FM3 Firmware 9 | New Amps, Mu-Tron & More

[@davidshankle7359]

They always keep getting better and better that’s why I love Fractal audio than with them almost 16 years. Great job my friend.

[@LeonTodd]

Thanks again!

[@katzensprung7449]

Thank you, Leon!!👍👍

[@donniejean]

I've had mine for a long time, I just never used it. I just tried it the other day, and it just didn't vibe with me. Maybe it's too advanced or something? Or perhaps I need to learn how to dial it in more. Or purchase some presets? I was going to sell it, until I hear this and it sounds great. I have a cheap modeler or two that I actually really like. I think it's because I just scroll through presets and find one I like so it's really simple. I'd like to switch to the digital land, but I'm just struggling! Probably because I have no patience to learn how to actually utilize it to it's potential.

[@AygisMusic]

@@donniejeanI’ve had one in my possession for almost two years. While I appreciate all the options, it can be a bit overbearing until you watch hours of videos. I totally get the desire to just turn something on and play. That being said, I’ve finally learned how to dial things in and now I can’t go back 😂

[@smfremixes]

2 years on, my FM3 just gets better and better. Thank you FAS!

[@PeterDStephens]

Thanks mate, great run through as always. Love your work :-)

[@LeonTodd]

Appreciate the love!

[@connyblomqvist3648]

Your right Leon ! Im always using the same cab for my basic sounds.

[@saedemoph]

Honestly, I don't know why you don't have more subs, you are great and always with the best videos about gear. Great video, btw. On the other hand, in the support page of FAS website, I still don't see this new firmware, the most updated is 8 from April.

[@LeonTodd]

I appreciate that! This came out today so I'm sure they'll get the website updated soon.

[@edrosenquist6541]

WOW!!! Very Kings X around 5:50...AWESOME!!!

[@LeonTodd]

Cheers! That's the pre-chorus from Ragdoll's "Follow the Leader" which was very Ty inspired.

[@markchristopher4165]

"hair on its hair" 🤘

[@ksjohnson8197]

Thanks Leon for another great video and for sharing your amp blocks. You have been a great help as I've come into the Fractal world.

[@LeonTodd]

🙌 appreciate it mate

[@frankfaga]

Holy moly the Mutron envelope filter sounds great.

[@James1Hiscox]

Damn man, you can play, and those tones.

[@georgesabitpol]

Siamese dream solo tone finally accessible on the fm3!

[@tonilindgren5002]

First time ever I got to hear some "shadow play" by Rory Gallagher in a Fractal demo 👊🏻 awesome

[@LeonTodd]

I'm glad you recognized it! Legendary

[@peterharvin2775]

That FAS is one of the most satisfying gravity-laden tones I've heard. Brilliant.

[@LeonTodd]

Appreciate it mate! it's everything I like about big dirty guitar sounds.

[@Cheesedique]

Lil sneaky gojira riff love it

[@LeonTodd]

🦎

[@Dooogz]

Nice ... i think u should do an all FAS amp video ... also, interested to see whether anything from the Dynacab range could become the new LTgo to? So far the LT TV Mix 7 reigns supreme ...

[@bobdorothy9719]

Hey I got your tone library last year and seen u had one for sale on gum roll. Is it the same or gave you added more goodies?

[@AudioAtmos]

Love me some Mutron!!❤️ Who can deny who the best Modeling company is?? Not me!

[@Smittefar1]

Ohhhh - that Mutron is the goodies - I always struggled to get the perfect AutoWah/EnvelopeFilter in the Axe, this sounds great at every settting (at least when you play it :D ).

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah envelope filter was always an involved process, now it's easy!

