fix it

A different layout . Fix: Layouts reassign all three switches at once. The FM3 boots into Presets. Holding the left or right switch moves through banks.

The FM3 allows one amp and cab pair . Fix: Fractal state this directly. Use the four channels inside the one Amp block for four voicings.

Input 2 is wired as an FX return . Fix: It is one jack pair doing two jobs. Wired as a loop return, it is not an aux input.

Output 1 is XLR only on the FM3 . Fix: Use Output 2's quarter-inch pair for an amp, or an XLR-to-TS cable from Output 1.

A ground loop . Fix: Use a Humbuster cable from Output 2. On Output 1, use the ground lift switch.

Presets where scenes would do . Fix: Scenes load nothing and switch seamlessly. Build song sections as scenes.

The preset is out of CPU . Fix: Replace duplicate blocks with channels. On an FM3, build every preset this way.

The preset was never stored . Fix: Press STORE. Changing preset with the edited indicator lit discards everything without a prompt.

A cable, before anything else . Fix: Most of the time it is a faulty or disconnected cable. Plug headphones straight into the modeler. If the preset sounds fine there, the fault is downstream and nothing on it needs changing.

The path does not reach the output . Fix: A grid can look connected and not be. Check the preset begins with an Input block and ends with an Output block, and that those match the jacks you have cabled. Then change each block to a shunt in turn, leaving the Amp and Cab until last, and listen for where the sound returns.

A modifier is holding a level at zero . Fix: If something is assigned to a volume or level control and the pedal or switch it expects is not plugged in, the level sits wherever that missing controller says, usually at silence. Either remove the modifier, or set the external controller's initial value to 100% instead of 0%.

The preset wants a User Cab you do not have . Fix: Presets you downloaded often reference a cab IR that lives on the author's modeler and not yours. Point the Cab block at a factory cab and the sound comes back.

A cable with a short in it . Fix: Fractal list this first. A brand new or long-trusted cable is often the problem. Swap it before you diagnose anything else.

Something is clipping . Fix: Check whether you are clipping the inputs or the outputs. Clipping that only appears on the loudest notes sounds like a crackle, not distortion.

The preset is over the CPU budget . Fix: Above about 80% the modeler starts running out of room and the artifacts are audible. Remove a block and see whether they stop.

The outputs ship set for consumer line level . Fix: Output 1 ships at −10 dBV, which is right for consumer gear and quiet into anything professional. Change Output 1: Output Level to +4 dBu under SETUP : I/O : Audio.

It has not been calibrated . Fix: Calibrate the pedal on its jack first, so the modeler learns its travel. Until then it can act as a fixed value instead of a sweep.

It is not a TRS cable, or not the right jack . Fix: Expression needs a TRS cable, not a standard guitar lead. A volume pedal is not an expression pedal, even though it has the same socket.

Nothing is assigned to it . Fix: Calibrating the pedal does not connect it to anything. It has to be attached to a parameter with a modifier before it does a job.

The preset it wakes up on is the problem . Fix: Power down, wait five seconds, then power on holding HOME until the progress bar appears. It comes up on an empty preset in location 000, which you can store over the preset that was causing it.

A system setting is the problem . Fix: Power down, wait five seconds, power on holding EDIT until the progress bar appears, then SETUP > Utilities > Reset and run Reset System Parameters. This never deletes or modifies your presets.

A firmware update went wrong . Fix: Power down, wait five seconds, then power on holding both PAGE buttons until the emergency utility page appears, and update as normal with Fractal-Bot.

The effect it is assigned to is not in this preset . Fix: The rings have three states, not two. Dim means the effect is off, bright means it is on, and fully dark means the assigned effect does not exist in the current preset. Fractal suggest overriding that switch per preset with an effect the preset uses.

The bank switches default to the whole memory . Fix: Both press-and-hold BANK functions have Upper and Lower Limits, and out of the box they cover every location. Set them to fence off the range you use. The limits count BANKS, not presets: with 3 presets per bank, 15 gigging presets is a limit of 5.

That switch's hold function got reassigned . Fix: In almost every factory layout the middle switch's hold is Layout: Select: 9, View 1, and layout 9 is the master layout menu. Set it back in EZ Edit, or in the FC Controllers area of the editor. Resetting the factory layouts also fixes it.

Presets do not move freely across the line . Fix: Axe-Fx III presets do import, with caveats. The top four rows and first 12 columns come across aligned to the FM3's grid. Anything incompatible becomes a shunt. Blocks from rows 5–6 or columns 13–14 get placed wherever there is room. A converted preset can exceed what the FM3's CPU will run: you then get a blinking "CPU Limit - Muted" banner and no audio until you remove something. Axe-Fx II, AX8 and FX8 presets do not import at all.

MIDI access was refused for gridleak.app, or the prompt was dismissed . Fix: In Chrome open Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → MIDI devices, and allow gridleak.app. Reload the page, then connect again.

FM3-Edit or another app is holding the modeler’s MIDI port . Fix: Quit FM3-Edit and any DAW or MIDI utility, then connect again.

The browser has no Web MIDI . Fix: Use Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer.

This browser has no Web MIDI, which one-click install uses to reach the FM3 . Fix: Open this page on a computer in Chrome or Edge, or download the file and import it with FM3-Edit.

FM3-Edit holds the USB connection exclusively while it runs . Fix: Quit FM3-Edit completely, then connect again. Closing its window does not quit the app.

The modeler is off, or the USB cable is not plugged into the computer . Fix: Connect your FM3 via USB and power it on.

Nothing was picked in the browser prompt . Fix: Click connect again and pick your FM3 in the browser prompt.

FM3-Edit is holding the USB connection . Fix: Quit FM3-Edit if it is running, then connect again.

The preset was sent, but the modeler did not answer the save . Fix: Check the preset on the FM3. If it isn’t there, install again with FM3-Edit quit.

FM3-Edit was open and refused the write for the modeler . Fix: Quit FM3-Edit, then install again.

The connection dropped part-way through . Fix: Reconnect the modeler and install again.

One-click install loads the preset into the edit buffer, and nothing is kept until you store it . Fix: Press Store on the FM3. Pick a location, then press Enter. Or store it from FM3-Edit.

The file is damaged or is not a preset for this modeler . Fix: Download the preset for the FM3 again, then install it.

Another preset is still being sent . Fix: Wait for it to finish, then send the next one.

One-click install isn’t available in this browser or on this device . Fix: Download the .syx preset file. Open FM3-Edit and connect your FM3 via USB. Go to Preset → Import → select the .syx file.

The connection or the modeler stopped answering mid-install . Fix: Quit FM3-Edit, reconnect the FM3, then try again.