I sold my 500 because I didn't think I should have to spend a ridiculous amount of time reading a manual and searching forums, making hundreds of adjustments. I had the same exact problem with differences in tone and relative volume of the patches in a) My practice room. 2) Our rehearsal space, and three) Venue volumes. Radatats, My band Cruise Control plays in your area and in 4 surrounding counties, at different sized places. Last Friday we played an early gig, then headed to see some friends playing a nearby gig. We caught the last four or five songs. As soon as the last song ended the guitar player came over and began complaining about the new 500 he bought that day. He said he was embarrassed at how many times he had to bend down to make volume and tone adjustments the entire gig. I recommended he ditch it and go back to his effects pedals and a midi controller. I've been using a Mesa MarkV, but it's getting to heavy to lug to 75-100 gigs each year, so I plunked down some cash on a Kemper and should have it very soon. I still have an M13, which I like, but haven't been using it live lately. And remember fellas, we're all on the same team.
