(Part 2) Best guitar amplifier accessories according to redditors

I'm not very well learned on any of this stuff so forgive me if I'm following your chart incorrectly.

I recently grabbed some AudioTechnica x700 headphones (and I'm loving them) but have static when I plug them in to my PCs sound card. I'd imagine my mic gets the same noise when I speak.

Following your chart, it appears I need a DAC/Amp combo as I also want to hook up my bookshelf speakers and then just plug in my mic/headset as needed. If it helps, I currently have a Muse m50 (https://www.amazon.com/M50-TPA3123-Stereo-Amplifier-option/dp/B016OAP8HY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543452531&sr=8-1&keywords=muse+m50) which I use to hook up some bookshelf speakers. Ideally I'd get something that can sit on my desk, lets me hook my speakers up to my PC, and I could plug my headset/mic as needed.

I'm sure everything you have listed in your chart is amazing, but do I really need to spend $200-$500 to get something to deal with the situation? I'm trying to get something that won't break on me anytime soon, but for my needs spending multiple hundreds seems extreme.

Re: the heat issue, you could try using tube socket extensions like these or these. They help cool things down a bit, don't affect the sound, and make it easier to extract and attach tubes.

So after googling I had it backwards. The 6505+(which I have) has a custom footswitch with a 1/4" input to the amp head but like a XLR(microphone style) input to the pedal. And while that pedal might work for a 6505, it's like $30 more and there's another one that you can use that's available on a few sites:

Amazon as an example

And thanks! I was introduced to reddit from tumblr and tumblrinaction, and it cracked me up.

I built an angled rack for under my stairs for my homelab, using 2x4s and just the threaded rails I got off Amazon. Total cost, $63

14U for 4-post stuff, 8U above at the top/front for switch, router, and cable management.

20U Rails

14U rails

Got some old compaq swing arms off FleaBay for $18 so the two 4U boxes can extend on their rails while they're powered on.

They are these.

I have a couple of more substantial metal Barefoot Buttons, too. Any footswitch caps are all personal preference. Some people use them because traditional metal footswitches aren't super comfortable to use with socks. Other people use caps to make the target for your foot just a little bigger. I put them onto pedals on which I can't afford a misstep. In this case, the caps are on the rec/overdub and play/stop buttons on the looper to make sure I have a bigger target to time my loops effectively. I put it on the tuner because I had a bunch of extras, and the tuner is my mute switch, so I figured that couldn't hurt either.

My amp does the same thing, pretty common. Instead of messing around w/ the sockets (dat aint it), hit the note to get the rattle sound. You can use a looper to make this easier. Then use a washcloth (they're hot!) and apply slight pressure to each tube to see which one is ringing the worst and verify which tubes it rings on. Now that you know which tubes are ringing/rattling, you can order the number of tube dampers you want from Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/Eurotubes-EuroDamper-Damper-Triode-Preamp/dp/B019P7KA1C

They're a lil pricey for what they are but they work to eliminated about 75% of the noise. I'm cheap, so I ghetto-rigged something similar involving toothpicks and rubber bands lol. I'd recommend a damper though :) dont be like me

I need some footswitch toppers for my Eventide H9 but I don't want to scratch/dent my switch like this (source). I heard the Mooer Candy ones don't fit, but what about the Mooer Shrooms? I also found these generic aluminum toppers with rubber inserts on Amazon but I guess only the 'skirtless' Barefoot Buttons (sizing source) work with it so I wasn't sure if these generic ones would be too tall as well or if the rubber helps or hurts. Hard to say with all the seemingly fake reviews out there (and yes I see the irony in asking anon Redditors the same thing).

I also need toppers for my TC Helicon Switch 3 but it seems like I would need a Barefoot Button v2... but again I don't really want to scratch & dent up my pedals if I don't have to. Any alternatives for smaller switches (8.5mm = 5/16")?

Once I figure this out I figure the rest of my pedals will be easy to figure out.

I can think of a few options, depending on budget and size of your venue.

A personal portable amplifier will work pretty well for smaller venues, and have the added benefit the microphone is attached to you allowing you to move freely rather than be transfixed to a single point on stage. I don't know that I recommend the linked model specifically, I just grabbed one from Amazon quick. I'd do some research.

