How Good is the Fractal FM3 REALLY? I've Had One for 4 Years

I love my FM9, she's the HAWK TUAH of modellers for sure. She is the Gift that keeps on Giving.

New to the Fractal world. Been on a HX Stomp forever which I absolutely love. But the FM3 I just got, makes my Stomp feel like a toy. And the tones? The tones just seem better. But by God, you REALLY need to read the manual… Overwhelming is an absolute understatement 😂😂😂

FM3 is an amazing bit of engineering. Hold one in your hands, navigate the menus, hear those amazing Fractal effects...and you'll get it. Great value used too. 👍

Not only do I really love your videos and the way you share your thoughts and information to us, but I really enjoy your playing too. Love your style, and you always have incredible tone. I know the gear helps, but let's face it, most of our tone comes from our fingers and playing technique. Well done John... as always!

Great video! I've been using Fractal products since 2015. I recently switched from the FM9 Turbo and put together a hybrid pedal board with an FM3 Turbo and a few of my favorite drive pedals in front. Now I can tweak on the fly. Sounds great! I also run a Strymon Cloudburst through the loop and save a ton of CPU. Thanks for the time you take on these videos. It's appreciated and inspiring!

I feel like I’ve learned a lot about the science of sound ,speakers and amps, since owning an axe fx in 2016. Once you follow the forum which is full of utter nerds and die hards and read cliffs posts of scientific papers and advancements it’s such an eye opener.

I have my Axe FX 3 and FC12 in my desk. I use it for everything. I want to get an FM3 to load up with everything I need for live performances. The FM3 with the FC12 and expression pedals is Great backpack rig. If someone didn't already have the fc12 like myself, i think the FM9 would be your best option. Fractal remains the King of Tone amongst modelers. No matter what anyone tries to say. I surprisingly love Fenders UI in the Tone Master unit

I’ve had the fm3 since its initial release in the states and then upgraded to the HP version when it came out. Been in fractal audio land since 2014-2015 myself. Cliff and his team are miles ahead of any other company out there doing modeling and have been since they hit the scene. I’d imagine fractal audio has been approached by bigger companies to try and buy them out because no one has been able to capture what fractal audio has imho. I’ve said it for years but I truly believe that fractal audio and all of these modelers out these days are some of the most innovative and intuitive and creative pieces of gear ever made for guitar players. It just fills every need and want and gives most people who can’t afford or have the space for numerous amps a way to try them all out and find what your flavor is. Seriously one of the best pieces of gear ever made for guitar players.

Great video as always man, thanks for all your content on the channel. I’d love to see your opinion on a video of Fractal FM3 vs Kemper Player

@johnnathancordy definitely keep in touch with Thomas Blug. I’d love to see you demo the AMPX.

Best tone I’ve legit ever had was from an FM3 running into a HRD…no joke, best hybrid setup of my life. No other modeler, profiler comes close.

The warranty repair on my FM3 was world-class fast. Collected Tuesday morning, repaired Wednesday, posted Wednesday evening, and delivered Thursday morning. Phenomenal service centre here in the UK.

Agree 100%. I own several high end valve, SS amps and one pedal form factor multi-amp simulator. Have tried helix & QC. My FM3 rocks! Love it.

I have the Full blown AXE- FX III as well as the FM3 and I use the FM3 90% of the time. It is portable and and sounds great with my Friedman ASC-10. Whenever I go to try out a new guitar I take my FM3 in a back pack with headphones. I find it is much easier to determine whether the guitar will suit my needs and not have to fiddle with an unfamiliar amp(s) that I don't like. I have two other modelers as well and some really nice amps. The Fractal is the best all around tool

I went from hating modeling due to early experiences with Line 6. In 2021 I chose to dive into modeling with the FM3 and it turned my whole opinion around and in the time since I have double the device than the one I purchased through updates. The new Dyna Cabs with Cab Lab 4 are so cool. As far as being too complex to edit is really BS. Everything has a basic level that is defaulted to being great right out of the gate and if you want to go further the stuff is there. There’s really nothing better.

I was all set on buying an FM3 until I saw a video on the time it takes to reboot the unit (60 seconds). Losing power at gigs is very rare but not uncommon, particularly playing wedding venues with sound limiters. So I have stuck with my Axe FX 2 (reboot time is about 10 seconds) and this unit still sounds amazing!

If you have a Fractal, check out an RJM Mastermind GT or PBC (which adds a looper) for added foot control. The Mastermind's integration with the Fractal line is excellent. And these units also control many other pedals via MIDI. I happen to have a Mastermind GT10 which I use with my Kemper Rack. But I'm considering an FM3 as well.

Used the Axe FX 2 live for several years until the Helix floor arrived and now I use HX stomp XL. If I’m on tour, I can’t just pop into a shop and buy a fractal product, but I can get line 6 products in most countries and states. This makes the HX products are much better decision for the working musician.

Hi John! Could you please make an updated video about the real-world differences between the FM9 and the FM3? Now with the gapless preset/channel switching and the complete flexibility on the footswitch management, it seems to me that there's little (if any) reason to choose the FM9 over the FM3.

Just sent my FM9 for service had an issue. Turnover time for repair 3 days ! Great customer service spoke to Andrew at Fractal too notch guy.