Fractal Audio Systems mystery product speculation

[Sascha Franck]

Think about it though. If you just want amps and cabs, get that. If you decide later that you want effects and expanded functionality, add the VP-4, or vice versa.

Sure. But it might still be a better idea to sell things and get an FM9 instead. Way easier housekeeping, more routing flexibility, etc.

 

[Frodebro]

Sure. But it might still be a better idea to sell things and get an FM9 instead. Way easier housekeeping, more routing flexibility, etc.

I have an FM9, but I also have tube amps and traditional pedalboards that I love geeking out on. The VP4 isn’t really anything exciting for people who are 100% digital and have their hardware sorted out already, but for the traditional types it’s a huge deal, as it is taking on Strymon and Eventide.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I have an FM9, but I also have tube amps and traditional pedalboards that I love geeking out on. The VP4 isn’t really anything exciting for people who are 100% digital and have their hardware sorted out already, but for the traditional types it’s a huge deal, as it is taking on Strymon and Eventide.

I'm quite aware of all that - I was just wondering about the scenario of adding a VP4 to a (hypothetical) VA4 (amp-thing), which IMO wouldn't make too much sense, unless you also planned to regularly use one of them without the other.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I'm quite aware of all that - I was just wondering about the scenario of adding a VP4 to a (hypothetical) VA4 (amp-thing), which IMO wouldn't make too much sense, unless you also planned to regularly use one of them without the other.

That's the scenario I'd be in. Having a modular axe fx style system would be perfect for my use case.

 

[Frodebro]

That's the scenario I'd be in. Having a modular axe fx style system would be perfect for my use case.

That’s kinda where I’m already at. I have a traditional board with the usual revolving door of pedals on it, with an HX Stomp XL handling the oddball stuff. But I also pull the Stomp off the board and use it alone with my amps for a streamlined traditional rig. The VP4 would fill that slot perfectly.

 

[jellodog]

I quite like the idea of modular FAS products linked by S/PDIF.

Modelling à la carte.

Might also solve the cooling issue to spread out the processor cores and housing. I couldn't see any mention of a fan in the VP4 manual, and we know it's only one DSP core.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

That’s kinda where I’m already at. I have a traditional board with the usual revolving door of pedals on it, with an HX Stomp XL handling the oddball stuff. But I also pull the Stomp off the board and use it alone with my amps for a streamlined traditional rig. The VP4 would fill that slot perfectly.

That's basically what I'm doing too only with a regular stomp and not the XL.

 

[Orvillain]

Way easier housekeeping, more routing flexibility, etc.

I used to think this. But now I think ... it would be easier to maintain a couple of presets on an amp device... and a couple of presets on a effects device... and do some mild tap dancing on both.... than having to maintain dozens and dozens of presets on an all-in-one device.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I used to think this. But now I think ... it would be easier to maintain a couple of presets on an amp device... and a couple of presets on a effects device... and do some mild tap dancing on both.... than having to maintain dozens and dozens of presets on an all-in-one device.

Which is another reason why block presets and global blocks are a great feature.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I used to think this. But now I think ... it would be easier to maintain a couple of presets on an amp device... and a couple of presets on a effects device... and do some mild tap dancing on both.... than having to maintain dozens and dozens of presets on an all-in-one device.

I agree. Which is why I treat my FM9 like three amp rigs, and stay in one at any given time. SLO, JCM800, and Mark V.

 

[dk_ace]

I used to think this. But now I think ... it would be easier to maintain a couple of presets on an amp device... and a couple of presets on a effects device... and do some mild tap dancing on both.... than having to maintain dozens and dozens of presets on an all-in-one device.

I do both on the FM9. 80% of my gigs I set up presets per songs. It takes me about 30 minutes usually to program those for a gig and then no tap dancing. 20% of the time, I’m lazy and just use a kitchen sink preset with a few scenes for amp selections and then effects on the other switches.

I get in a mood sometimes where I do the kitchen sink with a little tap dancing for a few gigs in a row. I always come back to the songs per presets thing though.

With pedalboards, I always have done the tap dancing. If I set up a rig with the VP4, I think I’d probably do the same.

