Fractal Audio Systems VP4 - Virtual Pedalboard

idreaminblack said:
I just watched Leon's video with the Friedman IR-J as well. It (along with the JEL-100) are among the only Friedman's I've ever really been interested in. An IR-J paired with a VP4 and linked by MIDI would be a killer all-in-one-pedalboard rig. Tube pre, Fractal effects, IR out to FOH/monitors.
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I'm scraping my pennies together for both as we speak. Jake is my favorite Ozzy, and perhaps 80's, guitarist.
 
Thoughts watching @2112's great video.

Like:​

  • To nobody's surprise, fx sound great!
  • Using the knob to select between "layers" is a clever way to simplify what you are doing.
  • Adding fx, and getting to the new fx parameters is pretty easy.
  • The simplified parameters for fx is a very welcome feature that I hope ends up in the other Fractal products too.
  • Being able to activate another effect with a footswitch while you are editing a different one is good.
  • Showing the list of scenes when changing them is good, easy to find another one if you hit the wrong footswitch.
  • Preset/mix routing page is a nice way to easily set the mix of fx and series/parallel.
  • It has USB interface capabilities! Not sure how I'd use these, might work for reamping tracks?
  • VP4-Edit looks really nice, a good simplified version of Axe-Edit.

Dislike:​

  • Selecting the fx category is the Axe-Fx style cumbersome "cycle type one by one". I think having a list pop up like on Helix would be nice to get to what you want faster.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • When editing an effect, I think the onscreen knobs could be a bit bigger? Hard to say.

Wishlist (getting in my UI ideas early!):​


1. When in Effects layer, let me press the button on the knobs to go to edit that effect, even if I am currently editing another one.

Example, with active fx in bold: I have CMP - DRV - DLY - REV. I adjust my DRV to a higher volume, but find my DLY time is too high. I press knob C, and delay settings pop up. Ok, now I find that maybe I should also tweak my DRV again, so I press knob B to go back to DRV.

This would greatly enhance editing presets where the combination of effects makes a cohesive sound, e.g that Pog style preset Leon demoed.
The current functionality seems to be that knob press = choose fx type. I'd rather have the option to reverse this so that Enter = change type.

I find that when I have settled on the fx types, the thing I want to do most is edit the block, not change its type.

2. Indicator on the home page for parallel routing.

I find that on my SA Collider I often don't remember if the delay and reverb are in series or parallel. Would be neat if Fractal could cram in some indicator for this. Maybe a little bar on the block that says "parallel", or a little P in the corner or something?

Depending on EU prices, might have to buy this and see how it works for me.
 
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Found my starting point, I'm interested to see how these 4 presets sound.
1729014260932.png
 
idreaminblack said:
An IR-J paired with a VP4 and linked by MIDI would be a killer all-in-one-pedalboard rig. Tube pre, Fractal effects, IR out to FOH/monitors.
Click to expand...

Totally! I've been imagining a VP4 + Friedman IR-D. I feel that they are made for each other!
 
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Something just as interesting that must have been recently added , Fractal is now doing PayPal options on all products
That’s a huge win for the guys wanting payment options
 
Okay, this is better than what I was picturing. Cliff's already teased the possibility of 2-4 additional 'fixed' blocks and an IR player. I'm not in any hurry, but if those materialize, I'm in.

edit:
Sadly, AdminM at the official forum has already ruled out additional blocks. Glad I didn't impulse purchase based on the earlier post. I'm out.

edit #2:
It was pointed out to me by some very smart folks that I might be wrong.

edit #3:
Turns out my interpretation was right. And then some..
forum.fractalaudio.com

Wish: Always on effect

I know Cliff mentioned about maybe adding 2 “always on” effects in the future. It’d be nice if these effects are selectable. So u can maybe have a compressor and reverb that’s always on on one preset, and have pitch and delay(always on) on another preset. That way u still have those 4 effects...
forum.fractalaudio.com forum.fractalaudio.com
 
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Orvillain said:
£700? That's an absolute steal at that price. Genuinely.
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I think it depends on what is the comparison.

Compared to Strymon BigSky MX or Eventide H90? Bargain!
Compared to HX Stomp or Helix LT? Not quite as much.

But I don't think it's unreasonable considering Fractal fx quality and what it can do in one box. Strymon definitely needs to go back to the drawing board if they plan to put out a Timeline MX with the VP4 on the market.
 
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