Show us your AM4 boards!

Welp @BROCKSTAR has warned a number of people about the fractal gateway "drug" and here I am the new owner of a mint FM3 and loving every minute of it.

Started with the VP4 then the AM4 when it came out. Got a screwy idea and let go of the AM4 a bit ago and have since been using the VP4 with a ruby but wasn't entirely happy and missed the fractal amps.

Ran across this yesterday locally for less than a brand new AM4 and couldn't pass it up. Sounds great and should satisfy my pedestrian needs. Very satisfied thus far and shouldn't feel limited at all.

Sorry to crash the AM4 thread with this old lady.
 

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rummy said:
Here's my simple board. I'll end up adding the wireless unit before the gig, but that's pretty much it. And, I just can't bring myself to taking those screen protectors off yet, haha.

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How is the Lehle working out with the AM4? I’m thinking about buying one instead of waiting for the Fractal EV2 to be restocked.
 
burton56 said:
How is the Lehle working out with the AM4? I’m thinking about buying one instead of waiting for the Fractal EV2 to be restocked.
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It calibrates and works perfectly.
I just wish it didn't need 9v power, but it's not a big deal for me.
 
SporadicG said:
This is kind of the “my personal 2025 GAS museum” pedalboard rather than a carefully thought out collection of pedals. But I am quite happy with it so far.

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How do you have this wired up in terms of signal chain? Especially interested in how you use the Deco in this rig.
 
laxu said:
How do you have this wired up in terms of signal chain? Especially interested in how you use the Deco in this rig.
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The signal chain is Brothers AM -> Lost + Found -> Julianna in front of the AM4, then Tensor -> Sunlight -> Deco in the stereo insert of the AM4.

For the Deco, on the Tape Saturation side, Saturation just above 9 o'clock, Volume 1:30, Tone 2 o'clock gives mild tape saturation at the end of the chain with a neutral-ish EQ curve, and then I can turn the Tone knob up from there for more high-mids and highs.

I use the Doubletracker side in Wide Stereo mode for fake hard panned doubled rhythm parts. It is also available as another option for chorus, slapback, or tape echo (and tape flange, but historically I don't love flanger sounds), if I find myself wanting more blocks in a preset. But "what if four blocks is not enough" has mostly been a hypothetical for me so far. (Edit: well, for core tones, four blocks is plenty for me, and then I use the Lost + Found, Julianna, Tensor, and Sunlight to embellish from there for less traditional sounds, with the Deco providing end-of-chain mild tape saturation and fake L/R double tracking. And I had the Brothers AM already, so why not.)
 
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SporadicG said:
The signal chain is Brothers AM -> Lost + Found -> Julianna in front of the AM4, then Tensor -> Sunlight -> Deco in the stereo insert of the AM4.

For the Deco, on the Tape Saturation side, Saturation just above 9 o'clock, Volume 1:30, Tone 2 o'clock gives mild tape saturation at the end of the chain with a neutral-ish EQ curve, and then I can turn the Tone knob up from there for more high-mids and highs.

I use the Doubletracker side in Wide Stereo mode for fake hard panned doubled rhythm parts. It is also available as another option for chorus, slapback, or tape echo (and tape flange, but historically I don't love flanger sounds), if I find myself wanting more blocks in a preset. But "what if four blocks is not enough" has mostly been a hypothetical for me so far. (Edit: well, for core tones, four blocks is plenty for me, and then I use the Lost + Found, Julianna, Tensor, and Sunlight to embellish from there for less traditional sounds, with the Deco providing end-of-chain mild tape saturation and fake L/R double tracking. And I had the Brothers AM already, so why not.)
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Thanks for the detailed breakdown. I have a Deco V2 as well and am thinking how I might want to run my Strymons with the AM4. Thinking of using the Volante because the AM4 doesn't have a multitap delay block.

