing, solid stuff!

@@ampspedalspickups I hear that! I don't blame you, especially with the economy we have right now 🙄lol. I had to sell a few pedals and my epiphone sheraton 2 pro to get the pc and modeler I wanted for recording. Now I REALLY miss them lol. It's all bittersweet I guess unless you're rolling in the dough haha. Thanks man! 😎

I have been a fractal user since 2013,i own the Axe 3,QC and Kemper Stage,fractal make great units but for me QC sound more close to the real amp that the fractal,sometimes i enjoy playing with the Axe 3 but the next day i find the fractal audio boring and that doesnt happen with the QC or the Kemper,my favorite device is the Kemper,but like i always say good hands can make any unit sound awesome

@@Nig6tWalkerwhat leads you to prefer the Kemper to the QC?

@@themischa well both devices are pretty good but to me Kemper sound is more organic.but i really enjoy using the QC both devices are killer

Live use is really where they make the most sense. I’d be reaching for an fm3 first, quad cortex second and then a Kemper or helix after that

Im Using a tone x pedal with a hx fx and its pretty much everything i could need or want

I am interested in your comment as I’m kinda looking at the unit. You said the idea is to leave amps and massive pedal board at home. I get that. Kinda thinking of the same also. But then you said your building a pedal board with it. That leads me to believe it doesn’t have everything if your need to add to it?

⁠I have the FM3, so I added a tuner to avoid using a button on the FM3, my TB Drive, and my Fuzz I like that I can’t get exactly on the FM3. You don’t need to add any pedals. Just my preference. Just 3 pedals, but really don’t need it.

​@@Fablebox yeah if I had the fm3 on a board I'd probably want a drive pedal and an expression to control FAS parameters for presets. It really can handle everything live unless you're a gear nerd like us or have some need for a crazy walrus audio/strymon sort of pedal where its just easier having a dedicated thing. Such a great unit.

The fm3 being a great and versatile unit isn’t the reason I sold it, it’s all in the vid 😉

Touch on the video where it hurt you the most

Chug

👍

You missed where I mentioned that in the video 😂

Just saw it after I typed my bad lol

Hopefully, I bought some stuff before the prices skyrocketed on the 2nd hand market: I'd be unable to buy the full MoogerFooger collection (w. two delays for stereo) now: the prices have gone totally insane... For the Rig-A, which I designed for easy transport with no compromises on quality, it's in a SKB RLX-6 so it can be moved like a Samsonite, then... - Mesa Triaxis - Marshall EL84-20/20 (often overlooked... by people who never gave a try... This thing is damn great: it's filled with parts you usually only find on boutique amps! Note I also own other amps, racked or not. If I need more power, I can take another poweramp with me, but it rarely happened) - Lexicon MPX-G2 - Eventide Eclipse - Sound Sculpture Switchblade GL - 1U rack with Tetris-like stuffed stompboxes circuits - 2x Electrovoice TL806/EVM12L (guess why I rarely needed more than the 2x20W, in fact, in the control room, I usually pull out one of the two EL84 on each channel to lower power at 2x 4.5W... And even tho, it's still really loud... => The Fooger collection is in a "soft" 6U flycase that is independent... I don't need 300 amps models, I just need MY sound which comees straight from the 1st tube amp I built 30+ years ago: a Mesa Stu22 copy built with the trannies scavenged from a Marshall 1974x (AKA Plexi 18W) then I added the Mark III's distortion while keeping the Stu22's overdrive... It didn't sounded like a Stu22... It sounded better and moreover unique. I toured with this baby for years. With some really minor mods, I could get the same sound from the Triaxis+EL84-20/20 and I got both for cheaper than dirt, thanks to the vintage/boutique trend: racked amps and preamps can be obtained for really cheap while they were all high-end stuff in the 80's/90's and still are...

thx

Bingo, agreed 100%

Kind of the point of a talking piece video

I think a hybrid setup is where it’s at. Pushing some kind of digital preamp into a valve power amp into a cab gets great results

Ok boomer

I did mention it but yeah the fm3 is one of the best units out there for live use! If I was gigging regularly I would have kept it just for that. Run one output into a poweramp/cab and the other with an IR to FOH, so good

How good would it be if fractal did the same!

WELL - they should pull their finger out!@@ampspedalspickups

I was talking about subscriptions like STL Amphub which is $10/month but if you wait for deals like Black Friday I think they go as low as $60/year. There are so many amp sims these days it’s really hard to dump down 50-100 for a bunch of them that’s why I suggested a subscription where they keep adding things to it. I’ll be doing some Black Friday sales roundup vids cause there’ll definitely be a ton of deals going around