FM9
A floor processor with the same 14x6 stereo grid as the Axe-Fx III, two amp and cab pairs per preset, eight scenes and four channels per block — plus nine footswitches, nine switchable layouts, and a FASLINK II port for up to two more foot controllers.
If yours has three footswitches it is an FM3, which allows only one amp and cab pair. If it is a rack with no switches at all, that is the Axe-Fx III.
The pages that exist nowhere else
Scenes and channels
The two axes that make one preset replace a dozen.
The grid and CPU
14 by 6, all stereo, and a CPU budget you manage rather than caps you hit.
What the effect names really are
Every model Fractal themselves describe — and an honest account of the ones they don't.
Troubleshooting
Symptom, cause, fix — including what is documented behaviour rather than a fault.
Controls and footswitches
Every control on an interactive top panel — nine switches, nine layouts, and why a switch changes job.
Inputs and outputs
Every jack on an interactive rear panel, Humbuster, and the FASLINK II port.
Specifications
The numbers that answer a question, with the Axe-Fx III and FM3 comparisons.
Scenes and channels
The two axes that make one preset replace a dozen.
The grid and CPU
14 by 6, all stereo, and a CPU budget you manage rather than caps you hit.
What the effect names really are
Every model Fractal themselves describe — and an honest account of the ones they don't.
Levels
Input trim, output level and preset level do three different jobs. The first one does not change your tone, however much it looks like it should.
Cabs and user IRs
What a User Cab is, how to get one onto the unit, and the file extension that looks right and does nothing.
Rig setup
FRFR, front of house, into a real amp, or both at once.
MIDI
Why Fractal MIDI works differently from everyone else's, and the mapping that lets a one-message controller drive a scene-based rig.
Questions and answers
Straight answers to the things people actually ask.
Troubleshooting
Symptom, cause, fix — including what is documented behaviour rather than a fault.
Firmware and backups
Presets live in banks of 128, so backing up "your presets" usually backs up a quarter of them. Plus the version note that saves you later.
Glossary
Grid, scene, channel, shunt, Humbuster, FASLINK, layout, Cygnus.