Fractal VP4 Owners Discussion

[JiveTurkey]

Welcome to the Fractalverse.

but also...

 

[Whizzinby]

My thing today has been using the Stereo BBD delay, which is fantastic, but then experimenting with a Plex Reverb type immediately following it. Rather than using the Plex Verb as a dominant effect, drastically drop the mix controls and using ducking to make it sound like its a part of the BBD repeats themselves, not a delay smashing an ambient verb.

Honey listen to the subtle shift in the repeats character…

 

[SonVolt]

Can anyone comment on how the Detune block compares to the Eventide MicroPitch pedal? The Eventide sounds a lot better than the Detune block in my old Fractal FX8. Curious if that has changed.

Would also like to know how it compares to the SDE-3000EVH for Dual Delay.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I had the MicroPitch. I could have been "doing it wrong" ("Oh you aren't connecting it to 7 amps in a w/d/d/w/w/d/w setup? it's going to suck!") but the FAS dual detune takes a HUGE steaming dump on the Eventide detune. As does the stuff in the Boss GT1000 imo. Clarity aside in that particular case.

 

[SonVolt]

Hmmm, my experience was the opposite but I'm running W/D/W where the Detune effect shines.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Hmmm, my experience was the opposite but I'm running W/D/W where the Detune effect shines.

Yeah I did not do it the way you are supposed to. At all I just run a mono signal chain and engage dual detune and hack my way through all those 90s EVH riffs I LOVE that sound.

 

[Whizzinby]

@Fractal M@
@FractalAudio

We need two things:

1. Block reorder. (Move this to the top of your priority list please) The more I use this, the more this becomes a notable oversight/omission. If possible don’t bury it in a menu somewhere, this needs to be something like a combo button press, like Home + Page L to move left or Save + Page R to move right, once you’ve highlighted the block you want to move. This creates lots of issues because you hesitate to build out all the channels if you think you may want to move the blocks position later or come up with an idea mid-flight and you know you’re now going to have to rebuild the entire block to try it.
2. Type favorites. I’m pretty sure there is a block library feature when using Edit for the VP4, but since this is meant to be grab and go and integrate with amps, we need to be able to store and recall Type favorites settings on-device. This needs to get embedded into one of the Type page screens (add one at the end?) or would even be fine if buried at the bottom of the Expert menu. Block favorites wouldn’t be ideal because with Channels you may not want the same block/channel combo every time, but there will be plenty of times you add a type to a channel and don’t want to configure your go-to settings for 700th time. Maybe let each type have 5 favorites.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Are you finding you need to run the mix higher on this in the loop vs. the same blocks in the FM or III? Running mix of Plex and delays on the modelers around 18%ish vs running them closer to 30 on the VP?

 

[Whizzinby]

Are you finding you need to run the mix higher on this in the loop vs. the same blocks in the FM or III? Running mix of Plex and delays on the modelers around 18%ish vs running them closer to 30 on the VP?

Interesting. I haven’t really noticed a need to run the mixes notably higher compared to the AxeFX on monitors.

Most of the Plex types run pretty high at like 40% by default, which I back off pretty considerably unless I’m going full Greatest Hits of Elronds Quartet.

 

[laxu]

Are you finding you need to run the mix higher on this in the loop vs. the same blocks in the FM or III? Running mix of Plex and delays on the modelers around 18%ish vs running them closer to 30 on the VP?

I think Fractal mentioned somewhere that they've changed how the mix works on the VP4. So it might be that it only gets to 50/50 mix at closer to 70% like some pedals do.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I think Fractal mentioned somewhere that they've changed how the mix works on the VP4. So it might be that it only gets to 50/50 mix at closer to 70% like some pedals do.

I'm not sure if I am making it up in my mind tbh? I did a block for block settings copy from my III to the post FX blocks I setup in the VP. Sounds killer (duh) but just lower in the mix. I raised it up and that was more like it but wasn't sure if there was something else I was missing on my end or even if having it in the loop of the Stealth was mixing it lower than it would be if it was post the direct out feed? I'm going to work with my IR-D this evening and see how it goes there.

 

[dk_ace]

I'm not sure if I am making it up in my mind tbh? I did a block for block settings copy from my III to the post FX blocks I setup in the VP. Sounds killer (duh) but just lower in the mix. I raised it up and that was more like it but wasn't sure if there was something else I was missing on my end or even if having it in the loop of the Stealth was mixing it lower than it would be if it was post the direct out feed? I'm going to work with my IR-D this evening and see how it goes there.