D

 

[Antipodes]

Just on the modular thing - SPDIF is not usually a zero latency interface. Sometimes the latency experienced with SPDIF input is longer than the analog input latency. The digital data stream is collected in buffers on the way in and doesn't necessarily pass on to further processing with minimal delay.

 

[metropolis_4]

I used to think this. But now I think ... it would be easier to maintain a couple of presets on an amp device... and a couple of presets on a effects device... and do some mild tap dancing on both.... than having to maintain dozens and dozens of presets on an all-in-one device.

I used to use 2 HX Stomps instead of a full Helix for this exact reason. One is amps and drive pedals, the other is delay/verb/mod/etc.

That way I could control each separately and combine them as needed with way less presets.

I always wish Fractal would give two groups of Scenes so you could do this within one device. So you could have Scenes A switch between amp and drive settings, and Scenes B switch between effects settings

 

[Sascha Franck]

Just on the modular thing - SPDIF is not usually a zero latency interface. Sometimes the latency experienced with SPDIF input is longer than the analog input latency. The digital data stream is collected in buffers on the way in and doesn't necessarily pass on to further processing with minimal delay.

Add to this that each CPU will stlll deliver it's own latency. Given that nowadays complete AD/DA conversions can be done in <1ms, also given that the FAS units come with around 3ms RTL (from all I remember). So instead of 6ms in total when running two devices serially, you will now be at around 5ms. Very obviously, fidelity is preserved better that way, but you don't win much in terms of latency.

 

[jellodog]

Just on the modular thing - SPDIF is not usually a zero latency interface. Sometimes the latency experienced with SPDIF input is longer than the analog input latency. The digital data stream is collected in buffers on the way in and doesn't necessarily pass on to further processing with minimal delay.

Interesting...

 

[the swede]

You need to work on your posing-with-snails skills, though.
View attachment 30849

It was my 10 yo holding it. I won’t touch those things It’s kinda cute… and weird… them being not “normal” snails. But heck no I’m not holding them. They’re fast fuckers to.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

It was my 10 yo holding it. I won’t touch those things It’s kinda cute… and weird… them being not “normal” snails. But heck no I’m not holding them. They’re fast fuckers to.

Kill it. It‘s disgusting and invasive. Kill it now.

 

[the swede]

Kill it. It‘s disgusting and invasive. Kill it now.

As usual… like always. Dad gets the jobs no one wants to do. In this case it’s the destruction of the eggs…. Makes me feel really manly… (I fucking cry inside every time). But yeah.. that’s the rules for snails like those.

 

[Orvillain]

Little bit of a spanner in the works for me today yknow....

It turns out that I really love my MercuryX, and I will definitely want to keep it alongside the VP4.

The LVX, I'm actually less fussed about. I'm not doing anything with it that I can't do with the Fractal DM2, Carbon Copy, Tape Delay, and Digital delay.... but the MercuryX.... there's some really tasty stuff in there, particularly when you crank the mix and the decay on the 78 Hall algorithm, and then swell some chords into it.... makes very moist noises, I don't think I can give it up.

I'll be selling my Flashback II X4, my Timeline, and possibly my LVX.... but I'll be keeping the MercuryX. Tis too good.

 

[FractalAudio]

Just on the modular thing - SPDIF is not usually a zero latency interface. Sometimes the latency experienced with SPDIF input is longer than the analog input latency. The digital data stream is collected in buffers on the way in and doesn't necessarily pass on to further processing with minimal delay.

No. The analog input has to be buffered as well. In most (all?) processors you buffer data up in frames. A typical frame size is, say, 32 samples. You can't start processing that frame until it is full. When it is full you ping-pong and start filling the opposite buffer.

The physical latency of SPDIF is usually no more than a sample or two. A typical A/D converter has a latency of 10-20 samples.

The same thing happens at the output. You read from an output buffer and when it's empty you ping-pong to the opposite buffer.

A typical D/A has a latency of, again, 10-20 samples. A SPDIF output has only a sample or two.

So, in the case where you use a frame size of 32 you get a total buffer latency of 64 samples. If we assume the A/D and D/A are 16 samples each the total latency is 96 samples. If you use SPDIF you'd have about 30 samples less latency.