Bass Presets in Fractal Land - Axe-FX III/FM9/FM3

[@JGorg8]

You're one of the very few actually making things for bass on the fractal. Thank you!

[@guitarguru186]

Thank YOU! I was honestly shocked when I first started using this on bass gigs...no love! Looking to dive in a little more on the bass end of things (shorter, more digestible videos). Anything you'd like to see? I'd be happy to create more for our low-end brethren ^_^

[@JGorg8]

Yeah I bought it for guitar, but I'm originally a bass player. I just assumed it would be as robust as a Quad Cortex or Kemper for bass, but it's almost as if they don't want people to use it for bass with how little they offer for it@@guitarguru186

[@jmfreeland]

@@guitarguru186interesting recording tones perhaps? DI+amp with FX options like chorus

[@guitarguru186]

@@jmfreelandAll Fractal devices have the capability to record with a DI out (via USB). All you’d have to do then is turn on the Chorus on your Amp tone, or reamp them individually. Hope that helps! (If you need a recording/reamping tutorial video, Leon Todd has a good one. I’ll be shooting one this week for the Axe-FX III & FM3)

[@angusfire61]

On behalf of all fractal using guitar players who slide over to bass when necessary, let me just say god bless you for this tutorial!

[@guitarguru186]

Oh wow, thank you! I’m so happy to hear that this was helpful ^_^ I’m planning on shooting a bunch more in the way of bass videos once my busy season is over in a month or so (along with more guitar-related Fractal things). Anything in particular you’d like to see?

[@swiftymcgarnagle4567]

Man, this is the best bass video for fractal out there. Thank you so much.

[@guitarguru186]

Thank YOU for your generous compliment! That means a lot ^_^ Is there anything you’d like to see more of? I know this was a bit of a crash course (despite being 20+min). I’m going to do more of these when busy season wraps in a month, & am always open to suggestions!

[@alexkidd4144]

Damn! I search every week for Fractal bass stuff. Just started watching. Let’s hope this video is more than some crazy metal patch 😂

[@guitarguru186]

🤣 Hahaha I assure you, it’s hardly a metal patch. I hope you get a lot out of it! I mainly stuck to the amps/cabs, but you gotta show off how to use the FX for bass (didn’t get into Phaser, Flanger, etc. but tried to showcase the “meat & potatoes”).

[@alexkidd4144]

@@guitarguru186 yeah man, this video was great. Always good to see the bass getting some love on the FM3

[@guitarguru186]

I’m glad it was useful! I’ll be using this tomorrow night with the funk band, & I always feel so safe/secure knowing this unit can absolutely deliver monster tones, whether it’s bass or guitar

[@alexkidd4144]

Nice! That's what I am interested in, the funk! Wondering what the envelope filters are like (assuming it has one or two)@@guitarguru186

[@guitarguru186]

Scroll ahead to the Auto-Wah chapter/timestamp! It can be a little tricky to set one up in the Fractal ecosystem, but using a Wah or Filter block with an Envelope Follower modifier on the Control feature will get it done. It’s basically a choose your own adventure 😆

[@philkalas]

Wanted to comment to say this was very helpful and THANK YOU!

[@guitarguru186]

Thank you for watching! I’m glad you got a lot out of it ^_^ Is there anything you want(ed) to see more of? I know it’s a brief overview (despite being 20+min), but I’ll be shooting more videos after this month & am always open to suggestions ^_^

[@the.prime.sunshine]

Very, very nice! Thanks for sharing!

[@guitarguru186]

Thank you for watching! 🙏🏻 Hope this helps you start out the Fractal bass journey right 🤘🏻

[@gregnott7157]

Sweet, Alex. This is great. I've been using a Tom Hamilton Gift Of Tone preset from Fractal. It's pretty good but this will open some doors. I have quite a few bass IRs, some free some paid, that should fit in nicely with your tips for dialing in some very usable bass tones.

[@guitarguru186]

Awesome! So happy to hear this will work well for you ^_^ Hoping this sort of thing generates more materials for bassists using Fractal units! (Also the last standing free preset, as of this comment!)

[@DARKSIDE_of_VOCALS]

Thank you bro

[@guitarguru186]

Thanks for watching! I’m glad this was helpful ^_^

[@Rogijimbex]

Very well done - thank you! Love the Fractalverse. I'm a guitar player - have a bass...I'm going for it now..gonna put it on and connect to my FM3. Yee-hah!