The Deco is a cool pedal because it's kind of like the Tape Distortion, Chorus, Flanger, Delay and Enhancer blocks all in one - obviously with limited features compared to them.
 
rummy said:
Here's my simple board. I'll end up adding the wireless unit before the gig, but that's pretty much it. And, I just can't bring myself to taking those screen protectors off yet, haha.

Click to expand...


rummy said:
Here's my simple board. I'll end up adding the wireless unit before the gig, but that's pretty much it. And, I just can't bring myself to taking those screen protectors off yet, haha.

Click to expand...

How do you have the midi controller set up?
 
jisham said:
How do you have the midi controller set up?
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My default screen is Navigation. It has preset up, preset down, scene up, scene down, Favorites, and Tuner.
Once you go into Favorites, I have 4 buttons set up to recall my specific scenes. Each "scene" then takes me to a page where I can toggle each block on and off, tuner, and a way back to the navigation page.

For messing around at home, I leave the AM4 in effects mode, and use the MIDI controller to navigate.
For gigs, I usually stay with my "Shiva" scene, and use the MIDI controller to toggle on and off effects.

I'm sure there are more clever way to use it, but this works for me for now.
 
Smittefar said:
Brought this setup to a very high grade studio today. The producer isvery happy
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Just to add a little context and some AM4 appreciation gushing, I really really like the workflow of the AM4. For one song, I needed an Envelope filter. No problem, copy the preset to a new spot, replace wah with envelope filter - all in less than one minute. Also, after the first day rehearsal/cue track recording, felt my amp settings were too gainy and to woolly in the bass - No problem, it is super simple to go in and change the settings.
 
Can use this direct (spdif via the Highline under the board) or use the AM4 in front of my amp and the VP4 in the loop as everything is accessible from the back of the board. Really enjoying the AM4 and hoping to downsize my big board with the FM9 at some point.

 
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I decided that my previous attempt at combining my AM4 with the VP4 on my Rockboard side by side resulted in a too long board to comfortable handle. I got a NUX Bumblebee L pedal board and stacked them one above the other for a much smaller footprint.
I also addressed the hassle of having 3 USBC cables going back to the PC for editing by installing a 4 port USBC hub on the pedal board so now I only need one cable going back to the PC.
Everything else I needed fitted on the new board perfectly and I have the 2 balanced outputs from the AM4 coming out thru the XLR sockets on the Rockboard Mod 3 on the back.
 
burton56 said:


My board above includes the Strymon Deco which I use for flanger, but I might remove it because the flangers on the AM4 are awesome.
Probably replace it with something on the front end, maybe a fuzz or an expression pedal. Any other suggestions?
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I have a Deco in front of mine too, more for the saturation. Really dig it.
 
3d printed these brackets to make mounting the AM4 and the Midi Captain easy. The Midi Captain makes the AM4 easy to use live with plenty of controls. I have access to 8 of my favorite presets, scenes for each and the AM4 stays on effects all the time which also gives me access to rotate between drives, delays reverbs etc. The Midi Captain also has pages which offer more presets etc. I use the Ampero switch for modifiers although I am still developing strategies. The right 2 pedals give access to Tuner and tap tempo. It is still a work in progress but shows great possibilities. The mounting brackets make it easy to take the AM4 off and stick it in my gig bag for jam sessions etc.
 

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Jrusto said:
3d printed these brackets to make mounting the AM4 and the Midi Captain easy. The Midi Captain makes the AM4 easy to use live with plenty of controls. I have access to 8 of my favorite presets, scenes for each and the AM4 stays on effects all the time which also gives me access to rotate between drives, delays reverbs etc. The Midi Captain also has pages which offer more presets etc. I use the Ampero switch for modifiers although I am still developing strategies. The right 2 pedals give access to Tuner and tap tempo. It is still a work in progress but shows great possibilities. The mounting brackets make it easy to take the AM4 off and stick it in my gig bag for jam sessions etc.
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Looks cool. How does this make mounting easier?
 
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