BlueViolince

That's what I thought. For the fx loop, it doesn't make a difference when recording, but it doesn't make sense that it uses an active effect block if it's not pulling on the dsp, am I right? I would love it if the next firmware did something about that.

Just thinking for recording purposes, to eliminate any unnecessary conversion stages. In an unrelated note, does the D/A and A/D in the fx loop put any kind of a hit on dsp? Or are all of the conversions running on dedicated processors?

I just started using a 250k Ball VP Jr in front of my hd500, playing with piezo pickups. My universal input Z is set at 3.5 meg, but would that be negated by anything in front of the input? I want my setup to be as flexible as possible, so that it does not change tonally, regardless of whether I am using the volume pedal or not. Do I have to set the input Z to the same as the volume pedal's impedance? I would be putting the volume pedal in the fx loop, but a few of my patches are maxed out, as far as slots go.

I have started using dual delays in parallel. I usually have something like a 1/4 note digital delay in one chain, and a dotted eighth or triplet in the other chain. Very light reverb, mostly clean Hiwatt model, and it varies from there. I have my exp-1 set to go from straight violin to fully effected on almost all of my patches, exp-2 sets delay volume and feed back from 45% and 4 repeats up to 60% and single repeats, for when I want more of a doubler sound. Also running a Ball VP jr in front. I have some very delay heavy patches, for a string ensemble sound and a Gilmour-esque washy sound. I haven't spent so much time building new effect chains as I have squeezing better tone out of it. A year later, I'm still very happy with the HD500.

Unpacked after a gig last night, and I discovered that the 4th soft knob(under the lcd) would only register changes if I pulled up on the knob while I was turning it. If I just turned it, there was no value change, and no clicking sensation. My jimmy-rig fix was to cut two washers out of thin plastic, and push the knob back on over them, while pushing up through the hole in the pcb on the bottom of the pot with a pin(bottom plate removed). Has anyone else had this knob problem? I have had it for over a year, so I have no hope of getting it replaced, so I'm a little bummed.

Honestly, I would recommend plugging it 1/4" into a DI(or two). I don't always get a good level from XLR for some reason, but the unbalanced always works as expected. I keep my 1/4" output set to line if I'm going into DI. Amp is for amp. The output mode Studio/Direct is for going into a recording interface or PA, like you are probably going to do. The amp output mode disables some of the Cabinet settings in the amp models, but studio/direct retains all of that processing and its controls. As for the XLR ground/lift, the rule of thumb is always start it at ground, and use lift only if there is a ground loop hum. And for your home use, you can plug any speakers in that you have available, but keep in mind that desktop speakers will not have the same transparency of studio monitors, or even a powered PA. You can go a little cheaper with an entry level set of mixing cans(I use AKG K240s semi-open over-ear headphones, which work great). When playing live, I use a DI to the board if in-ears or decent floor wedges are available. If not, I plug direct into a Tech21 Power Engine, and put a microphone on it. That lets me monitor what's going to the board, so I know roughly how it's going to sound in the house. Plugging into a DI, and using a powered PA for your monitor from the DI box is another option, but only if you trust the speaker you're listening through. The Power Engine isn't truly FRFR, but I have used it enough that I can gauge what the house is getting compared to what I will hear.

Are you using a pedal with the proper impedance? You might, from the sound of it, have the wrong Ohm value on the expression pot. Or you might want to try turning the whole pot in the pedal to get the range where it sweeps from toe to heel with no dead zone.