[@guitarguru186]

Thank you 🙏🏻 We’re in a very similar boat, starting as guitarists & moving into bass territory. The Fractal is a great way to get your feet wet in that, despite it not being known as a “bass modeler” (I’ve seen PLENTY of big name touring bassists use it…it can handle what anyone needs 😆) I reckon you’s a boutta have a good time, consarnit 🤠 Haha, I hope this helps you dial in some good bass tones for your music!

[@joejoewilson]

Nice walk through Alex! My only comment is the order you have things in your chain, especially for live players. Personally I put my compression at the beginning of the chain, to even out the unevenness from finger play style, versus slap, etc., it could be argued this could go at the end, but this is where I put mine. I also notice you have output 1 and output 2 in use. I have something similar, where output 1 goes to front of house, and output 2 goes to my bass amp on stage. With this setup, I have my bass amp and cabinet in the fractal toward the end of the chain and split the signal right before the amp/cab. This way I have my fractal amp/cab going to FOH and my effects only going out to my stage amp/cab. I dont want to run my signal through the fractal amp/cab and then run this into another real amp and cab, It just muddy's the song way too much. thanks for the walk, you make some great points!

[@guitarguru186]

Thanks Joe! The MBC isn’t acting as a compressor for evenness of attack/input (I use that at the front, if/when I use it), so we’re certainly of the same mind on that ^_^ This is used to tame the output/final processed signal from clipping the meter & actively balancing the EQ a bit, as you might do in a studio context after the instrument has been committed to tape/recording. As for the Output 1&2, every setup is different, so I totally get what you’re using it for. As I’m using an FRFR monitor from Output 2, I keep all the FX & processing in there & split it so I have independent control between FoH & personal monitoring.

[@trinacria1956]

Very nice!!

[@guitarguru186]

Thank you!

[@godkizzzz]

the M-Comp and Filter, Wow! I think this is also applicable to acoustic guitars!

[@guitarguru186]

Absolutely! They’re all tools, the choice of application is yours ^_^ I certainly use both with acoustic presets!

[@jasonbonilla8928]

really was not expecting to hear that Mask Machine riff in the drive section haha caught me off guard. Great video by the way. Have you had any experience with other modelers on bass? like the Helix, Quad Cortex, or Kemper?

[@guitarguru186]

Dave LaRue for daaaaayyyyyysssss 🤘🏻🤘🏻 Always good to hear from a fellow FC fan! I haven’t had too much hands-on experience with other modelers for bass, though I have a few friends that LOVE the HX Stomp! If you’re not hip to him already, Ian Allison (Scott’s Bass Lessons) does a lot of insanely cool things with synth bass tones, & utilized the HX Stomp as the core of his bass tone. The QC is an insanely cool piece of gear (though I haven’t heard bassists on it)…just beware of the multitude of insanely gig-ending firmware bugs & issues that have been occurring for the last 6-8 months. I’ve seen/heard them firsthand, & it’s honestly a massive deterrent for me ever owning one. Love my Fractals ^_^

[@ajnolp1]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. You have a great ear for Bass tones. One idea for content would be to match some of these awesome Bass Tones with Drums vsts, Machines, or Samples. I suspect your ear for great Drum sounds is just as good :). Cheers.

[@guitarguru186]

Thank you! I’m glad you got some good nuggets out of these ramblings ^_^ For clarity, you’re suggesting I do a video where I play over drum samples (or better yet, tracking sessions) using these bass tones? I can absolutely do that, & have used this as my recording foundation for the past several years. Thank you for the suggestions!

[@ajnolp1]

@@guitarguru186 Where you teach others how to match good drum sounds with your awesome BASS presets. It's nice to see how others go about it and what tools they use to get the drum sounds just right when using Samples, Toontrack product, etc.

[@_mysilentblue2227]

Thanks Alex, they sound great. I put them all together in an AXE-FX 3 preset if you want it I can post it to my Axechange. It has full Alex Maiers credit in it.

[@guitarguru186]

Thank you! I’m glad you like it ^_^ I post most every video using the FM3, showing it’s capable of operating on a professional level, & knowing most people can upgrade the presets to Axe-FX III if need be. I appreciate the consideration!

[@Slaminski]

Really nice video/preset! Would it be possible so put the distortion also in parallel like the chorus and the reverb? So you can keep the fundamental on another path and add compressor to the clean path?