If you're doing medium sized or larger venues you're going to need something larger, like u/Ebackes88 says. I'd consider how many of these gigs you're doing versus the cost of renting. If it's a small amount, renting is probably the way to go, but obviously there will be a point when purchasing is cheaper.

One thing I'd keep in mind if you purchase is that you don't need a PA with sixteen channels (or ports) like a band might. I can't imagine you needing more than two (one for voice and one for music, if you have any. Something like this would probably do the trick. Yes it's got four channels, it's nice in case one breaks or if you find you'd like having more than two, plus it's tricky to find systems with less. This one also comes with a very crappy microphone, which you're probably going to want to upgrade right away. The downside here as opposed to the other option I suggested is that going wireless without sacrificing quality will cost you.

Na I got them off Amazon. They're awesome :)

3pdt 10 pcs Footswitch Stomp Pedal Switch Aluminum Top Cap Topper Assortment, gold, blue, silver, green, red https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BJZDR73/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VRp5AbEM2GX7G

After looking at your video the other day, I had a rummage in my parts drawer and came up with this design based heavily on [this YT video I saved for the purpose ages ago] (https://youtu.be/Z7Sc4MJ8RPM).

Diagram

Arduino Pro Micro Board, 21 stomp buttons (that is how many non latching stomps I have here). 2 rotary encoders with buttons (intending one as a windows volume control knob / button for mute and the other as a "mouse scroll wheel"), and an analogue joystick (mouse control).

Would you be averse to another multifx pedal? The HX Stomp would likey cover all of your bases for you, including headphone out. For specifically metal, this video goes in depth about how it can be used as an entire signal chain for a guitar. I linked to the timestamp where he starts talking about the stomps.

I can definitely understand wanting individual pedals, though. There's a lot more fun to be had tweaking individual knobs, and a lot less exhausting menu diving like you'd have in a multifx. Also, the HX Stomp is a lot of money to spend for one piece of gear.

For ampless/headphone/travel/direct to board solutions, there are a lot of options now. A few that I know about (all prices in USD):

• Mooer Radar ~$150: One of the first mini pedals to do this sort of thing. Has great reviews, and I don't think you can go wrong with this one.
  
• NUX Mini Studio ~$100: Simpler, more straightforward interface. with just three knobs to set your sound up. It's the mini version of the NUX Solid Studio, which has a LOT more features on it for ~$200.
  
• Hotone Omni IR ~$120: Cab IR loader similar to the Mooer Radar, but with a thru signal, an aux in, and an XLR out. Newer pedal, so not as many reviews and not as much knowledge about any shortcomings, but overall looks to be a great value-for-money option.
  
• Neunaber Iconoclast ~$250: More expensive, but with some more intuitive controls that don't require you to know everything about every speaker cabinet ever made, and also stereo in and out in case you want to get crazy with stereo setups. I've heard nothing but amazing things about this pedal.
  
• Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B ~$400, and Torpedo C.A.B. M ~$300: From my understanding these are "best of breed" meaning they're more boutique and are full of features and quality. I don't know nearly as much about these, so do your research and see if it's worth the extra money to throw down for either of these (I personally don't think it's worth it).
  
  In front of those you may want some sort of a preamp pedal to liven up your sound and get some nice gain staging to push with your distortion pedals/boosts/comp/etc. There are a ton of those, and I can recommend some if you'd like, but I think I've already typed out way too much for one post.

Update:
I ended up choosing the simplest/cheapest solutions to my immediate needs rather than splurging on any future proofing. I went with "good" out of good, better, best.

The immediate needs were the following, to reduce time between songs live:

• scroll through the Ventris' 8 onboard save slots easily and accurately, left or right, even with the pedal on. That solves the extra tap dance to scroll right turn off, click option switch to go right, turn back on); and to go left (doing the same thing, but holding the option switch and releasing at the exact right time while your foot is blocking the indicator lights)
  
• controlling tap tempo on the ventris and DD-7 at the same time, again to save time in the tap dance, especially on the DD-7 where tapping tempo requires holding the pedal down 2 sec, then tapping, and then to turn off, holding it down again to disengage and then tapping to turn off.
  
  To do that
  
  
• I used this 2-button footswitch for the left/right control, plugged into the ventris 1/4" external switch input with a TRS cable (make sure the back switch is on switch not expression). That worked out of the box.
  
