BrianWren

I was unaware that the green status was EXPR2, and the red status was EXPR1.

Seems backward. . .

I might have actually done this all correctly, except for picking the wrong toe-switch position... :(

What does this alter?

Wah volume for all presets?

Or do you select the preset you want this to apply to, before starting this procedure?  (Seems unlikely, since this is invoked by holding a button on powering.)

I have found tons of instruction on how to make the HD500 onboard pedal serve as a volume pedal (on YouTube, in Google searches, in the User Manual) but cannot find anything on how to do this using HD500 Edit. (I did find one YouTube video, but it was blurry, and the voice was in Spanish ...).

Can anyone provide the steps, starting with a newly configured preset, and adding a volume pedal in the right-most position?

EBay says it ended. Did you sell it?

Stumblinman,

Where is this other forum?  Can you give me the URL?

cruisinon2,

It doesn't crackle and hiss (but I know the sounds you mean).  I don't know whether you have heard digital overdrive, but it is not a nice sound, like analog overdrive can be.

I am thinking that htose you spoke with wree experiencing a problem that was consistent...

The consensus (of two) seems to be leaning toward an issue with the bridge, rather than with the electronic interface.  I would be pretty confident that the signal from the bridge goes first through an analog buffer, and then into an analog-to-digital converter.  One of the things I was wondering is whether Variax's have a history of that part (the buffers and converters) developing troubles.

Well, I haven't, and I'll try that.  But I'm geussing that there is a pretty firm down-force, with the strings taking such a bend over the bridge saddles.

I knew a guitarist who sweated projectile sweat as he played, which absolutely ruined his Les Paul’s bridge, over time.  But I don’t sweat like that, so I haven’t really gotten the bridge wet with sweat.  But, like I said, I'l have a look tonight.  (I am well versed in electronics, so I know what to look for.)

Where are these photos?  I'd like to look at them.

I have a Variax 500. A while ago, the G string dropped out, entirely. I bought a new transducer, but before getting down to actually changing it, I checked to verify that I was still having the problem. I had been using a really raggedy CAT5 cable, but had since bought a nice, shiny new Variax cable.

When I plugged it all in, everything worked fine, so I figured the power being supplied by the cable had been dodgey.

But 2 weeks ago, setting up for rehearsal, the G string was intermittently gone again, and I was getting crackles (like digital overdrive) on adjacent strings, intermittently. The G string was acting a lot like it had a somewhat high–threshold noise gate on it. But, within minutes, all was fine again.

At rehearsal 3 days later, I was noticing that if I played a little louder, a few of the strings were responding a lot louder. At one point, I shifted position, and the ‘chirp’ of moving along the D string was so loud, the other guitar player turned to me with a “What was that?†expression. The chirp, by itself, was about 20% louder than I had been playing. (It’s a 0.026" string.)

So now I'm not using the guitar, as it is not trustworthy; but I need it... (I am using three alternate tunings for each performance.)

• Is this a typical symptom?
• Is it more likely the bridge, or the interface to the digital electronics?
• Is there an easy way to diagnose what it is, other than willy-nilly replacing parts, in the hope that I’ll eventually replace the problem child?