[@rmp5s]

I'm tempted to buy one JUST for this patch. lol

[@LeonTodd]

:D

[@Allan-ts1ux]

You noodled with your fantastic intro fantastically Leon... 😺 Fat Hairy and wobbly tonight mate..lol ! 🌏 🌏 I used to have the original mutron vol wah and loved it

[@AmericanNationalist852]

Cliff is the man. He's always giving us new stuff for our units 🤘🏻

[@matthewperry2767]

Cliff can leave my unit alone thank you

[@Szerykguitaracademy1]

Good day Leon, Ive been using the MFC-101 as an external midi switcher with the Fractal FM3. Do you if there is a way to assign the 8 scenes to 8 different buttons on the external midi footswitch controller? This would give me a lot of functionality with the fm3 Thankyou for your time

[@Allan-ts1ux]

Such a sweet good lookin guitar to play

[@martincockburn6821]

that sounds mint ! and such an awesome guitar too.. i gather the dgt has become a backup now 😅

[@LeonTodd]

Something special about semi-hollows right?

[@Cherry_Sunburst]

EXCELLENT...Fractal audio is a really fine company!

[@GhostNoteAudio]

3:56 Oh my dear lord that is the thickest lead tone I have ever heard! :)

[@draper858]

Hey Leon…. I’m trying to use a tc spark with my ax8 as a solo boost. Do you know how I can get the loop to turn it on and off from the panel? I’d really appreciate it if you do.

[@NinjaRunningWild]

That background keeps making me think something is on my screen. 😂

[@LeonTodd]

🤣

[@vidsforsquids]

Fractal is KING

[@6Stringers]

I thought 8 was still in Beta 2 testing. Did I miss an update?

[@seyhuns9802]

No 9 was in beta, now 9 is final

[@LeonTodd]

The FM9 and FM3 firmware numbering is offset by 1 - so the FM9 got firmware 8, which has all the same stuff as FM3 firmware 9

[@Team512]

Do I need to reset all amp blocks for this update?

[@francescomarchisotti]

Man, since when do you have an earring lol Sick tones as always, I'll definitely, ahem, borrow, your multitap delay settings, it sounds killer!

[@LeonTodd]

Can you believe I've had my ears pierced for 20 years. Stopped wearing them when I lost my last one and assumed I'd left it too long but the studs still fit!

[@francescomarchisotti]

@@LeonTodd that's crazy ahah

[@guitarfilipe]

Great video as always!!! Had a QC and sold it this year, got back to analog amps but man are they heavy! :D I play on a Queen tribute band and I'm thinking of giving modellers another chance. Thinking about FM9 or another QC... what do you recommend @LeonTodd? Many thanks for the videos, reviews and for being such a down to earth guy, I really appreciate it and wish you all the best!

[@EJH-jn6mo]

No update for the fractal flagship, AXEFX3?

[@LeonTodd]

Soon

[@gladejustglade]

Didn’t he say that 8 gives the same features to the other two products?

[@ambc38vsxn]

I really love this guitar. Is it possible to buy it in Europe?

[@LeonTodd]

It's awesome! Charles builds to order so contact him through his website ciliaguitars.com/

[@AdamGuitar87]

Leon, any particular reason why are you using always your CAB IR in every preset? Why aren't you trying any of the stock cabs? I am just wondering if I should go as a beginner user of FM9 Turbo straight with your IR which sounds awesome or I should try tons of stock ones...

[@momogris6159]

Very good question. I tried his cab and I personally don’t like it for my style. It sounds too dark. I use quite a lot a Deluxe verb and Double Verb so I prefer the dynacab that suits the amp. There are so manny good option in dynacabs that I don’t use IRs anymore.

[@darrinwarner4046]

If you were starting from scratch for a home player is there much benefit to the axefx 3 vs fm9? Im coming from a flamenco background im basically in grade school for this stuff but i want to buy once cry once lol. Any advice would be appreciated.

[@LeonTodd]

Either will be a GREAT choice. FM9 having the footswitches built in is pretty handy.

[@Taylor___]

Sounds great but to me, all the fractal tones sound the same, all great ha. The best way in my opinion to hear a fractal live is through a powered cab. They don't sound as good through PA speakers but with a powered cab you can get the tone you hear here and run a out line out through the front of house. Which for me is the best of both worlds.

