FRACTAL FM3 AMP MODELLER/FX PROCESSOR - €1266

Instantly stage-ready high-end amp and effect modelling

- Trevor Curwen

In terms of modelling amp and effects processors Fractal is pretty much at the top of the tree with their rackmount Axe-Fx III. That said, it’s probably also fair to say that it’s out of the financial reach of most of us, especially if you add in the cost of a FC-6 or FC-12 controller for a fully functional setup that’ll work on stage as well as at home or in the studio. Now, though, you can buy into the Fractal experience with their FM3, a relatively compact stage-ready floor (or tabletop) unit - still not exactly cheap but a lot more affordable than a full Axe-Fx III rig and competitive with floorboard rivals. The FM3 has about half the processing power of its larger sibling and less blocks in the signal chain from which to build your rig, (you are limited to one amp rather than two), but does feature the same ARES amp mo dell ing and algorithms so can have the same sonic clout when the settings are the same. Some of the less essential Axe-Fx III effects are absent (Vocoder, anyone?), but there’s still a massive variety of amps, cabs (including 1024 User Cab memory locations for your own IRs) and effects available to build rigs to fill the 512 onboard preset slots.