Fractal Audio Systems VP4 - Virtual Pedalboard

Note: Beta 3 is identical to Beta 2 except it fixes an issue where IRs stored on the VP4 could be cleared, silencing the IR Player Block.

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VP4 Firmware V3.00 Public Beta 3

The VP4 V3.00 Public Beta 3 is now available for download: VP4 Firmware V3.00 Public Beta 3 Note: There is no change for VP4-Edit VP4-Edit 1.01.00 https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/vp4-edit-1-01-00-to-support-fw-3-00-public-beta-2.214458/ This beta firmware is a major release, and as...
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So while I'm waiting for my VP4 to arrive, I've started the how-will-I-use-this-with-my-other-gear-process. Here's a first draft of a new pedal board setup (I already have the other pedals):

VP4_board.jpeg


The idea here is to have analog compression and analog fuzz/drive/gain pedals in front of the Tone King Imperial preamp pedal, and then to have the VP4 in the FX loop of the TKI pedal.

I have high expectations for this setup!
 
Richard_G said:
A used but supposedly mint condition VP4 is incoming! As a genuine fan of Fractal back in the day (loved my Axe-FX Ultra - still have my Axe-FX II Mk I), I'm really looking forward to exploring what I've been missing out on from Fractal.
Click to expand...
I am so happy l got one, the only effects I truly care about are chorus/reverb/delay and it knocks my expectations out of the park.
 
Richard_G said:
Sounds perfect, @Mikael Dez - my plan so far is to mainly use my VP4 for modulation, reverb and delay in th FX loop of my Tone King Imperial preamp pedal. From the top of my head, I can't really think of a better match.
Click to expand...
Idk if you have physical amps but the addition of an IR loader in conjunction with an amp and a loadbox is endgame I think for home studio use, and the VP4 is great for my use case in that respect.
 
Hmm...

Although I still like my initial idea about combining my VP4 and my Tone King Imperial preamp pedal on a board, I'm now leaning towards doing it a bit differently, i.e. leaving the Tone King Imperial preamp pedal on the board it's currently on and instead combining the VP4 with Tonex and UA Enigmatic in 4CM, using more of the capabilities of the VP4 than I probably would with the other setup (not just modulation, delay and reverb in the FX loop of the Tone King).

I'm thinking something like this:

VP4_board_2.jpeg


Intended signal chain:
Guitar -> Ceriatone Horse Breaker -> Origin Cali76 -> VP4 In-L -> VP4 Out-L -> One Control Midi Solo Stereo Loop (mounted under the board) with the UA Enigmatic in the loop) -> Tonex pedal IN-L -> Tonex pedal OUT-L -> VP4 IN-R -> VP4 OUT-R -> Two Notes CAB M+ (as an IR loader) -> FOH/monitoring. Mission EP1 would of course be connected to the VP4.

The reason for having the Enigmatic in the One Control loop is twofold; both getting the pedal out of the path when not in use and also to provide midi capability.

I'm absolutely no midi expert, but my intention would be to use the VP4 to control both the VP4, the Tonex and the Enigmatic (via the One Control loop). I guess - or at least hope - this is possible, using midi from VP4 to Tonex and then the midi through capability of the Tonex from Tonex to One Control Loop.

Any thoughts or advice about this setup?
 
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Richard_G said:
Hmm...

Although I still like my initial idea about combining my VP4 and my Tone King Imperial preamp pedal on a board, I'm now leaning towards doing it a bit differently, i.e. leaving the Tone King Imperial preamp pedal on the board it's currently on and instead combining the VP4 with Tonex and UA Enigmatic in 4CM, using more of the capabilities of the VP4 than I probably would with the other setup (not just modulation, delay and reverb in the FX loop of the Tone King).

I'm thinking something like this:

View attachment 50133

Intended signal chain:
Guitar -> Ceriatone Horse Breaker -> Origin Cali76 -> VP4 In-L -> VP4 Out-L -> One Control Midi Solo Stereo Loop (mounted under the board) with the UA Enigmatic in the loop) -> Tonex pedal IN-L -> Tonex pedal OUT-L -> VP4 IN-R -> VP4 OUT-R -> Two Notes CAB M+ (as an IR loader) -> FOH/monitoring. Mission EP1 would of course be connected to the VP4.

The reason for having the Enigmatic in the One Control loop is twofold; both getting the pedal out of the path when not in use and also to provide midi capability.

