Fractal FM9 - the best of all digital worlds?

7914 Views 33 Replies 15 Participants Last post by TubeStack, 7 mo ago

TimH

Discussion Starter · Dec 29, 2021

I've had my FM9 for a few weeks now and I thought I'd leave a review in case you're on the list and wondering whether to buy or thinking of getting on the list. In short I feel that this is an amazing value and can't be beat if you're looking for an all in one unit. I've owned the Helix and Kemper Floor. What sets it apart?

1. Best Dual amp set up - The Kemper community has begged for this for a long time. The Helix can do it but IMO the Fractal modelling is a step above in feel and detail. When you consider the amp blocks can actually include four separate "channels" which are really amps for 8 amps in one preset and it's not a contest.

2. Superior Switching - this was what I loved about the AFX3 when I had it. The degree to which you can make the controller do what you want is above every other unit. Only the MC8 is really comparable. You get that power built in.

3. DSP - if you know you know.

4. No compromises - with almost every other unit people say "it's great but..." the reverbs could be better, the drive pedals aren't great blah blah. I don't feel one can say that here. Add to that Cliff's undying commitment to improvement.

There's much more that could be said but I'll leave it there. Feel free to drop off any questions or comments.

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1 - 20 of 34 Posts

Budda

· #2 · Dec 29, 2021

If I had kept touring this would be the brain 100%.

Reactions: 2

Alex

· #3 · Dec 30, 2021

I am a fan of Fractal and have had an AXE FX for at least 13 years. For recording and practicing, pretty hard to beat. High gain and clean tones, the Fractal units shine, however, the challenge for me is in a live space trying to cop low gain / edge of breakup tones. I previously went through a couple options:

6-7 years ago, I tried the AXE FX with a multi-footswitch into an Atomic cab and the results were so-so.
More recently, I tried the Kemper with a regular guitar cabinet and it was pretty solid although, the effects were just ok. Don't get me wrong as the Plexi preset in my Kemper sounded incredible.

Last year, I decided my next rig would be digital and put off the FM3 as I was still skeptical but then the FM9 came out. A friend sold me his Atomic Neo Cab and back to square one....and so far, very impressed. What is notable of this recent release:

The stock presets include some from the digital gurus (Austin Buddy an d others) and they sound great
You don't need a Doctorate from MIT to run the unit - purchase or download presets made by pros and / or , using the PC Editor makes it user friendly
There are now plenty of options whereby you can either purchase or view free tutorials on Youtube.

In short, the sound quality has improved tremendously for low gain applications and the units are much more user friendly.

Here is a quick clip, crappy playing but decent tones recorded on my iPhone (FM9 direct into a Atomic Neo Cab with a stock preset). I look forward to going through a Tutorial and scouting out some presets from other players.

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player99

· #4 · Dec 30, 2021

World shortage of semiconductors... FM9 out of stock.

$shop.fractalaudio.com$

FM9 Turbo - Amp Modeler / Multi-FX / Floor Unit

$shop.fractalaudio.com$ shop.fractalaudio.com

Fortunately you can buy one on Reverb for only $3,928.55CAD

reverb.com

Fractal Audio FM9 Amp Modeler/FX Processor | Reverb

Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a wide-spanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear.

reverb.com

Voxguy76

· #5 · Dec 30, 2021

I received mine a few weeks ago also. Fantastic unit. I appreciate the ease of setting up patches using the unit itself, compared to how timely it was to do so on the Fractal AX8. It’s still not as quick and intuitive as the Helix, but very good regardless. The amp sims, reverbs, and delays are insanely great.

TimH

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 30, 2021

Voxguy76 said:
I received mine a few weeks ago also. Fantastic unit. I appreciate the ease of setting up patches using the unit itself, compared to how timely it was to do so on the Fractal AX8. It’s still not as quick and intuitive as the Helix, but very good regardless. The amp sims, reverbs, and delays are insanely great.

Yeah, editing on the unit is still an area I'd give Helix the win in. However, with the number of parameters available on the FM9 I would hate to try and do real editing on the unit.

Paul Running

· #7 · Dec 30, 2021

player99 said:
World shortage of semiconductors... FM9 out of stock.

$shop.fractalaudio.com$

FM9 Turbo - Amp Modeler / Multi-FX / Floor Unit

$shop.fractalaudio.com$ shop.fractalaudio.com

Fortunately you can buy one on Reverb for only $3,928.55CAD

Fractal Audio FM9 Amp Modeler/FX Processor | Reverb

Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a wide-spanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear.

reverb.com

You could go with a Quad Cortex or purchase an evaluation kit for $330US and build your own

Rectangle Font Screenshot Technology Software

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TimH

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 30, 2021

Paul Running said:
You could go with a Quad Cortex or purchase an evaluation kit for $330US and build your own
View attachment 395039

I'm not exactly sure what you're saying or implying. Quad Cortex has enough failure to keep me far away from it...

Reactions: 2

slag banal

· #9 · Dec 30, 2021

“I will wait until the tech gets just a little better,” he said in 2021. And now he is dead! Maybe he missed something, but his sad heirs sold his Twin for a grand and were happy.

