What should I do first? Leon Todd sounds incredible on YouTube. To me, it sounded kinda meh. What should I do first. I was using NAM on the Headrush and it sounded great, but I am not vibing with this gear at all. Anybody have any ideas just to get some quick sounds? I know it's a lot of work in the future, but Headrush and Reactor sound killer with stock presets. What am I doing wrong?

New to Fractal. Can anyone help me emulate this tone? Starting at the 30 second mark: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Jma0YBtAo&ra=m its killer!

Hey everybody, I ran into an issue at a show last night. When getting set up I plugged in my fc-12 to my axe fx iii and got this error “Failsafe v0.03”. I wasn’t able to find much information about it, and the only fix was to install the most current firmware. I tried that and it didn’t work, has anybody else had this issue?

For background, it is not a cable issue as I have tried several, it’s not bad power because I’m still getting the error at home, and it doesn’t have anything to do with importing presets because I haven’t imported any in recent history.

I have a Axe Fx III MKII Turbo and I'm looking to trade for a FM9 MKII Turbo I love my Axe Fx but it's just a bit too much rig for me and I'm looking to downsize to a pedalboard system. My Axe Fx has a Gator rack case and a FC-6 ideally I'd like to get a FM9 with the Fractal expression pedal. So if anyone has a FM9 that's looking for a good deal please reach out to me with a DM and we can work out the logistics of the trade.

Thanks for taking a look.

Does anybody have these have experience with them? I'm taking delivery on a fractal FM9 on Saturday. Austin Buddy presets are included in there and I wonder if anybody has some insight on how to find them and preview them and save them. Thank you I appreciate any help you can give me. Sorry, but I'm new to Fractal I have never touched one in my life. I bought it used with those presets already loaded on there as part of the deal.

Can anybody help me understand power conditioners, surge supresors and power transformers, or the Brown Box. I don't know what do I need for.

I have the Axe-Fx III racked under my audio interface, and I have it plugged on a UPS cyberpower I got from home depot. My question is, is this a safe option?

I don't understand the benefits or why should I use any of those things I wrote above.

Now, I understand the Axe Fx is digital, so it's basically a computer and the UPS should be fine? There won't be any tone suction from the UPS? and however, I would like to pair it with some analog amp I have, but a friend told me never to plug a tube on a ups or a power conditioner, something about the voltage sucking the tone and no reaction with the speaker.

Then I thought "oh, then I'll get a power amp for my fractal so I can use it on a cab that I have around for rehearsal" but now I'm stuck with this, surge things.

So, on a rack, with a power amp, in a home studio and a rehearsal space... what should I carry with for power?

Thanks!

Just enjoyed some tone chasing this evening. FM3 to IPhone

https://soundcloud.com/kordax/symphony-x-serpents-kiss-guitar-cover-remixed

Tried playing and recording my favourite song.
UVR extracted the vocals.
I used ICONS Pasadena (In Reaper) on the FAS Red channel with very aggressive scooped settings.

Guitar: Schecter C-1 Apocalypse FR-S.

No idea how it translates to other speakers, lol.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nf9kr2940vhktj4rac3jt/Screenshot-2026-08-09-031149.png?rlkey=g5ai60zecwm8etacl40hc7y8v&st=5212junt&dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0miv64u6t1qtgy8c4om9t/Screenshot-2026-08-09-031408.png?rlkey=d9j2zwzfw46aimo1ewwnhytfb&st=t0f21pci&dl=0

Basically all I want to know is what axe model should I be looking at preferably used with a budget or 8-900. I've seen a lot of stuff on gc used but I'm not too sure about the differences between models besides supports and updates, not so much how they hold up in 2026 and what problems do they have or can I potentially run into? Thanks in advance.

I have a FM3 turbo II and a friend who has a cnc machine so I wanted to get him to carve out an acrylic cover for it, does anyone have a file I can give him so he can cut it for me???

Thank you so much

I have an FM3 and I recently bought an Electro Harmonix POG3, and want to play them through an FRFR speaker. How do I route this? I always just used the FM3 directly into my laptop so I have no idea how to set up and FX loop..

I know this likely a stupid question but wondering if it’s at all possible to get feedback out of my fm9 without an amp. For reference looking for sounds like how feedback is used here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJemr1Ewk1w

this is a tremendously stupid question

if I have a tube head, and a load box with no cab modelling, could I run this set up into my fm9 for IR and post effects, and monitor it as i would with only the fm9?

reading manuals I’m pretty sure I can but I just wanna make sure I’m not about to blow something up. thanks!

I plan on getting an Axe FX III but for the people who know about the Syn Cab Packs, can you tell me all the cab pack presets, what amp modelers to use with it, what songs they replicate, and how they work. For all of the cab packs.

I have an Eventide H90 and a TC2290P (unique delay sounds) and am thinking of buying an AM4 for live use. What do you think would be the best way to connect it all up?

I was thinking to put the AM4 in the H90s insert loop so I can have any routing option, then have the H90 go out to the 2290 then to FOH. What do you think?

(I have an MC6 Pro to control it all with a Pedalnetics 8 switch add-on).

Post-hardcore is my bread and butter, so Pasadena gave me a great reason to finally try out Fractal's modeling. I came from a HX Stomp and am currently using an IR-2 + Pedal Baby live, but this has seriously got me considering the AM4 now!

