Questions and answers with Victor Fidelis
My story
From a drum kit made of pots to the guitar, the bands and the course, and to Fidelis Rig.
Timeline
From a pots-and-buckets drum kit to Fidelis Rig
- 1997
São Paulo
I was born in São Paulo, Brazil.
- Age 6
The pots-and-buckets drum kit
Because of a concert DVD my dad had, I put together a drum kit with pots, plastic bags and buckets.
- Age 8
Church
I started playing drums in church services.
- 2011
The guitar
At 14, I traded the sticks for a guitar and practiced up to 8 hours a day.
- 2012
YouTube
I posted my first video on YouTube.
- 2016–2018
Music Production
I started Music Production at Anhembi Morumbi University in 2016 and graduated in 2018.
- 2021
Heavy Glow
I co-founded the band Heavy Glow, which in 2023 got to play with Chad Smith.
- 2024
The WX-10 pedal
I helped develop the WX-10 pedal with VRM Effects.
- 2024
The course
I launched JF Guitar Masterclass, because my followers asked for it.
- 2025
Fidelis Rig begins
Late in the year, I started building Fidelis Rig.
- 2026
Fidelis Rig
On October 24, I played my first show with it. And Fidelis Rig, my tone platform, is coming soon.
Part 1
The music
How did music start?
At 6, on drums. I used to watch one of my dad’s concert DVDs, and I built my own kit: a toy set filled out with my mom’s pots, plastic bags for hi-hats, an empty gas canister and buckets.
By 8, I was already playing drums in church services, and I stayed there for years.
Pots, buckets and an empty gas canister: that was my first drum kit.
And the guitar?
It came in 2011, at 14, when I discovered John Frusciante’s playing. I’m self-taught: I played at least 8 hours a day. In 2012, I posted my first video on YouTube.
Where have you been since?
- I co-founded the band Heavy Glow, which in 2023 got to play with Chad Smith.
- I graduated in Music Production from Anhembi Morumbi University.
- I partnered with Frusrite, VRM Effects, JFX Pedals and Toka Estúdio.
- With VRM Effects, I helped develop the WX-10 pedal.
How did the course come about?
In 2024, because my followers asked for it. JF Guitar Masterclass brings together what I’ve learned in more than 15 years playing this style. I also play solos live, requested by the people who follow me.
Check out JF Guitar MasterclassPart 2
Fidelis Rig
Why build Fidelis Rig?
I never got along with guitar plugins. Dozens of parameters, hunting for the least bad sim, placing the cab and the mic, figuring out the pedal order and still watching a tutorial. It wasn’t simple or intuitive, and I missed the feeling of having a real pedalboard in front of me.
I wanted my real rig on the computer screen: open it, play, with the tone ready to record.
When did you decide to build your own?
In late 2025. Doing some research, I saw it was possible. I thought it would just be a hub to organize captures, with a few simple pedals. I never imagined it would become a platform.
It was supposed to be a capture hub. It became a platform.
What was the day-to-day like?
Lots of days from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., hyperfocused. Good results turned into fuel. It wasn’t that crazy an idea: it was doable, it just took dedication and study.
What was the first scene?
Castle, the most iconic one, with more than 10 pedals. I didn’t think I could pull off the whole scene. I measured real pedals with frequency analysis and an oscilloscope, captured my own gear and had help from VRM Effects. It took thousands of hours.
When did you know it had worked?
When I put what I built side by side with my real rig, and it was the same sound. In a blind test, I couldn’t tell which was which anymore.
It was the same sound. That blew my mind.
And the first show with it?
It was on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at Bar Rota, in Cotia (SP): I played with Heavy Glow again, as a fill-in, on a version still in testing. More than two hours on an old office laptop, in maximum quality mode, with one of the simplest 4-button MIDI controllers. I was afraid it would freeze, and it didn’t.
At the end, an amp builder came over to compliment my tone, not knowing it was all coming from a computer. I was feeling unsure, and he was there at the right moment to give me that confirmation.
I don’t need to haul a giant pedalboard and heavy amps anymore to get an incredible sound.
What was the hardest part?
Validating the sound and fixing the audio clicks, the freezes and the mysterious bugs, when I couldn’t even tell where they came from. Once that was behind me, the challenges turned into fuel.
In one sentence, what is Fidelis Rig to you?
The real feeling of the pedal being right there, with the freedom to change the pedal order and a sound true to my rig.
I built the interface of my dreams, the one I never had. I never felt at home with plugins; with Fidelis Rig, I found myself.
A message for players who never clicked with plugins?
When it’s out, try it and see how it feels. If you’re used to real pedals, you’ll feel at home:
- each scene’s stage, so you feel like you’re in the room;
- a pedalboard you can drag and rearrange any way you like;
- your presets and the output of each pedal and of the amp;
- a few “mods” real pedals don’t have.
What would 14-year-old Victor say?
He’d love it. He’d beg his parents until he got a license. He didn’t know what to put together or buy, and he didn’t have the money for that gear. Having that gear, taking it to the computer and even sharing it with people: 14-year-old Fidelis wouldn’t believe it.
I hope people enjoy the platform as much as I did. I’m really proud of the result, whatever happens.
Discover Fidelis Rig