Reactions: 1

tdotrob

· #10 · Dec 31, 2021

I got my FM9 and like it a lot.

I keep reading that the fractal stuff has better feel and tone on amp models than helix but I’m not too sure about that.

i still find the helix alot easier to get a great tone with quicklyand think the amp models and feel are very close.

I’ll know more after rehearsal Saturday with the FM9 which I prefer but I’ve been nailing the shiva thing with my helix and a York Audio Bogner cab it’s sooo good.

The FM9 is so killer though. It’s an awesome time to be an amp junkie with all the killer modelling and profiling happening

Budda

· #11 · Dec 31, 2021

Budda's quick tricks for fun times:

edge of breakup: pick your clean amp and IR, then put a TS808 in front of it. Done.

High gain: 212 IR's over 412, you may like what you hear.

"I want to level cities!" negative feedback parameter and Xformer matching are your new playthings - enjoy them.

I don't notice every little modelling improvement Cliff crams into this tech, but I know I'm having way more fun just exploring and listening to what I create than I expected. And IMHO that's what it's all about.

Reactions: 1

Sneaky

· #12 · Dec 31, 2021

I used to love my Line 6 Flextone too. 😎😄😄😄

Budda

· #13 · Dec 31, 2021

Sneaky said:
I used to love my Line 6 Flextone too. 😎😄😄😄

And you may have dialled it in to the point where in a blind test, no one could tell you it was a flextone

tdotrob

· #14 · Dec 31, 2021

I hated the flextone. It was ass and always will be

Reactions: 2

Sneaky

· #15 · Dec 31, 2021

Budda said:
And you may have dialled it in to the point where in a blind test, no one could tell you it was a flextone

Actually, I did quite like it with headphones, not so much as an amp. I’m mostly just trying to give Tim a hard time.

Reactions: 2

mhammer

· #16 · Dec 31, 2021

Not to take anything away from the pricier modellers, but if one is cost-conscious I recommend keeping your eyes peeled for a used Johnson J-Station. It not only has lots of amp models, but deeper editing (which is VERY easy to do) allows one to select from a variety of cabs, adjust additional parameters for the many effects (lots of reverb control - more than many pedals), have up to 6 effects concurrently (if you count distortion as one of them), and save lots of presets, all accessible under MIDI control or a couple of button presses. One can easily whip up a footswitch to scroll through presets, and there are editors freely available for download. I bought my unit for something like $90.

Here' the manual, to give you a better idea of the capabilities - Johnson Amp J-Station Owner’s Manual JStationmanual - and a video from someone who still appreciates theirs. Again, not saying it is "better", but if you'd like something that provides more comprehensive construction of your tone, this is a surprisingly powerful cost-effective option that takes you a good distance towards what the Fractal and Kemper units do.

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Reactions: 1

TimH

Discussion Starter · #17 · Dec 31, 2021

Let's try to keep the thread on topic...

player99

· #18 · Dec 31, 2021

mhammer said:
Not to take anything away from the pricier modellers, but if one is cost-conscious I recommend keeping your eyes peeled for a used Johnson J-Station. It not only has lots of amp models, but deeper editing (which is VERY easy to do) allows one to select from a variety of cabs, adjust additional parameters for the many effects (lots of reverb control - more than many pedals), have up to 6 effects concurrently (if you count distortion as one of them), and save lots of presets, all accessible under MIDI control or a couple of button presses. One can easily whip up a footswitch to scroll through presets, and there are editors freely available for download. I bought my unit for something like $90.

Here' the manual, to give you a better idea of the capabilities - Johnson Amp J-Station Owner’s Manual JStationmanual - and a video from someone who still appreciates theirs. Again, not saying it is "better", but if you'd like something that provides more comprehensive construction of your tone, this is a surprisingly powerful cost-effective option that takes you a good distance towards what the Fractal and Kemper units do.

I just bought a pod 2 with the bag and box in mint condition for well under $100. I would like to try one of these new top of the line units though.

TimH

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jan 1, 2022

Any of these $100 units are hardly a comparable. It's more like you'd need to get:

Amp Tones: J-Station $100
MIDI Controller: RJM Mastermind GT10 $1800
On-par FX: Strymon Trifecta $1400 (USED)
USB/Optical Interface $300

The FM9 plus an extra expression pedal was $2700 all in landed at my door. So, if you ONLY need amp sounds with no switching or high end FX then great. If you want/need dual amps, professional FX, IR loading, audio interface, etc then the J-Station and POD 2.0 simply don't cut the mustard.

player99

· #20 · Jan 1, 2022

TimH said:
Any of these $100 units are hardly a comparable. It's more like you'd need to get:

Amp Tones: J-Station $100

MIDI Controller: RJM Mastermind GT10 $1800

On-par FX: Strymon Trifecta $1400 (USED)

USB/Optical Interface $300

The FM9 plus an extra expression pedal was $2700 all in landed at my door. So, if you ONLY need amp sounds with no switching or high end FX then great. If you want/need dual amps, professional FX, IR loading, audio interface, etc then the J-Station and POD 2.0 simply don't cut the mustard.

The pod will put the FM9 to shame lol.

It must be a joy to play the FM9.

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