# Fractal FM9 - the best of all digital worlds?



## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

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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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

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


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

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 (Sep 5, 2019)

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








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







shop.fractalaudio.com





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





Reverb







reverb.com


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

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.


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

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.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

player99 said:


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


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


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

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...


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## slag banal (May 4, 2020)

“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.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

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


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

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.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

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


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

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


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

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


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

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.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

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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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

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


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

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.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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.


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

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.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

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
> ...


The pod will put the FM9 to shame lol.

It must be a joy to play the FM9.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

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
> ...


I'll add that the Fractal FX8 is still one of the best buys out there; top of the line switcher, effects, looper and has Relays for amp channel switching. They are going used for $US700 or so. A lot of bang for the buck. To me, it was the perfect marriage between tube and digital platforms i.e. you can use the FX8 with your favourite tube amp. The FX8 is now discontinued and suspect that this "compromise" unit doesn't fit with either digital or tube crowds. My only issue with the FX8 was the number of cables given that I was running 4CM, a couple expression pedals and a MIDI box for the Relays / channel switching. I'll wait for the bluetooth version : - ) but in the meantime the FM9 is filling in the void nicely.


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

Everyone keep me in mind when you get your new toys so that I can buy something to play guitar on my computer.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Not a shredder? No problem, the FM9 does it for you......The preset is aptly titled 'Eat your heart out....Jack Butler"


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Oh I was expecting the arpeggiator preset similar to the II there haha.

Not sure if the FM9 owners have messed around with the speaker page much as yet, but a tip I just read recommends dropping the low freq by half (down an octave) for getting some clarity and changing the feel.



> hey, wherever the low resonance is centered, cut it in half to drop it down an octave...110Hz, put it at 55 Hz...55 Hz is where you _feel_ the amp, and it does something else crazy with the high end and the mids when you get that low resonant peak out of the way and put it down lower, the high end and mids gain back all that power headroom that was getting sucked up by 110 Hz, everything gets crystal clear in a way no other parameter can bring out


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

Just thought i would revive this thread. Out of curiousity.....any thoughts on what unit you feel authenticates the original amps they represent between the Helix and Fractal FM9? I've heard that Cliff with Fractal doesn't necessarily model his versions on a specific amp and tends to base his amps based on ear. Whereas Line 6 specifically tests and models every aspect of a specific amp they have on hand, and base their model on that amp. Thoughts?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Voxguy76 said:


> Just thought i would revive this thread. Out of curiousity.....any thoughts on what unit you feel authenticates the original amps they represent between the Helix and Fractal FM9? I've heard that Cliff with Fractal doesn't necessarily model his versions on a specific amp and tends to base his amps based on ear. Whereas Line 6 specifically tests and models every aspect of a specific amp they have on hand, and base their model on that amp. Thoughts?


Cliff models based on the amp in his possession.


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

Sorry I should have been more specific. I agree he is modeling the amp he has on hand, but I was almost certain the end result on fractal products was a version that was tailored to a version he thought sounded best, and not necessarily the version most authentically represented of the amp being modeled? Either way, given all the parameters offered within their editing software I honestly believe you can make any model sound individually unique regardless.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Probably worth reading up on the fractal forum. Cliff models the amps as well as made idealized versions which start with “FAS”.


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

Voxguy76 said:


> Just thought i would revive this thread. Out of curiousity.....any thoughts on what unit you feel authenticates the original amps they represent between the Helix and Fractal FM9? I've heard that Cliff with Fractal doesn't necessarily model his versions on a specific amp and tends to base his amps based on ear. Whereas Line 6 specifically tests and models every aspect of a specific amp they have on hand, and base their model on that amp. Thoughts?


my take…if you’re listening in isolation you will probably find the Fractal “patches” most pleasing to the ear. Does that mean they are the most realistic. No. I tend to think the Line 6 stays more true to the untamed nature of the tube amp…sonically. But the tones we love aren’t untamed. They are tuned, processed, compressed and EQ’d. Helix sounds are studio ready…Fractal are Studio Finished…if that makes sense?