[@guitarguru186]

Excellent question! Since it’s so close to the front of the chain, the Mix knob on the Drive block actually achieves that function (I believe I talk about that with the Drive block chapter, but if not it certainly rings true). If you had it later in the chain & wanted to be sure, you can absolutely do that! (There’s a video I did on Series vs. Parallel FX that explains both, & how most of these things can be achieved in either workflow) Hope that helps!

[@johnerodz7]

Hi Great video thanks do you have the preset available pls let me know thnx

[@guitarguru186]

Thank you! And double thank you for pointing out I FORGOT TO POST THE LINK TO AXE-CHANGE 😅 I updated the video description, otherwise just search “Fractal Bass” & it’ll pop up!

[@lawrence4221]

Hows the tone of this one in live setting Do You recommend it that the analog or other competitors such as Helix and Quad Cortex?

[@guitarguru186]

I have really loved this setup live over the last couple of years (almost exclusively)! The bands are happy, sound guys love it, & I feel really comfortable with it. I can’t speak for the Quad Cortex’s bass capabilities, but my friend Ian (Allison) uses the HX Stomp & absolutely adores it. While it has way more bass-specific options, there’s so much tweakability in the Fractal system to make any FX bass-specific & the bass amps they do have work incredibly well!

[@guitarguru186]

If you’re buying a unit for bass only, HX Stomp is probably the way to go. If you already have a Fractal for guitar, no need to buy another unit for bass. Definitely gets the job done! I play live & record bass with it on a weekly basis.

[@lawrence4221]

@@guitarguru186 thank you so much, but honestly right? FRACTAL HAS MORE REALISTIC TONE THAN HELIX?

[@guitarguru186]

I personally find it easier to dial in with the Fractal, but I’ve also heard amazing tones out of Helix & Quad Cortex. What it really boils down to (in my opinion) is: User Interface, Customer Support, Update Capability & Rollouts, & Community. In this way, I vote Fractal every day.

[@noahchasinguitar5831]

Could we upload Bass IR amps to the fractal?

[@guitarguru186]

If you have your own bass cab IRs, absolutely!

[@hodshonf]

How does the FM3 compare to the Zoom B3?

[@guitarguru186]

Honestly, I'm not quite sure (as I've never played the latter before), but I have seen them on guitar gigs I've played. I've heard good things about the Zoom B3! A lot of processing options for the FM3, but it's tailored more towards guitarists, so I'm sure there are more Amp/Cab types in the Zoom. I personally love the Ampeg SVT & Mesa bass sounds, & they're two of the few models within the Fractal system...so I'm a happy guy ^_^ Price point difference is MASSIVE (like, 6-7x difference), & the Zoom B3 is certainly more compact. Do you own a B3?

[@trinacria1956]

Downloaded but preset is just comes up as FRACTAL BASS ... no bass 2 like in video so do not have the other set of Citrus,FAS bass, Porta... And you have it set up so you have to have your Editor open to control it? Not ungrateful. Maybe am wrong?

[@guitarguru186]

Since the FM3 only has 4 Amp channels, I couldn’t include the latter amp models. However, you should be able to search for them in the Picker if you prefer those models (I had their settings set pretty stock for sake of ease). As for controlling the preset: • Your FC View & FC Layout should be on 1 • FC Button 1: Drive on/off (tap), -1/2 Step scene toggle (hold) • FC Button 2: Chorus on/off (tap), Auto-Wah on/off (hold) • FC Button 3: Octave pedal on/off* (tap), Tuner (hold) *Note that there is no Octave pedal in the -1/2 Step scene, due to one Pitch block. Clicking that switch will turn the effect on/off. This is how I’ve set it up for the FM3, but with added buttons you could spread out the functions (or add a second Amp block if you’re on Axe-FX III or FM9). Thank you for your questions! I hope this has been helpful ^_^

[@trinacria1956]

Thank you so much you are very helpful and most kind !!!!! Helped me figure it out To made a copy of preset and add the other amps and cabs, @@guitarguru186

[@alfarocris1]

Definitly they don't think in us 😢 Helix has a lot of more options

[@guitarguru186]

Absolutely true that Helix has more options, but a lot of really good things in the Fractal! I also bought the new SVT Dyna-Cab pack…it’s INCREDIBLE how much that makes everything just come alive! Video forthcoming.

[@guitarguru186]

I just added a video on all the Fractal Bass Amps you may find useful! One on all of the Cab options is coming Friday (Legacy IRs, Dyna-Cabs, & the third-party IRs I mentioned).