Fractal Audio Systems VP4 - Virtual Pedalboard

BROCKSTAR said:
I always thought the FM3 was still large but I guess googling the dimensions, it's only like a foot wide by 10 inch long and around 4 inches height wise etc. So not really big at all but the pictures always made it look bigger lol.

I am just wondering if the original FM3 is still worth it or the mark II which seems harder to get? And what is the differences between the two... guess I need more googling!
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It’s freaking huge for a 3 button floor unit. That of course doesn’t matter for some people and some uses, but if you’re goggling dimensions it probably matters to you.

If I was gonna use it as a standalone unit, I wouldn’t care it’s not too big on its own. I wanted to use it in part of a larger rig. I pulled it out of the box and it was an instant “nope” for me. YMMV.

I’m not afraid of big devices I ultimately bought an FM9 a year or two later.

D
 
Man I don't know what to do lol. I don't know if i should just sit and think for a bit or try and get a fm3.

I have been happy with helix floor for 9 years and it's still not going anywhere and I have gotten a lot of great tones from it even though I'm a simple man with using just the mesa amp and litigator amp majority of the time and dual delay and ganymede reverb for ambient stuff.

I did put out a filler on my local music facebook page that I run in my area to see if anyone had a fm3 or fm9 that they can bring over for me to check out but I don't think I'll get any hits in my crappy town lol.

I am just wowed by the effects in vp4 and I must know if i'll get the same response from the amps / cabs on fm3.
 
dk_ace said:
It’s freaking huge for a 3 button floor unit. That of course doesn’t matter for some people and some uses, but if you’re goggling dimensions it probably matters to you.

If I was gonna use it as a standalone unit, I wouldn’t care it’s not too big on its own. I wanted to use it in part of a larger rig. I pulled it out of the box and it was an instant “nope” for me. YMMV.
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Yeah that's my experience with it as well. I tried using it for a pedalboard briefly and it never was something that fits in with other stuff in a good way. It works fine as a self-contained unit, but it's "suitcase portable" rather than "backpack portable" like a HX Stomp or Hotone A2 Stomp.

Screenshot 2025-03-26 at 20.47.46.png
 
laxu said:
Yeah that's my experience with it as well. I tried using it for a pedalboard briefly and it never was something that fits in with other stuff in a good way. It works fine as a self-contained unit, but it's "suitcase portable" rather than "backpack portable" like a HX Stomp or Hotone A2 Stomp.

View attachment 41003
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Looks good to me :D I am not worried about size. It'll be sitting on my desks somewhere if I do get one.
 
BROCKSTAR said:
Man I don't know what to do lol. I don't know if i should just sit and think for a bit or try and get a fm3.

I have been happy with helix floor for 9 years and it's still not going anywhere and I have gotten a lot of great tones from it even though I'm a simple man with using just the mesa amp and litigator amp majority of the time and dual delay and ganymede reverb for ambient stuff.

I did put out a filler on my local music facebook page that I run in my area to see if anyone had a fm3 or fm9 that they can bring over for me to check out but I don't think I'll get any hits in my crappy town lol.

I am just wowed by the effects in vp4 and I must know if i'll get the same response from the amps / cabs on fm3.
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I’ve been a helix floor fan for years, still have mine (mostly because I’m super lazy when it comes to selling stuff).

There are a few gems in the helix amp modeling, but the fractal is a little better and more consistently has great models IMO.

I liked the Helix for its delays and for its ease of programming and live use. Programming the Fm9 for a gig takes the same amount of time as helix so no issues for me there. The quality of effects and amps is better. The footswitching options are way more powerful. The only thing where helix has an edge for my uses still is some weird/interesting delays and the ability to easily tweak something live (touch a foot switch, turn knobs, done).

I bought an FM3 thinking I might use it live with the Helix. I’m not afraid of having a big footprint on stage, but the FM3 was just too big for my intended use at that time. I’m ultimately happier with the FM9 than with the Helix. I had external pedals with Helix to offset the places I thought it was weak. Haven’t needed that in fm9. Ymmv.

D
 
laxu said:
Yeah that's my experience with it as well. I tried using it for a pedalboard briefly and it never was something that fits in with other stuff in a good way. It works fine as a self-contained unit, but it's "suitcase portable" rather than "backpack portable" like a HX Stomp or Hotone A2 Stomp.

View attachment 41003
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The VP4 is (for me) the goldilocks sized backpack portable that's a bit bigger than the HX Stomp and smaller than the FM3.