• And then I also bought this Source Audio Tap Tempo switch to control both pedal tempos. 3.5mm cable into the Ventris' other external switch (you have to turn this on in the Neuro editor to work, and set it to control the option tap), and 1/4" TS cable into the DD-7) There are other multi-tap pedal solutions out there, but I wasn't sure if they would work with Ventris' 3.5mm input. One of the downsides to doing it this way is the DD-7 is Boss, which means it uses a normally closed NC tap tempo switch. It still works, but the tempo is triggered when I release the switch not when I step on it. So I just need to step and release quickly for them to be pretty closely synced. Another pedal I considered was this one, which can control 3 tap tempos and be built to sync NC and NO switches. Just wasn't sure how it would act converted to 3.5mm.
  
  
  The "better" solution I considered was a midi controller that could also control tap tempo on the DD-7. I would want this in order to save setlists, and scroll through one by one live - delivering the right settings to Ventris and auto-tempo on the DD-7. I would have gone with the Disaster Area Designs DMC-4 Gen3 but decided to save $100 and a lot of setup time.
  
  
  "Best" solution, which would be totally overkill for my setup, would be a looper that controls midi and non-midi pedals so I can have the whole setlist programmed in. I considered:
  
  
• Disaster Area DPC-5 Gen 3 (but would have needed to add onto it to control everything
  
• Gigrig G2 (too pricey)
  
• Boss ES-8 (probably would be the best option for me, but didn't want to spend the money)

They're just tops. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07FNVW62R

I originally got them just for the VT Bass since those were harder to hit behind the other pedals. But i liked them and they're nice when playing barefoot.

HEY. Just by the way, I decided on this https://www.amazon.com/Little-Dot-6JI-standard-Headphone/dp/B00A2QM5O6 while tube-rolling with https://www.amazon.com/Voskhod-6J1P-EV-6ZH1P-EV-Matched-Pair/dp/B071H78DHZ. After I tube roll that, I'll tube roll this: https://www.amazon.com/Riverstone-Audio-Fully-Tested-Amplifier-Electron/dp/B01BFJDTW0

If the screw locations are non standard you're not going to find a case that it'll just fit, grab a drill and put new holes in where required, or if you're unlikely to need to take it out often, you could use adhesive standoffs if it's only a couple of holes that don't line up https://www.amazon.com/Standoff-0-18-Adhesive-Package-Quantity/dp/B01MG5SLUZ/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1491950547&sr=8-19&keywords=standoff+adhesive

I've never seen repos of those. Even if you can find a vintage set somewhere they are going to be expensive. And then you have 70 year old tuners.

A few random modern options:

Red buttons for Grovers Allparts #TK-7724-07

Amber buttons for Grovers

more Red Buttons for Grovers

Redish buttons for Gotohs

Sperzel makes some cool looking anodized sets in red, like this or this.

I guess it depends on which volcas you're using and what you mean by silence/return. Like do you want to trigger a whole sequence change or just start the sequence, or send a sequence to them. You can search for their midi charts to see exactly what things you can turn on/off. Depending on how advanced your midi devices are, you could trigger them in all sorts of ways. Basically, it might not be a direct connection, you could have foot switch->midi controller->volcas. It could be done though. Just have to figure out what code does what on the volca, then assign your footswitch to trigger that midi note on a midi controller. I've done things like that with an electronic drum set(that had analog triggers), triggering the drum module that had a midi out.

And that's if you can't just find a full on midi foot controller. they seem a lil pricey

There's also numerous ways you could do that with just audio signal routing. Like using a switch box to mute or unmute the output. (if they're playing on a loop)

I think the cheapest way you could do it would be get an old launch pad or triggerfinger you don't mind stepping on, and (hopefully) assign the correct code for play/stop. Or, use something like the Arturia keystep to send sequences all together and not use the volca's sequencer. lol sorry, I used to do a lot of stuff with midi.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01COZGA4S/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2MCR09NQC3YEW
?

Odd, the M series are all dry-thru I think.

Sold: A Peavy Vypyr 15 watt amp. I replaced it with a real tube amp. I wouldn't buy this amp again... it was kinda crap.
Bought: A new set of tubes for my amp, plus a set of Seymour Duncan P-Rails.
GAS: Still a PureSalem Woodsoul, but that's not going to happen.

Peavy 2-Button Footswitch.