About Factory PresetsUpdated 9 days ago

What Are Factory Presets?

Factory Presets are professionally designed example sounds that come ready-made for your Fractal Audio product, showing off its capabilities and giving you great tones to play or customize. 

On the Axe-Fx, FM9, and FM3, there are 384 Factory Presets installed by default, in locations 000–383 (or 001–384 if you turn on the optional “Display Offset” numbering system). 

Like any preset, a Factory Preset can be altered and saved, or even completely overwritten. 

Why Are Factory Presets Updated?

New firmware improves sound performance and adds new features or models. New Factory Presets are released to support updated firmware. 

On one hand, older sounds might need small adjustments — like checking levels or tweaking existing controls — to make sure they sound great with the updated firmware. 

On the other hand, new firmware updates can introduce new effects, models, or options, giving us opportunities to add or edit presets and scenes to take advantage of these improvements. 

We also add brand-new presets from time to time, such as those released in the Gift of Tone series or shared in videos made by community members.

Compatibility

Importantly, Factory Presets are forward-compatible — they will continue to work with future firmware versions, although some adjustments may occasionally be needed to optimize levels, effects, or controls. When this is the case, the Firmware Release Notes will include tips or instructions outlining any steps you should take to ensure everything sounds and works as intended.

However, it’s important to understand that newer presets are not backward-compatible. If you attempt to load presets created under a newer firmware onto a unit running an older firmware version, they will typically show up as blank and will not function correctly. This is why it’s essential to update your firmware before installing new Factory Presets.

Factory Preset Version Numbering

Factory Presets are always labeled with the firmware version they were designed for. For example, you might see a release titled “Factory Presets for Firmware 9.0 or Newer.”

This tells you that the presets were created specifically to match the features and sound of firmware version 9.0. 

Backing Up Your Current Presets

Before installing new Factory Presets, you may wish to back up your current presets in Banks A, B, and C. It’s better to have a backup and never need it than to later discover you’ve lost something.

Fractal-Bot Receive Mode is self-explanatory, but this video [link coming soon] demonstrates how to use it to make backups. For Factory Preset installation, you only need to back up Banks A, B, and C, but of course, you can choose to back up additional preset banks, user cabs, or system data if you wish.

In Step 2 of the backup process, you’ll need to specify a location for your backup files. It’s a good idea to prepare this folder in advance. We recommend using a clear, consistent naming system for your backup folders (for example, including the date and product name).

For context, you might also create a small text file in the backup folder to remind yourself which firmware version was installed when the backup was created. This can be helpful if you ever need to restore presets to a system running the corresponding firmware version.

Using Manage Presets to Relocate Favorites

In addition to backing up presets, you can also easily relocate individual presets that you wish to preserve. 

From the Tools menu of your editor, open Manage Presets. This tool allows you to copy, paste, drag and drop, export, import, and more. You can even select multiple presets at once by holding down Shift and/or Cmd (Mac)/Ctrl (Win). 

One of the best features of Manage Presets is that it lets you preview all your changes before they’re applied. Previewed changes are shown in red with a dot, and they only become permanent when you click the Save button in the lower right. 

This makes Manage Presets a great way to selectively preserve or move your favorite presets from locations 000–383 before installing new Factory Presets.

Installing New Presets

1️⃣ Download the Preset File

Go to the downloads page for your product on our website and download the latest Factory Preset file. After downloading, you may need to unzip the file. Inside, you’ll find one large “All Banks” file as well as individual files for Bank A, Bank B, and Bank C. Don’t double click the files; instead continue to follow these instructions. 

2️⃣ Use Fractal-Bot to Select the File

Open Fractal-Bot from the Tools menu in your editor and make sure it is set to Send Mode at the top. Then, under Step 2, browse to the file you want to send.

• To install the complete set of Factory Presets, choose the “All Banks” file. This will warn you that it’s going to overwrite Banks A, B, and C.
• Or, you can selectively send just Bank A, Bank B, or Bank C. Fractal-Bot will prompt you not only what file to send but also where to send it, so carefully select the correct target bank.

3️⃣ Send the File

Start the transfer and let Fractal-Bot complete the process.

✱ Refresh the Editor

There’s no need to reboot your unit after loading presets, but it’s a good idea to refresh your editor by choosing Settings → Refresh After New Firmware.

(While technically this step goes beyond what’s required just for presets, it’s an easy and recommended way to ensure all preset names are properly updated.)