Fractal Virtual Pedalboard (VP4)

rsm

rsm

Well-known member
https://www.fractalaudio.com/vp4/



VP4 Virtual Pedalboard - Top Panel and Rear Panel




edit: no send/return for 4CM. that's a deal breaker for me. Not sure, but does it only do 4 effects per patch?! I'll stay with my HX-Effects
 
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Fractal really needs to come up with a proper FX8 replacement.. with the Relays, etc..

So far for what the FX8 does, it's hard to find a replacement at the price tag.
 
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Is it only able to run 4 effects at a time? Lame
Also on my HX FX I have 2 loops which is super useful. Some pre sets I'll by pass loop one which has a real OD into front of my amp for a clean tone and then for my solos and crunch it is activated.
This unit FAs came out with is 12% of the features in the HX. Albeit with better effects. But for the little delay, chorus and reverb I use I'll take 2 loops, midi, ch switching cabability and way more effects in the signal chain capability.

Bummer FAS :rolleyes:
 
It can be set to do pre and post effects in mono.

While it is limited to four effects at once, it can do four instances of every kind of effect but a few, like reverb and pitch shifting, those it can do two at once. I was thinking about it, and even in my most kitchen sink style patches, I really only ever have four effects on at a time at most.

To me it seems like a no-brainer for this thing to replace an H9 or the upcoming Strymon Bigsky/Timeline/Mobius MX flagship pedal replacements.
 
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TheGreatGreen said:
It can be set to do pre and post effects in mono.

While it is limited to 4 effects at once, it can do four instances of every kind of effect but a few, like reverb and pitch shifting, which it can do two at once. I was thinking about it, and even in my most kitchen sink style patches, I really only ever have four effects on at a time at most.

To me it seems like a no-brainer for this thing to replace an H9 or the upcoming Strymon Bigsky/Timeline/Mobius MX flagship pedal replacements.
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I agree
 
I’m going to try one. Four fx at once 🤣 I pretty much only use a little delay so to me it’s more than enough. Fractal has some of the best effects of the modelers. I think it’s a tad pricey but for an all in one unit it’s not a crazy price.
 
Juggernaut said:
And they're really good... the line 6 hate from years ago really isn't justified with today's line 6 products.
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The Line 6 effects always sound more like pedal simulations to me. I generally prefer studio-clean type effects.

I prefer Lexicon and TC Electronic type simulations to weird warbly analog tones, or particle verbs or such.
 
I feel the FX8 is still the better product based upon what the VP4 offers.

I was hoping for more effects and footswitches plus I suspect it will have tone suck/coloration even though it will be an effects only unit.

I was watching a few videos and I believe that I could hear the tone suck (or tone coloration) by the effects.

The FX8 is the only Fractal device where I didn't get any tone suck/coloration and where it felt the same to my fingers with the effects in the loop or no effects in the loop of the amp.

After taxes and shipping, it would be close to $800 for me so I don't see myself buying one until a friend gets one and I can compare it to the FX8.

If there is no tone suck/coloration, then I would determine if I could live with just 4 effects.

For me, I really need a preset with variations of a NG, Compressor, Wah, EQ1, then Pitch, Chorus, Delay1, Delay 2, Reverb, and EQ2.

I'm able to get pretty close to this list with an FX8.

I was hoping Fractal was going to come up with something a lot better than the FX8 and I don't believe they did it with the VP4.
 
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grrr_me_scary said:
I feel the FX8 is still the better product based upon what the VP4 offers.

I was hoping for more effects and footswitches plus I suspect it will have tone suck/coloration even though it will be an effects only unit.

I was watching a few videos and I believe that I could hear the tone suck (or tone coloration) by the effects.

The FX8 is the only Fractal device where I didn't get any tone suck/coloration and where it felt the same to my fingers with the effects in the loop or no effects in the loop of the amp.

After taxes and shipping, it would be close to $800 for me so I don't see myself buying one until a friend gets one and I can compare it to the FX8.

If there is no tone suck/coloration, then I would determine if I could live with just 4 effects.

For me, I really need a preset with variations of a NG, Compressor, Wah, EQ1, then Pitch, Chorus, Delay1, Delay 2, Reverb, and EQ2.

I'm able to get pretty close to this list with an FX8.

I was hoping Fractal was going to come up with something a lot better than the FX8 and I don't believe they did it with the VP4.
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I am also very curious about the transparency of the VP4. I definitely notice the Axe II and FM3 messing with the dynamics. Because of that I run them through a parallel mixer. I have wondered about if the VP4 would be best through a parallel mixer also.
 
Long post incoming.

It's funny, I see something like the VP4 and end up comparing it to whatever pie-in-the-sky version of a similar product I can dream up. The biggest "woulda been nice" I have for this thing is that I wish it had one more output jack. Seems like it would have been perfect for a 5-cable setup (mono pre-effects then stereo post-effects), considering how great both Fractal's pre-effects are in mono and their post-effects are in stereo.

I kind of feel like a dick for basically looking at the two ways you can configure this thing, either 4-cable mono or post-effects stereo, and asking "porque no los dos?" because it seems like all it would take (I'm not a designer and I have no idea really) is one more output jack to be able to run it as a total solution for mono pre-effects and stereo post-effects.

I guess the best way I can say it is that the biggest hangup I have with the VP4 is that no matter how I'd use it, I'd feel like I'd somehow be underutilizing it, because whether you configure it as a 4-cable mono effects box or a stereo post effects box, there's awesome stuff in there that you just can't access in its current mode. If I use it as a stereo post-effects box, I'd feel like I'm missing out on all the awesome drives, boosts, and pre-gain modulation in there. If I use it as a 4-cable box, I feel like I'd be missing out on the stereo potential, as Fractal's stereo effects are awesome.

All that said, in reality, however you use it, I think it's worth it at its price though. It can honestly replace an entire pedalboard in a 4-cable mono rig, plus it would massively shrink the size of your board and the number of connections and cables that can fail. And if you use it only for stereo post effects, it's still worth it for all the fancy stereo pedals it could replace there. Hell even if you got a Wetter Box to retain an analog dry through in parallel to the post effects, I still think it would be worth it. What's the price of the BigSky and Timeline again? Not the new MX versions, the old ones. $350 a pop. The VP4 gives you a more capable solution in a smaller package for the same price as those two pedals, in a smaller form factor. If you run mono, throw the cost of the Mobius in with the BigSky and Timeline too for things the VP4 replaces. In that case, the VP4 is looking even better than it already was.

Basically, if you can pick a routing config in the VP4 and get over the FOMO of not being able to use it the other way, I don't think you're going to find a better value in a multi-effects solution for the price.
 
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