■ FRACTAL AUDIO | FM3
■ FRACTAL AUDIO | FM3
■ A NEW ERA
■ Back in 2022, I upgraded to the Fractal audio FM3.
■ I mostly hate modellers, but this is just a different league.
■ It's been on my radar for quite some time, so look out for demos, gear reviews, and various live streams specials on this unit.
■ Many of you know I've been a longtime Marshall JMP-1 user, often just going direct from the speaker emulated outs.
■ For the time being, I will still be taking my JMP-1's out to my live gigs as they're somewhat unpredictable, and I'd rather not put an AxeFx unit on the floor with beer spilling about the place!
■ My main reasons for upgrading were because my JMP-1's are getting old! The effects loops and internal parts are starting to fail, so I just felt it was time to upgrade.
■ However, that said, eventually, I will be moving over to AxeFx gear for everything, so maybe a custom made pedalboard to protect things will be needed.
■ FRACTAL PEDALBOARD SETUP
■ I had some "bigger" gigs back in June 2024, and needed a quicker solution. took out the FM3 in this pedalboard setup. It went direct from two XLRs to FOH perfectly, and it sounded incredible.
■ The pedalboard consists of an FM3, FC-6 and an EV-1 expression pedal. I sometimes use a further two external hotone footswitches to give me 4 further footswitches.
■ FM3 PRESETS | EFFECT BLOCK LIBRARIES
■ I'm making all my FM3 presets available for free to download. I'm pretty much set on the JMP-1 tones now. I use a few effects nothing outrageous.
■ I use the Fractal FC-6 and EV-1 pedals to expand the FM3. I'm using a modified OMG9 layout. You may need to adjust the button layout/switching accordingly.
■ I'm always updating my patches and changing my tone as my tastes change, so if you want the latest patches from me, then check my Guitar Zone discord server.
■ As of November 2023, I've started making regular backups of my entire presets, some of them experimental. You can grab the lot in the FM3 | FULL BACKUPS Folder.
■ DISCLAIMER: All my presets should work with the FM9 and AxeFX III. Please make sure you know what you're doing though, I am not responisble for any problems.
■ FM3 | MAIN PRESET INFO
■ MAIN JMP-1 PRESET PATCH
■ I use mainly one preset, my "kitchen sink" preset, consisting of 8 scenes.
■ The need was to re-create my old JMP-1 rig.
■ All the scenes use the JMPre-1 OD1 Bass Shift amp, apart from the clean patch, which uses a USA Rhythm 1 amp.
■ 1 | Rhythm
■ 2 | Lead 1
■ 3 | Lead 2
■ 4 | Clean
■ 5 | Whammy Pedal
■ 6 | Talkbox (Formant block)
■ 7 | Floyd Phase 90 (Speed on EV-1)
■ 8 | Big Lead Delay (Lots of Delay)
■ Download My Main JMP-1 "Kitchen Sink" Preset Here.
■ FM3 | AMBIENT PATCH
■ Here is the patch I use for my ambient improv sections on my live streams.
■ I've added it to my google drive folder for fellow FM3 users.
■ Here is a clip of me improvising using the patch.
■ Clipped from my Twitch live stream Mon 6th Nov 2023.
■ Download My Ambient Patch Used In This Video Here.
■ FM3 | FIRMWARE LINKS | RESOURCES
■ USEFUL LINKS
■ Official Fractal Forum
■ AxeFX Archive
■ Dyna-Cabs | Firmware
■ As of March 2026, I still use firmware 9.01.
■ As always, with anything Fractal go to their website first!
■ However, I set this little reference page up as more of a personal links resource section to keep track of all the firmware releases, FM3-Edit versions, backups, IRs and patches.
■ FM3 FIRMWARE RELEASES
(These are not beta releases)
■ FW | 8 - Gapless Switching
■ April 29th 2024 | Forum Link
■ Needs FM3-Edit 1.06.09
■ FW | 9.01 - Layout Link Bugs Fixed.
■ Oct 11th 2024 | Forum Link
■ Needs FM3-Edit 1.07.02
■ FW 10 - Needs new patches.
■ May 30th 2025 | Forum Link
■ Needs FM3-Edit 1.07.08
■ FW 11 - Has issues with audio drop outs.
■ Oct 1st 2025 | Forum Link
■ Needs FM3-Edit 1.07.12
■ FW 12
■ Jan 19th 2026 | Forum Link
■ Needs FM3-Edit 1.07.15