Fractal Audio Systems VP4 - Virtual Pedalboard

[Sascha Franck]

They are from https://barefootbuttons.com/ and yes there are different heights and also different internal with to accommodate different footswitch sizes.

Thanks - but dude, that's like 200 bucks just in toppers on your board.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Have you tried the Minotaur gain on .237, level on 4.62?

 

[aflynt]

If by some strange twist of fate I ever use real amps live again, this will be perfect. I'd put this in a little pedalboard on top of my amp with a wireless receiver and my RJM switch Gizmo and I'd get a midi controller for out front and run that off a battery with WIDI wireless midi dongles. I used to do something similar with a Boss RV500 and MD500 and Morningstar MC8, but this would be far better.

I also had a Boss MS3 for a while and it was pretty cool, but far more limited than this. Kind of plastic sounding and no MIDI in. The amp switching relays were nice though. No midi in on the MS3 really held it back IMHO.

-Aaron

 

[Foxmeister]

Have you tried the Minotaur gain on .237, level on 4.62?

To be fair, for all the magnificence of Fractals effects, when I had my FM3/FM9 units, I pretty much universally preferred the HX drives over the equivalent Fractal versions.

I expect to pick up a VP4 when they start shipping in the UK, so it will be interesting to see if my opinion on this changes!

 

[norminal]

Whoever gets theirs first:

If you’re feeling brave, would you mind taking a few gut shots? I want to see if there’s a Bluetooth chip hiding inside.

 

[holoholo]

Whoever gets theirs first:

If you’re feeling brave, would you mind taking a few gut shots? I want to see if there’s a Bluetooth chip hiding inside.

Nicholas is that you?

 

[JiveTurkey]

To be fair, for all the magnificence of Fractals effects, when I had my FM3/FM9 units, I pretty much universally preferred the HX drives over the equivalent Fractal versions.

I expect to pick up a VP4 when they start shipping in the UK, so it will be interesting to see if my opinion on this changes!

YOU SEE, FOXMEISTER; THERE WAS ONCE A PLACE WHERE THE MERE MENTION OF ANY GEAR PROBLEM RESULTED IN THE SUGGESTION OF THE HELIX AS A SOLUTION TO SAID PROBLEM, NO MATTER HOW UNRELATED THE PROBLEM WAS TO THE HELIX "SOLUTION" THAT WAS PROPOSED. MY COMMENT WAS A THINLY VEILED REFERENCE TO THOSE SIMPLER "TRY THE KINKY COMP WITH THRESHOLD ON 4 BOIL IT IN MILK DUH!" TIMES

 

[mbenigni]

Whoever gets theirs first:

If you’re feeling brave, would you mind taking a few gut shots? I want to see if there’s a Bluetooth chip hiding inside.

@FractalAudio isn't generally coy. I imagine he'd just tell you, no?

Then again, he did keep us all in suspense for 9 weeks waiting for the VP4 reveal...

 

[spawnofthesith]

YOU SEE, FOXMEISTER; THERE WAS ONCE A PLACE WHERE THE MERE MENTION OF ANY GEAR PROBLEM RESULTED IN THE SUGGESTION OF THE HELIX AS A SOLUTION TO SAID PROBLEM, NO MATTER HOW UNRELATED THE PROBLEM WAS TO THE HELIX "SOLUTION" THAT WAS PROPOSED. MY COMMENT WAS A THINLY VEILED REFERENCE TO THOSE SIMPLER "TRY THE KINKY COMP WITH THRESHOLD ON 4 BOIL IT IN MILK DUH!" TIMES

I think an HX stomp might fix your caps lock issues

 

[norminal]

@FractalAudio isn't generally coy. I imagine he'd just tell you, no?

Then again, he did keep us all in suspense for 9 weeks waiting for the VP4 reveal...

I asked Cliff if there was a Bluetooth chip inside but haven’t gotten a response. Makes sense. Letting that out of the bag before a mobile app was available would cause a Nerual DSP level extinction event.

