Fractal FM3 - 6 SCENES & CHANNELS; CHANNELS

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6 SCENES & CHANNELS
Each Scene stores ALL of the following:
1. The Bypass state of every block in the current preset: on or off.
2. The current Channel of every block in the current preset.
3. The current “Scene Level” of the Output blocks.
4. The settings of four Scene Controller knobs used as Modier sources.
Scenes can use the Scene MIDI block to send up to 8 MIDI PC or CC messages each
time a new scene is selected. See the Blocks Guide for more information.
Each scene also has its own Name.
Before reading this section, please review “Intro to Scenes and Channels” on p. 15.
A Scene can be thought of as a preset within a preset. Scenes can turn blocks on or off, change block Channels, and
more. Scenes don’t need to be created—they’re already there, ready to be set as desired. To save any changes to
any scene, you must save the entire preset. There are many benets to using scenes. By switching multiple blocks,
they eliminate the need to “tap dance” on switches. They also offer the easiest way to ensure perfect “spillover”
of effects like delay and reverb. Scenes can also change overall volume levels, send MIDI messages, and more.
Each Scene also has a name.
CHANNELS
The Channel feature is almost self explanatory. Most blocks have some number of channels (typically four), and
for each channel you can set every parameter of that block to any setting. It’s like having multiple blocks in one.
For example, Channel A of a Drive block might be a “clean boost”, B could be a “screamer”, and so on.
So, while Scenes can’t change individual parameter values, they CAN change the channel, and each channel has
its own parameter values.
WHAT SCENES INCLUDE...
6 SCENES & CHANNELS
DON'T: Set a parameter (for example, Amp Treble to “6”) then change to a new scene and change the value of
that parameter (ex: Amp Treble to “10”). The change will affect all scenes!
DO: Dial in a block (ex: the Amp) however you want it. Now, change the Scene AND set that block to a new
Channel. Now you can now change ALL settings for that block. These will take effect whenever you load that
same channel — whether in this scene or any other. (This concept is illustrated on p. 15.)
WHY NOT JUST CHANGE PRESETS? Preset changes give you total
flexibility. You can change anything and everything in every preset, but there are also
drawbacks. Synchronizing multiple presets can be tedious, it takes care to get levels and spillover just right,
and while preset changes are fast, Scene changes are even faster and can be seamless.