Fm9 or qc | Guitar | Page 1

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 6:48 PM

#

I was gonna buy an fm9 last night but the quad cortex got caught in my crosshairs so I’m not sure anymore, would anyone give some advice?

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 7:49 PM

#

Im assuming used?

#

I own the FM3, and about to go for the Axe 3 MK2.

#

QC gets alot of smoke for software issues last I checked. Fractal Audio gets constant life cycle updates and goes through a 7-8 year life cycle support time frame.

#

The DSP is superior in the FM9 with better cleans, distortion and godlike delays.

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 8:31 PM

#

strong plume Im assuming used?

Yeah both used

#

The only thing that’s making me want to go for a quad cortex is the ease of use but it seems to have genuine downsides

#

But like once I’d get an fm9 going it’d probably be fine

#

I’d probably save for an axe 3 but I admittedly see no use for it since I just want realistic tone with a basic amount of effects

#

I do also want to use an expression pedal and the qc seems finicky with that

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 8:51 PM

#

wheat stratus I do also want to use an expression pedal and the qc seems finicky with that

If you are going simple without much stacking 2 delays/ reverbs, you can opt for a smaller footprint with the fm3.

#

It is more than adequate

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 8:53 PM

#

strong plume If you are going simple without much stacking 2 delays/ reverbs, you can opt for...

I occasionally do you more complicated tones where an fm3 would probably run short

#

Also the transposition on the 3 is weaker from what I’ve seen

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 8:56 PM

#

wheat stratus Also the transposition on the 3 is weaker from what I’ve seen

Same algorithm and doesn't touch the dsp much

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 8:56 PM

#

I probably would’ve gone for the 3 if I didn’t get a Floyd and go down half a step often

#

The processor caused some delay

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 8:56 PM

#

A drop whammy pedal us superior.

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 8:57 PM

#

The fm9 transposition sounds great but my concern was the delay it would cause

#

Fm3 spazzes out a little

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 8:58 PM

#

I can tell you that brojobs first album was transposed down on the axefx2

#

Fm9 is a stronger unit overall

#

I haven't transposed since 2019 briefly

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 8:59 PM

#

Yeah I don’t mind spending a decent bit more for the long run

#

I’m in highschool so I don’t have expenses and I get stuff with money from my part time job so it’s not like I’m scouring to save

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 8:59 PM

#

Ive got 6 guitars to cover everything.

#

You will love the fm9

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:00 PM

#

I have a silver sky and a pia and I won my pia from a guitar shop 😭

#

I probably want to get a Laney cabinet later

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:00 PM

#

Why laney

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:01 PM

#

I admittedly have no idea I heard it was good and haven’t seen many cab looking fr fr units

#

Guthrie uses two live

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:01 PM

#

Why use speaker ir over dedicated ones?

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:02 PM

#

Wait so I could get a real cab and it’d work well

#

I’m using hs4s at the moment

#

I’ve been using plugins until now

#

But I get pigeon holed into using certain pedals and it’s kinda annoying

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:04 PM

#

strong plume Why use speaker ir over dedicated ones?

I don’t really understand the whole impulse response thing tho😭

#

In gonna have to learn a lot

#

I kinda plug and play

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:04 PM

#

You use impulses through frfr to emulate different speakers.

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:05 PM

#

So I could just get a real cab and it’d work fine if I can find a speaker I like

#

That part confuses me so much

#

I plan to use my hs4s for a while anyway tho

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:07 PM

#

You disable the cab block through a dedicated speaker.

#

Irs are great for recording into your daw or utilizing frfr fir practice.

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:07 PM

#

Ah I see

#

But when I wanna just play I can use the real thing

#

Because for recording I’d use monitors anyway

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:08 PM

#

Yes.

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:08 PM

#

That could actually save me a tremendous amount of money 😭

#

The top end Laney cabs are like 1500

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:08 PM

#

Not worth

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:09 PM

#

Yeah I could get a marshal cab or something with a Celestion for a fraction of the price

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:09 PM

#

Get a 2x12 for live use

#

Or fm9 can go direct into venue sound system if playing live.

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:11 PM

#

strong plume Get a 2x12 for live use

Yeah I’m just not sure which one could cover most bases sound wise

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:11 PM

#

strong plume Or fm9 can go direct into venue sound system if playing live.

It’s a lot of playing by the beach whenever I’m out

#

They typically mic stuff up

#

Their sound systems are atrocious

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:11 PM

#

Oh. It ca go into a pa too

#

They are frfr

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:12 PM

#

Yeah definitely

#

Thank you so much

strong plume Feb 11, 2026, 9:14 PM

#

This can be you one day

wheat stratus Feb 11, 2026, 9:15 PM

#

strong plume This can be you one day

Hopefully I can get there one day

#

I could only try 😭

#

My fuel is zakk wylde graduated from here so I can slump it out too

wheat stratus Feb 14, 2026, 12:30 AM

#

strong plume This can be you one day

I think I got the deal of a lifetime on one

#

#

1700 plus free shipping

#

Pedals and the whole 9 yards

strong plume Feb 14, 2026, 12:45 AM

#

wheat stratus 1700 plus free shipping

Its not a good deal.

#

Its an okay deal, but i would have went new for a few hundred more

wheat stratus Feb 14, 2026, 12:57 AM

#

strong plume Its an okay deal, but i would have went new for a few hundred more

I particularly wanted the pedals tho

#

It’s allegedly never been used outside of a studio

#

#

It’s an mk2 which wasn’t a big deal but was nice

#

There also haven’t been any new ones on reverb and I used reverb wallet money so I was kinda pigeon holed

#Fm9 or qc