Congrats, it's a great amp. Loads of tones available in there, esp when people spend time get past the Tool/Metallica riff pigeonhole and delve deeper.
Ch1 sounds fantastic, esp with some great reverb and perhaps comp pedal up front, as you say. I prefer not to hit that channel too hard into breakup, I like it dead clean and bell-like. It loves a good low output pickup and a strat. I'll switch to Ch 2 if I'm going for pushed/edgy tones.
Ch2 is a great channel for experimenting with boosting for even more possibilities. Ch2 sounds amazing playing with greenbacks too if you have that option. Ch3 is iconic, not much to add.
Ch4 wasn't an immediate love for me but I grew to enjoy it more when I kept the gain way lower and swapped out the preamp tube for something lower. I prefer it with a less saturation.
Doing the simple NFB mod also was a big benefit for me. I'm not a huge modder type person and generally take amps as they are or move them on, but the NFB really opened up the amp to just the right goldilocks amount for my ear. Mine is a 2010, so I'm unsure where the circuit changes were at around that time, but I believe the VH4's from the last few years have all been much more open and dynamic compared to the earlier darker sound anyway, so perhaps its not as needed on a current model.
I prefer KT77 or 6L6's in mine over EL34's.
I can recommend a good midi switcher.