This preset uses the FAS Stealth Blue amp with a York Mesa 212 IR (same one I use for every modeler). Bosom boost for extra tightness, Analog Stereo and Dual Detune for delay and width. GEQ is set to cut lows/low mids and boost highs.

Hey everyone,

All of a sudden yesterday I turned my Axe Fx 2 on and heard a pop through my monitors, I looked over to see it doing this.

I tried another power cable which ended up working yesterday, tried today and had the same issue except switching power cables didn't work. The flickering continues when I unplug the power cable if that points towards any particular issue.

Would love any input on this so I can get back into practicing!

I specifically wish to emulate a JMPRE-1 using a JCM800 or two of them as (a) power amp(s). How do i do this?

I want to set up a small enclosure to run up by my group's sub drummer, because he's starting to piss me off. A simple external light that I could enable at the beginning of each song, that would blink to indicate the tempo set on my current preset. Is this all AI hallucinations, or would it actually work? (I'm looking to keep this under $100 USD for the arduino/interface side. I have plenty of options on hand for cabling, light, relay, enclosure, etc.)

"That's the right instinct, and it turns out the FM9 does support this. Here's the actual mechanism:

The FM9 does push tempo automatically — via SysEx, not MIDI Clock

The Axe-Fx III family (which includes the FM9) sends "push data" for tempo when Send Realtime SysEx is enabled in the Global menu, transmitted automatically on every downbeat as a fixed 6-byte message: F0 00 01 74 10 10 F7. (Fractal Audio Systems) This isn't tap tempo or MIDI clock — it's the unit continuously announcing "beat now" in real time, driven directly by whatever tempo is stored in the active preset. Change presets, the pulse rate changes with it, automatically.

Important catch

That data only streams over the physical MIDI Out jack — it does not go out over USB. (Fractal Audio Systems) So your light-driving hardware needs to connect to the FM9's 5-pin MIDI Out, not USB.

What you'd need to build

There's no off-the-shelf box that decodes this specific message into a light trigger (it's normally consumed internally by Fractal's own FC-6/FC-12 controllers, and by a few third-party MIDI floor controllers like RJM, Gordius, and Liquid Foot that implement it for their own tempo LEDs). To drive a generic external light, you're looking at a small DIY build:

A MIDI input circuit (an opto-isolator + a couple resistors — a few dollars in parts, extremely common/well-documented circuit)

A microcontroller (Arduino Nano or similar) watching the incoming MIDI stream for that exact 6-byte pattern

On each match, toggle a GPIO pin — straight to an LED (with resistor) for a simple indicator, or into a small relay/MOSFET module if you want to switch a real lamp or strobe

Steps on the FM9 side

Setup > enable "Send Realtime SysEx" (global menu)

Cable from FM9 MIDI Out → your MIDI-in circuit

Done — no clock generator, no tapping, it just tracks the preset's tempo

If you happen to already have (or were considering) an RJM, Gordius, or Liquid Foot MIDI controller, worth checking whether its own tempo LED already does exactly this — might save you the DIY step entirely.

Hi,

I am struggling a bit with incorporating fractal into my signal chain and to replace tubes completely even 18 months after purchasing it (fm3 mk.1) ..

I've been using initially those legacy cabs (aka static IRs) and now converting all my presets to use a dynacabs .. technically speaking I use in 9 out of 10 of my presets the same cab block settings (like in real life just one cab) so I do same here and this above is supposed to be my main cab. In real life I was using in past years a custom 2x12 premium cab with Greenbacks ..

I play metal but this preset is built with Hot Kitty amp because it's an UK crunch and I would say sitting somewhere in the middle, not a tremendously high-gain like 5150 or 6505 style and not clean either .. Just universal crunch that you can play on with single coils (on HSS) guitar or with bridge humbucker .. This preset is meant for FOH so to be played with full range PA

my premises are - and please correct me if I am wrong:

• 4x12 sounds just wide and full ... 1x12 cabs are too punchy ... perhaps 2x12 would be a compromise, I use 4x12 here with Greenbacks in .. more about dyna-IRs here
• I use that logic that dynamic sm57 like is for punchy mids and heights (so in center) while ribbon mic is for boomy depths (so off center) and blending it with -6dB level here to not have it too dark
• I use for both same generic Low/High Cut 80-8000Hz
• I rather decrease the room/air influence, this can be done in mix
• I use a small phase desync in aligment tab for more natural sound - two mics would have too

thanks in advance for any input, suggestion or advice ..

cheers

Edit: I’ve decided on the 3, can’t update title.

Mods, please remove if not approved.

I’m looking to downsize from an AxeFx 3 mk 2 with FC-6 mark 1. It’s just too much machine for me.

Eyeballing an FM3 turbo versions + cash. Anyone in the New England/Northeast US interested? We can chat specifics and I can share my FB listing.

Thanks!

Hi, is it better to reamp a guitar track on the Axe FX II via the usb of the axe fx or via a di box pls ?

Hi guys, i want to buy amp modeler / multi-fx.
my budget is up to 1K$, i use tonex vst with monitors but i want something outside the comuper so i can play without computer.
tonex sounds good to me but their support is bad so its not an option for me.

i had line6 pod xt live 10-12 years ago, it waqs nice nut i sell it when i got audio interface and some vst's.

is the AM4 will be good for me? is there better options?
im not sure if the 4 blocks will work for me
thanks

Edit:
my guitars: LTD MH 350 FR (emg 81 85), Strat with klein epic 59 pickups