[@Robbie28]

If you had to pick ONE of these multi effect thingys, would you pick This one, Headrush, or Boss GX-100 for stuff like 80"s tones? I feel better asking you cause you get such awesome tones out of these things. Im not the brightest star in the sky so i like fairly simple but Im really curious what one ya would pick out of those 3 since i know ive seen ya do 2 out of the 3.

[@rmp5s]

Fractal is life. Plug them into a computer and use the edit program. If you don't want to do that, get a Neural QC.

[@shicgh]

Boss and headrush suck. Fractal is best, but Line6 and Quad cortex are good as well.

[@john7345]

I bought the fm3 just over a year ago. Switched from a Hughes and kettner grandmiester deluxe. Love that amp but hated luging it and the evh 2x12 to gigs. Bought the fm3 and now it’s the only rig I use. The other guy in my band uses the quad cortex and it sounds awesome. But I have way more functionality. If you’re a tone snob, go fractal. It’s so easy to use. You’ll never regret it. I bought cooper Carter’s program to learn the basics and wow. In a weekend I was up and running and confident. Now, 1 year later, I wish I would’ve bought the fm9 just for more options. But I don’t regret the fm3. I just gotta buy the expansion rig.

[@prezdentraygun8790]

I have been playing guitar for 30years and been using computers about that long too. None of my computers have ever come with a guitar jack on it and where would I put it in my pedal chain?

[@matthewduncan9405]

Oh man. A KZbin comment reply isn’t going to help much if you are that far gone 😂. If you are using a modeler (Fractal, Helix, etc) find a KZbin walkthrough and read the manual. If you are using your computer and using a DAW/Guitar plugins you need an audio interface (Focusrite, Universal Audio, etc). Which again plenty of KZbin videos to help get you set up.

[@rmp5s]

Guitar -guitar cable-> Axe-FX -USB cable-> Computer running Axe Edit. Easy peasey.

[@daviddikeman7423]

No new spring reverbs?

[@LeonTodd]

FM9 has them

[@gavinoneill7102]

Very informative, thanks. I’m a Helix floor user. Wondering about swapping to Fractal. Does the FM3 sound better? Appreciate any comments from anyone who has used both. Thanks.

[@LeonTodd]

Much appreciated! Fractal amp modeling is super accurate and there's a massive selection of about, cabs and fx to get stuck into. Hard to know if you prefer it without spending time with one with your own gear though.

[@gavinoneill7102]

@@LeonToddthanks a lot. Might just have to go and grab one. My wife might not be happy though😮

[@DigitalDistortedGuitars]

​​@@gavinoneill7102im standing at the same decision :) one is sure, fractal is moooooore advenced, one guy send me tone that has only amp on stock settings + first one cab with v30 and its blow my mind. Even on stock setting for me tone was amazing and beats everything in helix

[@gavinoneill7102]

@@DigitalDistortedGuitars I’m hearing this a lot. Was playing through Helix yesterday though and I still love it!😀

[@gavinoneill7102]

I’ve pushed the button and am waiting for the FM3 to arrive!

[@zac88anderson]

Does this update automatically?

[@LeonTodd]

You need to use the editor and open fractal bot

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

I take it you prefer Fractal to Kemper, Mr. Todd? I don't think I've seen you do any Kemper videos but you probably have some. A lot of my old teachers at GIT are kind of split on the modeling stuff even though most have switched to it now for live gigging. Some prefer Fractal. Some prefer Kemper. I usually catch up with them every few years and ask what they prefer these days. Who am I to argue with a place with Scott Henderson on staff and Paul Gilbert as an alumnus? I like the 80s racks stuff so the Kemper toaster thing always looked like something out of Fallout to me. I never got into it. Fractal seems way more flexible, but Kemper seems quicker to set up with its profiles. I'm weighing an Axe FX3 at some point, a Duncan Power Stage 700, and an FRFR speaker once a few more of them are on the lightly used market. First new live gear I've bought in 20+ years probably because I mainly practice in my DAW with plugins now at my desktop. Thanks as always for your videos and gear. Helps me learn about everything I've missed out on in gear since 2005 or so. *Will we have another live chat with you coming up sometime?* Cheers and best wishes.