Hoping Fractal uses the VP4 form factor for a FM modeler (with amps, cabs and effects).
 
My goodness vp4 just sounds so much better in stereo too!

I took the outputs from my helix that goes to my jbl studio monitors and put them into vp4 and set it up as mono in and stereo out and presets and stuff just comes to life much more than mono!!!

I'm going to play it like this for awhile :D

However i have to bump the level up to around +5db to make it little louder as the signal is kinda lower than I like at +0. My helix doesn't have this issue? Could be due to my boss vg-800 and gm-800 im plugging into first before the vp4.
 
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I am really digging the VP4, but tonight my practice was almost exclusive wah pedal and Boss DM101 !!

I'm gonna spend a bit of time dialing in the DM Two delay to sound like my Boss DM101 sound. The attacks need to be quite heavily softened as they decay away. The Graphite Copy Delay maintains the transient too much. Even the band mentioned how my delay was more obvious and not how the part should sound, versus the DM101.

Didn't touch a reverb the whole night! OMFG!

The minimalism trend continues for me then!!
 
Orvillain said:
I am really digging the VP4, but tonight my practice was almost exclusive wah pedal and Boss DM101 !!

I'm gonna spend a bit of time dialing in the DM Two delay to sound like my Boss DM101 sound. The attacks need to be quite heavily softened as they decay away. The Graphite Copy Delay maintains the transient too much. Even the band mentioned how my delay was more obvious and not how the part should sound, versus the DM101.

Didn't touch a reverb the whole night! OMFG!

The minimalism trend continues for me then!!
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I haven’t broken down and bought a dm101 yet, when you figure out what to do for that vibe in fractal please share what you find. I’m starting to shift back towards grungier delays again.

D
 
Orvillain said:
I am really digging the VP4, but tonight my practice was almost exclusive wah pedal and Boss DM101 !!

I'm gonna spend a bit of time dialing in the DM Two delay to sound like my Boss DM101 sound. The attacks need to be quite heavily softened as they decay away. The Graphite Copy Delay maintains the transient too much. Even the band mentioned how my delay was more obvious and not how the part should sound, versus the DM101.

Didn't touch a reverb the whole night! OMFG!

The minimalism trend continues for me then!!
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DM Two Delay is my current main delay type. I like old school delays.
 
yek said:
DM Two Delay is my current main delay type. I like old school delays.
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In my last band, it was almost like I was playing delay rather than guitar half the time!!

But in this new one, I'm playing some more intricate parts which are more obviously top line melodies than some of the stuff I've done in the past, and so the delay needs to properly sit behind.

Analog delays are great for that, because they just nicely blend into the background after a few taps. I could do with a bit more crunk on the DM Two, but that should be easy to do by tweaking the feedback EQ and adding a bit of distortion to it and bit reduction to it.
 
Fun to follow along with the VP4 adventures. I haven't hooked up my pedalboard in a couple months, as I recently moved + our drummer injured his leg. I am planning on redoing my board and going back to my trusty PT Jr, from the new Novo 18 I switched to, so I'll probably have it all out and connected this weekend, maybe.

Any news about a looper being added?

Also, have they fixed how the tuner doesn't mute if no effects are active?
 
TubeStack said:
Fun to follow along with the VP4 adventures. I haven't hooked up my pedalboard in a couple months, as I recently moved + our drummer injured his leg. I am planning on redoing my board and going back to my trusty PT Jr, from the new Novo 18 I switched to, so I'll probably have it all out and connected this weekend, maybe.

Any news about a looper being added?

Also, have they fixed how the tuner doesn't mute if no effects are active?
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looper and IR blocks are still talks over on fractal forum. I never noticed the muting thing myself but if no one answers you by time I plug back in later I'll check it to be sure. I know you have to hit footswitch 3 to mute it, but not sure if i ever muted it during a time when no effects were active etc.
 
TubeStack said:
Fun to follow along with the VP4 adventures. I haven't hooked up my pedalboard in a couple months, as I recently moved + our drummer injured his leg. I am planning on redoing my board and going back to my trusty PT Jr, from the new Novo 18 I switched to, so I'll probably have it all out and connected this weekend, maybe.

Any news about a looper being added?

Also, have they fixed how the tuner doesn't mute if no effects are active?
Click to expand...

The mute thing still happens. Doesn't mute when no effects are active and I'm on the latest vp4 beta.
 
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