I'm absolutely no midi expert, but my intention would be to use the VP4 to control both the VP4, the Tonex and the Enigmatic (via the One Control loop). I guess - or at least hope - this is possible, using midi from VP4 to Tonex and then the midi through capability of the Tonex from Tonex to One Control Loop.

Any thoughts or advice about this setup?
Click to expand...
In case you didn’t know, the new beta for the VP4 added an IR loader and it’s compatible with DynaCab packs from CabLab! One less link in the chain, and two less AD/DA conversions.

EDIT: You lose stereo out when you put the VP4 in 4CM - so that may be a solution your IR loader can provide you while still using the VP4 in 4CM.
 
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1755765471241.png


Thought I'd put this here. Even the image above is out of date now, but roughly the same kind of layout. Except I'm now using the VP4's 4-cable-method as an insert point for all of the other pedals. So signal flow is:

Guitar > Lehle volume pedal > bb535 wah > VP4 > Tumnus > Demhe > Nemesis > DD500 > MercuryX > RV5 > Golden > VP4 Return > Guitar amp input

I run all of my effects up front, because I like it that way. The gain of the amp combined with the spatial effects is very signature to my playing style. But with that many digital pedals in the chain, you do get higher noise floor. So the 4CM puts the effects between slot 3 and 4 on the VP4. This enables slot 4 to be a noise-gate (set to modern expander mode) which really helps to calm down the noise floor of the pedals. You do lose a bit of tail if you're not careful, but all being said... it works rather well.

I'm not sure I'll stick with the setup long-term, but I wanted to try it out at practice last night. It worked really well, but it is a lot of bloomin' pedals!! I might pair it down again. We shall see. I have lots of options now.

I can get a great analog delay from the VP4. The Carbon Copy model is god tier. I can get very satisfying digital delays, and reverse delay is great too. I can get fantastic delay oscillaiton effects too, and the built in EQ on the delay block really helps with that. If I'm honest, I wish the delay block had a better saturation algorithm built into it.

I also can't really get anything satisfyingly glitchy or "fuck shit up" from it - the Helix is honestly much better at that - glitch delay, poly sustain, Euclidean delay, Tesselator, Ratchet.

Helix verbs are not as good as the VP4. But honestly, the VP4 verbs are either not as good - or not as easy to dial in - as the Golden and the RV5 are. Those are such simple pedals. The RV5 is like... just stupidly good. The MercuryX I use it for a big ambient wash, pretty much exclusively... and I'm fairly confident I could get that by using one of the shimmer reverbs on the VP4 if I had to.

Overall, I can't get the VP4 reverbs to be as bright and aggressive as I want. On the full on Axe3 you can obviously have a parallel path, where you can process the reverb with EQ and a bit of grit here and there, maybe I'll try that.

I'm still not against the idea of using the Axe3 for effects. It is a great option. Helix Stadium will hopefully be a great option too when it eventually lands.

The board is actually not that heavy, considering how much it can do. The Helix and Fractal equivalents to a Tumnus are not quite as good as the real pedal IMHO. The Demhe fuzz just shits all over any digital fuzz algorithm as well.
 
Am I being stupid??

How do I have the Plex Delay and Reverb blocks set to 100% wet, and then when I hit the switch it just passes the dry signal through whilst also passing the trails across. I thought I could just set the blocks to either MUTE FX IN or THRU, but when I turn the effects off, the dry signal doesn't come through. I'm baffled.

Also, with the drive block when using the sample-rate and bit-depth controls, why are they being applied after the mix parameter?? I tried to use an LFO to create a swooshing sample-reduction thing, and just mix it in a tiny little bit, and it didn't work. The wet/dry mixer doesn't seem to come after the sample-rate + bit-depth blocks.

This is where you realize having the big bombay bad boy Axe FX 3 is very useful, with the 12xwhatever matrix grid.
 
Orvillain said:
Am I being stupid??

How do I have the Plex Delay and Reverb blocks set to 100% wet, and then when I hit the switch it just passes the dry signal through whilst also passing the trails across. I thought I could just set the blocks to either MUTE FX IN or THRU, but when I turn the effects off, the dry signal doesn't come through. I'm baffled.
Click to expand...
Mute FX in should kill the dry signal if the block is 100% wet. Are those two blocks both in parallel, even with each other? Or are those on the same path? Maybe post a pic of the grid?
 
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