[@shicgh]

Capture technology sucks in my opinion. You get a snapshot of an amp at any given settings and when you want to tweak from you front panel, it does not react as you’d wish. Modeling is far better imo, hence fractal is a better unit than kemper.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

@@shicgh Interesting. So would it be accurate to say a profiler is to an amp head what an impulse response is to a cabinet? I found IRs a bit irritating in that they are fixed. I think how they are in many plugins, even older ones like Amplitube 4, is more intuitive. You just sweep the mics over the cab as your track plays until you get the sweet spot.

[@LeonTodd]

Very different units that have their upsides and downsides. The amp modelling with dynacabs (moveable mics) on the Fractal makes it really easy to dial in.

[@shicgh]

@@AAAA-lt9hq I would say they are very comparable one to the other. It’s a good analogy

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

@@shicgh Axe FX units seem like things people would love to have in a studio because they are so tweakable, but they're also useful live if you have them programmed and set up. Kempers seem more like traditional tube amp heads in kind of a set and forget way. I'm amazed at how many people hate to program rack units and use IRs but will risk their lives dealing with electricity to adjust tube amp bias and will go through the pain of tubes/speakers/cabs/mic trial and error, even in untreated rooms. At the end of the day, all we're doing is slightly changing EQ curves. I have always considered IRs to be "snapshots" of late chain EQ curves. All that could come after an IR would be EQ in post, either on the channel or master bus, with the latter being something I would use sparingly because it affects everything and not just the guitars. I guess what I'm saying is, in short, we can skip a lot of the gear if someone just knows how to dial a parametric EQ in well to get the sound one wants and sit well in a live/studio mix. But then we get into newer things like multiband compression, dynamic EQs, and color vs. transparency. At the end of the day I think a lot of people could skip expensive gear if they just knew where to cut, how much to cut, and how narrow/wide of a Q to set. I used to have a cheap Alesis parametric and graphic EQ in my rack for this purpose, with one side used before my Carvin MTS3200 amp head and the other used in the loop. I also used a BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer for presence, low end, and brightness. My old 00s 300 watt solid state Randall Cyclone (just below the first Dime Warhead in the amp lineup) with the Dime Warhead 2x15" cab also has a parametric mid and then a graphic you can set once you set a center point with the parametric. Very flexible for chug tones. It only makes the high gain scooped Randall sound and is pretty noisy, requiring a noise gate, but for what it does it sounds good. Additionally, a lot of better sounding modeling gear that was popular 10-15 years ago (Eleven Rack, POD Pro XT/3, etc.) can now be had quite cheaply and doesn't sound bad if correctly dialed in. Some of my favorite tones are from my old Pod Farm Platinum plugin circa 2010. Meanwhile, I could never get Revalver 3 to sit right in a mix even though it sounded great by itself. Guitar Rig 3-4 I liked for wet sounds, and Amplitube 4 I used a lot for bass. They all offer something I like. Old gear you know > new gear you can't control, but that's what we have Leon for--to show us how to do stuff. :)

[@lookmanostrings]

You a whole step down mate?

[@LeonTodd]

Correct

[@richard.c.guitars]

A lot of media suggests that the amp modelling on the quad cortex is better than fractal - I’m not convinced that is true . Or that the helix modelling is just as good - do you think a lot of people get paid to promote line 6 or quad cortex online ? I work in a music shop and I’ve tried a lot of modellers but I still think my fractal is better - especially better than the line 6 stuff …

[@LeonTodd]

I own a QC, ToneX and HX Stomp and I still prefer the Fractal.