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

TimH said:


> my take…if you’re listening in isolation you will probably find the Fractal “patches” most pleasing to the ear. Does that mean they are the most realistic. No. I tend to think the Line 6 stays more true to the untamed nature of the tube amp…sonically. But the tones we love aren’t untamed. They are tuned, processed, compressed and EQ’d. Helix sounds are studio ready…Fractal are Studio Finished…if that makes sense?


Totally makes sense, and I agree. What a world we live in where we can debate what multi effects processor sounds more authentic. I find it humbling when i think of most of the music and recorded sounds i grew up listening to were all recorded through an amp, couple of pedals and mic. No fancy boutique amps, or pedals. And nowadays we have studio grade sounds in 1 box. Not sure how any of these manufacturers can possibly further their products anymore given all the advancements in technology they have already achieved.


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## Clypher (Jan 5, 2007)

I've used Axe FX stuff for over 10 years. I currently have the II rack unit. I'm still learning how to get new tones from it, and discovering new amp models that inspire me. I barely even use the multitude of effects on it, but every once in a while they come in handy.

For the edge of breakup stuff I found using the Dweezil's modded bassman model through the 1x15 blues to be pretty fun. Select a drive to taste.


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## Mateo2006 (May 31, 2015)

I think the OG's and other's observations are all sound here.

Having a need for a travel-ready low volume practice solution I jumped on the modeling bandwagon early with the original POD. I later got an XT Live and then in 2016 a Kemper.

The Line 6 POD was an instant hit with me for practicing and doing recordings in dormitories and hotel rooms in the 1990s. I still find it handy in this application.

I am not denying in anyway how far the digital 'modeling' has come since then but I think we forget that many of our favourite guitarists recorded albums using Line 6 stuff at that time.

(Guitar World)
*"GW* Was there a main amp you used for _Jeff_?

*BECK* In the early stages I was using a [_Line 6_] Pod in a writing studio. There’s quite a lot of demo guitar left in there on the song “Plan B.” But most of the rest of the album was done with a [_Marshall_] JCM2000, and a Line 6 as well. It has quite a lot of variations that you couldn’t get out of the Marshall. The Marshall is great. But it has just that one characteristic."

So when someone talks about the Johnson amp for example, which I thought sounded quite good back in the day, I take it seriously. Good sounds can be had out of all this stuff if one takes the time to dial them in and play to the unit's strengths.

Later I switched to "in the box" solutions with Fender Amplitube and S-Gear. The S-gear didn't have many models but they sounded great. ...And when are you going to find a digital reverb outboard unit that has more processing power than a plug-in in your home computer?

It took me about a year to warm up to the Kemper after I bought it and stop using my Klon and other pedals in front of it. Today, the reverbs and overdrives are much better/more diverse than they were then.

I remember seeing the video back then:





I thought, "If could just get these two sounds that Mark Dannells gets in the videos - at silent volume in my apartment - it would be worth the price of admission!"

But the OG is right when he states that dual amp set up are a distinct omission by the Kemper.

We also know that the effects are _so_ good on the AxeFx that people like Steve Vai, who could have as big a pedal board or rack as he wished, choose to use the AxeFx just for their effects. No one does that with the Kemper.

For me though, the thing I miss with the Kemper the most is the simplicity of being able to turn down the volume (gain) and have the amp sound like the original amp all over the dial. In the Kemper, you have a kind of generic Gain adjustment that adds or subtracts from the profile's original snapshot. This is a function of how the profiling works but all other modeling gear can do this.

The Kemper has good dumble-esque profile but after hearing these I felt that I would love to have access to these sounds with the AxeFX III:

Marco Fanton - Lower Gain ODS





Camilo Velandia - Bludotone





I am not giving up on the Kemper. It still sounds great - but I can understand why people love the options that AxeFx offers.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

I had a Johnson 250 Millenia amp, had to sell it for rent in the early 2000's.
Luckily, I got a Digitech 2112 SGS , which is a J 250 amp in rack form.

Johnson made some great tonal products. I wish that they would come back and start making gear again.


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## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

I have an FM9 Turbo now and love it. It is amazing both as a modeler and in 4cm with a real amp. Highly recommended for both uses, just so good!


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