 

[norminal]

I think an HX stomp might fix your caps lock issues

We know a guy:

https://thegearforum.com/threads/fs-line-6-hx-stomp-460-shipped-in-continental-u-s.6553/

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

 

[Fractal M@]

> With a long list of fx, like on the reverb, getting to the end of the list might be a bit of a pain in the ass.

Knob A changes the selected TYPE. Knob B changes the selected COLUMN. In the reverb, you can get from the start to the end with one little twist.

• Getting to editing of fx could be faster. I think you now need to scroll to the block and press Enter. This works, but is not super fast for adjusting.

It's super fast : there are only six selectable items on the home page so it's just a few degrees of rotation. Also, if you're not playing you can just do footswitch>Enter.

• When editing an effect, I think the onscreen knobs could be a bit bigger? Hard to say.

They're sized exactly to fit two rows. Here's a nice sharp image for you. On my 24" monitor this appears at actual size.

 

[Foxmeister]

YOU SEE, FOXMEISTER; THERE WAS ONCE A PLACE WHERE THE MERE MENTION OF ANY GEAR PROBLEM RESULTED IN THE SUGGESTION OF THE HELIX AS A SOLUTION TO SAID PROBLEM, NO MATTER HOW UNRELATED THE PROBLEM WAS TO THE HELIX "SOLUTION" THAT WAS PROPOSED. MY COMMENT WAS A THINLY VEILED REFERENCE TO THOSE SIMPLER "TRY THE KINKY COMP WITH THRESHOLD ON 4 BOIL IT IN MILK DUH!" TIMES

Have you tried the Horizon Gate that Line 6 introduced in Helix firmware 3.0?

I think that will fix your issue, as it works especially well with full-fat and semi-skimmed milk!

 

[deepskyone]

I’m doing gear math to put the VP4 on my IR-X pedalboard, but that damn IR-J release has me feeling all confused. Anybody else planning on pairing the VP4 with one of those?

I recently got myself a used IR-X that I am using together with an HX Stomp, i.e. I need neither the IR-J nor the VP4.

Consequently, I ordered an IR-J today and got on the G66 waitlist for the VP4. I may need help

 

[deathbyguitar]

Knob A changes the selected TYPE. Knob B changes the selected COLUMN. In the reverb, you can get from the start to the end with one little twist.


It's super fast : there are only six selectable items on the home page so it's just a few degrees of rotation. Also, if you're not playing you can just do footswitch>Enter.


They're sized exactly to fit two rows. Here's a nice sharp image for you. On my 24" monitor this appears at actual size.

View attachment 31061

Fancy seeing you here!

 

[Fractal M@]

Found my starting point, I'm interested to see how these 4 presets sound.
View attachment 30981

Also take in the note from this section about factory presets:

 

[Foxmeister]

So, I've been perusing the VP4 manual over a few beers, and one very minor point of possible confusion is here:

The VP4 has the same input gate and impedance features as the FM3 so you’re not sacrificing anything in this regard.

I took this initially to mean that the VP4 had a fixed 1MOhm input impedance like the FM3, but later in the manual it states:

The Input Impedance setting, found alongside Expert settings for the Gate (above) controls how the VP4 uses real analog components to vary the load on your guitar pickups. This replicates the tonal changes caused by the impedance of certain analog stomp boxes (e.g., vibe, fuzz effects).

In the default “AUTO” mode, the impedance is set automatically based on the first active effect in your preset. This setting—applied whether or not you ever look at the Expert page—is usually best, but you can also select custom values if desired.

 

[Fractal M@]

So, I've been perusing the VP4 manual over a few beers, and one very minor point of possible confusion is here:
I took this initially to mean that the VP4 had a fixed 1MOhm input impedance like the FM3, but later in the manual it states:

GOOD CATCH! I always forget that the FM3 does not have the variable input impedance feature found on the FM9 and Axe-Fx III. This is fixed for the next manual release, which will probably be today

Have that next beer on me :-)

 

[SillyOctpuss]

If by some strange twist of fate I ever use real amps live again, this will be perfect. I'd put this in a little pedalboard on top of my amp with a wireless receiver and my RJM switch Gizmo and I'd get a midi controller for out front and run that off a battery with WIDI wireless midi dongles.

A good old simple amp rig.