[@DigitalDistortedGuitars]

A loot of ppl gets paid or free product so they will promote only good aspects of gear, additional i think many of them got hidden post processing on test's to get more views especially those who gets paid for views... Ive been using helix for 5 years and never has been truly sadisfied with tones, Actually im saving money for fm9. Very often when im watching and listening some recordings that i tought got Awsome tone, it turns out later it was recorded by using fractal modeling gear😁The tools and possibilities that Fractal offers to the user convinced me that this is not just another guitar modeler, but a professional private guitar studio after connecting to a computer and monitors. Every setting possibility, or solutions that I would like my helix to have, it turns out that fractal has had it as a standard for a long time 🫣

[@fcsabiii100]

Hi Leon, How can I set this scene mode? I mean, to make it look so big. Thank you for your answer kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6CuZ519i71gb6c

[@heavybrett-al4082]

I'm still forever away from getting a fractal 😢 but by the time I do, there's gonna be plenty of great updates 😂 fingers crossed I might get to the store this week and check out a flying v? Been saving, just hope it feels and plays nice.

[@lyricbread]

That guitar has some serious mojo.

[@LeonTodd]

Right? Pretty unique tone and it plays like a dream.

[@nickyounger1368]

@@LeonToddwhat is it?

[@LeonTodd]

@@nickyounger1368 Charles Cilia Bellaurora

[@johnrathbun2943]

I really respect your ability on the guitar. And I know that you have alot of talent. But the problem with most guitarist is that they always rely of speed versus their actual talent. But one thing that I noticed that you do is you talk about what what you are going to talk about later in the video. I believe you should just talk about what you are doing. Otherwise it sounds like a sales pitch. And the biggest problem with the music industry is that everyone is wasting time on the sales pitch instead of just showing exact what their product can do. The FM-3 or FM-9 are the most complicated pedals out there. You can basically do any sound effect that has been produced on these footpedals. I believe you should spend you time in showing how to do it or just do the sound effect. Don't waste your time on telling what it can do. Because believe me if we can hear your sales pitch then we can hear the footpedal. Unless you're running for office and you need our votes or your lonely and just want to be heard.

[@Dooogz]

Mate, you are totally misreading the room with this reply to this creator in this forum. LT is an amazing resource in the Fractal forum, giving away insights, knowledge, detail, and indeed stuff (eg Blocks Library, patches, etc) for free ... IMHO his content is must watch for newbies and experienced Fractal users - I recommend his content to others all the time... if you take that as an unwelcome sales pitch, that is on you. I for one already bought and paid up, and I'm thankful for the content...

[@Poepopdestoep]

What are you talking about, Leon is one of the few people who get to the point rather quick and shows exactly how to get the sounds. He shares his presets (and IR's) for free. I want to hear how presets sound, then he shows how he got that sound. About as quickly and educational as you can get. What you want is a manual. Then just download the manual...

[@martymeatball1877]

I'm sure Leon will be happy to refund your purchase price for this video.

[@brussalis]

Totally missing the point of what Leon does here. Yes, Leon is a massive fan and user of the Fractal. Hes not trying to sell it. Hes showing exactly what it can do. Theres so much stuff he shares on his channel online for free about his patches, sounds and channel switching and HOW its done. He also tests other products and brands and again, does not try to sell any of them. He shows exactly what they are capable of, does comparisons and gives honest and unbiased appraisals of those products. Virtually everything he plays whether it be guitars, modellers, amps, classic retro outboard effects etc etc you will get a run down of the set up, tweaks, settings, master positions, tone positions, you name it, he explains it. Not much to dislike here .... in fact .... I cant think of anything to be honest. Watch and learn !!

[@johnrathbun2943]

@brussalis I do watch his channel and yes he is a talented musician. But when you tell your guests about something later on that your going to talk about usually means you gonna talk about multiple different things. Kind of like the news or a talk show host that has different guests. But when you are speaking about different functions of let's say one particular footpedal than there really is no need to bring this fact up. You just show those functions while you play. That's called redundant. In music you should play while you are explaining because most people don't study music in schools so we don't understand what you are basically referencing. Just like you don't hand guitarist sheet music because 80 percent of guitarists can't read sheet music. And I think only 50 percent can read tablature.