Using the PC editor (it’s also Mac compatible) we create a preset for a live performance, one that has three different scenes with increasing levels of overdrive or effects. A scene is one of nine possible configurations of one preset and we can program the footswitches to select any of these scenes (utilising the aforementioned bank up/down functions as necessary). Each switch also has a colour-customisable LED ring surrounding it to help identify at a glance its eventual assignment.įor live use and seamless switching, scenes are where it’s at. It could be specific presets, scenes, the toggling on and off of an effect – the options and flexibility are endless. ![]() ![]() What’s assigned to the switches is entirely up to the user. Selecting the preset layout assigns three of the 512 available presets to each footswitch, and we use the hold function on the left and right switches to ascend or descend through them three at a time. This enables us to select one of nine different layouts, including ‘preset’, ‘scenes’, and ‘channels’. There are myriad ways in which to configure the switches but it’s common to reserve the central switch’s hold function to select the ‘master layout’. ![]() If you need more, the whole system is modular – you can add our foot controllers, the FC-6 (€633) and FC-12 (€876).”Įach of the FM3’s footswitches has two functions: tap and hold. “Without adding anything else, you can take the FM3 and have that core, essential three-switch setup – clean/rhythm/lead – and fit it in your overhead bag with cables, a laptop, expression pedal, some clothes and whatever else. “Players on the move appreciate a compact product”, argues Matt. However, the smaller form factor means it has eight fewer footswitches than the AX8. Roughly half the size of its predecessor, the FM3’s sleek rigid chassis is designed to withstand the rigours of heavy touring. Crucially, however, there is compatibility between the FM3 and Axe-FX III so third-party content such as IRs will be accessible to both units. We’re also unable to run two amp blocks simultaneously. The FM3 has slightly less processing power, and a few effects from the III such as the vocoder and tone match blocks have not made the cut. The differences in performance between FM3 and the flagship Axe-Fx III are indeed few and far between. It’s also great for live backing tracks, which can even go to their own independent output.” The FM3 has 4×4 USB I/O, which is perfect for studio recording, including re-amping. “The I/O is much more flexible,” says Picone, “meaning for instance that on the FM3, you can use In2 and Out2 independently of each other at different points in the signal path. The new high-resolution screen is one of the more noticeable improvements compared to the antiquated green and black interface of the AX8, but there are many other significant hardware upgrades too. It had the benefit of all the ideas about how to improve on every previous product –including AX8 – and we imagined something like the FM3 almost from the beginning” Fractal’s Matt Picone explains: “This project was less about the AX8, which was already in the rearview mirror, and more about how to put the new flagship on the floor, and at a lower price. Was it worth the wait?įeaturing Fractal’s ARES amp-modelling technology and inheriting Axe-Fx III’s full suite of hundreds of amp models and over 2,000 cabinet impulse responses, the FM3 is perhaps be best viewed as the floorboard sibling of the third-generation rackmount unit. Enter the FM3, unveiled in April 2019 but only recently available to the European market. It was only a matter of time before its pedalboard sibling, the AX8, would receive similar treatment. January 2018 saw Fractal Audio’s flagship Axe-Fx rackmount unit upgraded with substantially increased processing power, new modelling tech and an improved GUI.
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