Noise Gate; Input Impedance; Main Levels; Preset Eq - Fractal VP4 Owner's Manual

VP4 OWNER'S MANUAL

Noise Gate

Every preset includes an adjustable noise gate at the input, before any effects.
The noise gate can be used to eliminate unwanted noise and hum by cutting
off or filtering the sound when its level drops below a certain threshold.
This is especially useful when using high-gain amps or playing in noisy
environments.
The gate has the following controls:
Gate Type – The "CLASSIC" type opens and closes like a typical gate pedal.
The "INTELLIGENT" and "NOISE REDUCER" types use precision filtering to
minimize noise from electromagnetic interference ("EMI"). For these gates
to work effectively, it is crucial to set SETUP > Global Settings > AC Line
Frequency based on your location. The default setting of "60 Hz" is suitable
for North America and most of Central and South America. The "50 Hz"
setting is for Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia/New Zealand, and parts of South
America such as Argentina and Chile.
Threshold – This determines how quiet the signal must be for the gate to
close. Higher settings make the gate more aggressive, meaning it will close
on louder signals. To turn the gate completely off, set this control fully
counterclockwise.
Release – The Release setting determines how long it takes for the noise
gate to close after the signal level drops below the threshold, which typically
happens when you stop playing. Choose a high setting if you want the gate to
drift closed, allowing the noise to fade out over up to 1 second. Choose a low
setting if you want the gate to snap shut abruptly.
Level – This adjusts the level of the signal coming out of the gate if you
need a boosted level going into your effects. However, be aware that this
compromises unity gain.
PRESETS
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INPUT GATE EXPERT SETTINGS
The Noise Gate contains several "hidden" expert parameters. These will be familiar
to those who use current Fractal Audio products, or those who like to dive deeper
into sound design. While on the Input Gate page, press Page Left and Page Right at
the same time to show its expert settings page:
Ratio - Think of this as the strength of the gate. A higher ratio causes the closed
gate to reduce the noise more dramatically, while the lowest setting (1:1) causes
the gate to have no effect at all.
Attack - This determines how quickly the noise gate opens after the signal level
exceeds the threshold — typically when you start playing. Choose a fast setting for
a quick, aggressive attack. Choose a slow setting if you want the gate to open in a
more relaxed way. The default of 2.0 ms is a good starting point.

INPUT IMPEDANCE

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.

Main Levels

The Main Levels page of every preset contains the master Preset Level and
Preset Balance controls.
In addition, each Scene also has a Scene Level control which can be used to
trim the level of that scene +/- 20 dB.

Preset EQ

Every preset has its own master 10-band EQ. The EQ setting is applied at the
output. All effects and scenes in the current preset are processed by its EQ
settings.
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