One of the things that I’ve found with the FM9 is that on the reverb in particular I had to keep the mix a lot lower than I would with other units to achieve the same level of wetness. Maybe they moved to a scheme closer to other devices now? I don’t have a VP4 yet to test it, so this is just worthless conjecture on my part…

D

 

[JiveTurkey]

Per Cliff, RE: Mix levels being lower vs. the III and FM units:

Are the mix levels lower than the equivalent mix levels in the FM and III?

Quick question. Like the subject line says; are the mix levels lower than their equivalents in the III and FM units? I find myself raising the level by ~10%ish(?) to feel like I am matching those same blocks in my presets in my III and FM3. Am I imagining this or is there something in the global...

forum.fractalaudio.com

"Yes. The mix law in many blocks is different to suit the "all effects before the amp" crowd better."

 

[Orvillain]

fuccckkk yeaaaaahhhh!

 

[Whizzinby]

Per Cliff, RE: Mix levels being lower vs. the III and FM units:

Are the mix levels lower than the equivalent mix levels in the FM and III?

Quick question. Like the subject line says; are the mix levels lower than their equivalents in the III and FM units? I find myself raising the level by ~10%ish(?) to feel like I am matching those same blocks in my presets in my III and FM3. Am I imagining this or is there something in the global...

forum.fractalaudio.com

"Yes. The mix law in many blocks is different to suit the "all effects before the amp" crowd better."

Clearance to crank the mix!!!!

 

[Whizzinby]

I’m at the “1970’s movie soundtrack” preset stage with the VP4.

I’ve never been a huge spring reverb dude, but used in the right context I’m becoming a true believer. The Tube Spring model is very cool for this vibe. I’m also noticing that if you use a whiff of a spring early in a preset, getting a touch of the drip (that’s what she said) repeating, before stacking another end-of-chain verb, is cool.

I’m using the Borg phaser here. I’ve not dug too far into phasers before either, but there are quite a few nice ones if you lean into playing something stylized for uses that sort of effect. (FAS Vibe, Mutron, Stereo 8-Stage, Digital Stereo etc)

 

[laxu]

Can any VP4 owner test if my idea for setting "favorite" defaults for every effect works?

1. Set e.g a delay block to your favorite settings on all channels.
2. Remove the delay block from the preset.
3. Save the preset.
4. Copy the preset to another slot.
5. Load new preset by going to another one and then back to this new preset.
6. Then try adding the delay.

Do your favorite settings show up or does it go back to defaults?

 

[Whizzinby]

Can any VP4 owner test if my idea for setting "favorite" defaults for every effect works?

1. Set e.g a delay block to your favorite settings on all channels.
2. Remove the delay block from the preset.
3. Save the preset.
4. Copy the preset to another slot.
5. Load new preset by going to another one and then back to this new preset.
6. Then try adding the delay.

Do your favorite settings show up or does it go back to defaults?

I built a preset to test your theory but I think I can only copy presets if connected to the Editor, and I don’t connect my VP4 to a computer. (Highlighting a reason why block libraries via Edit don’t really address the need for Type defaults and favorites)

 

[laxu]

I built a preset to test your theory but I think I can only copy presets if connected to the Editor, and I don’t connect my VP4 to a computer. (Highlighting a reason why block libraries via Edit don’t really address the need for Type defaults and favorites)

You can just save the preset and choose a different preset slot I think. At least that's how it works on other Fractals.

Actually saving it to another slot doesn't matter much. Just saving the preset in one slot, then toggling to another preset and back, then adding a delay block should work.

 

[yeky83]

Block reorder. (Move this to the top of your priority list please) The more I use this, the more this becomes a notable oversight/omission. If possible don’t bury it in a menu somewhere, this needs to be something like a combo button press, like Home + Page L to move left or Save + Page R to move right, once you’ve highlighted the block you want to move. This creates lots of issues because you hesitate to build out all the channels if you think you may want to move the blocks position later or come up with an idea mid-flight and you know you’re now going to have to rebuild the entire block to try it.

Maybe it could be hold-Enter to pop out block, move with selector, pop it back in with Enter? But yeah, desperately craving block reordering.