Reddit mentions: The best guitar amplifier footswitches

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)

Well hey, five bucks cheaper at Amazon.

OP: Welcome to the Classic 50 club, hope it treats you good! (Also, I'd recommend buying a small hand truck to move this heavy mofo around!)

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.

First off...That's not a schematic. It's a layout. It's like the difference between musical notation and and tablature. It'll tell you basically the same thing but each one has its strengths and weaknesses.

Secondly...if you're talking about the teal rectangle that is a graphic depicting the foot switch. That is a double pole double throw switch.

Like one of these http://www.amazon.com/Footswitch-DPDT-switching-effects-Taiwan/dp/B00A4NRWCC

Good for true bypass but you won't get an LED indicator.

Each white square is depicting a solder lug on the switch.

Sweet pedal choices my friend!

These patch cables on Amazon are really affordable yet high quality. Flat jacks with flat ribbon cables, they'll enable you to put pedals real close together and not lose space unnecessarily. I use three different lengths of them.

Flat Patch Cables- Amazon

A helpful member of this forum advised against those metal S-connectors, though a few months ago I was using them too. Flat patch cables eliminate having to play "Tetris" with your effects, and they are probably cheaper than the solderless patch kits the pros use.

As for the bypass on the cry baby, probably all you will need is a good 3pdt foot switch, some wire, and a soldering iron. 3pdt switches can be found on Amazon, just buy a few of 'em. I use these ones for three mods, they rock.

3pdt switches- Amazon

3pdt means "3 pole double throw". I used this guy's guide on you tube for my vox true bypass mod.

3pdt bypass mod for a vox wah- YouTube

Your objective (should you feel adventurous enough to try a mod) is to rewire the input/output jacks so that they bypass directly through a 3pdt switch. My vox bypassed through the effect circuit board, leading to a bit of tone suck. I'm being you could find a similar guide for the cry baby.

Rock on.

I use this one with mine, which is not the Fender switch, but it works great. Im pretty sure you're limited to flipping between 2 presets, hence the one button on this switch

I used an A/B/Y box to go to 2 amps at a given time. Of the 3 guitar tracks recorded for each song, 2 were cut using the Sunn + the Laney, while the 3rd was cut using the Laney + the Peavey. Pretty much the only pedal I used this session was a Superfuzz clone made by wattson. That pedal sounds huge. I also used a pigtronix class A boost for a lead at one point. The sunn rig actually strips out much of the high end coming from my guitar and functions as almost a clean bass sound to offset the guitar sound from the laney. The XXX through the 2x15, by contrast, has a dirty bass sound, so all three rounded things out nicely. I got the idea to run the XXX through the 2x15 from having previously sent guitar heads through it with good results in the past. I bought the cab off a friend in Primitive Man, and he had told me to give a guitar head a shot through it, so I did.

Look into getting an A/B/Y box to split your signal. I'm considering getting the Voodoo labs pedal in this link as it can run up to four heads simultaneously.

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.

Headphones: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRV6-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00001WRSJ These headphones ROCK! I use them with recording, mixing, performance.

Now the amp part is where it gets tricky. I would recommend getting him a Marshall MG15CFX (I had an older version of that, it's what I learned on.) With headphones they sound pretty good! It also has an aux input for mp3/cd players, as well as a foot controller you can buy so he can turn on the distortion/fx without pressing the buttons on the amp.

http://www.amazon.com/Marshall-MG15CFX-Series-15-Watt-Guitar/dp/B005ODB4QW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413217495&sr=8-1&keywords=MG15CFX

Here's the optional footswitch:

http://www.amazon.com/Marshall-PEDL-90008-MG15FX-MG101FX-Footswitch/dp/B0028LDR68/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413217507&sr=8-2&keywords=MG15CFX

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 only have one JHS pedal, the mute but it feels well made and the light switching is pretty cool. The construction, finish and design feel unique even if it something almost every pedal maker can make.

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.

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

No, buy the Ultra.

You can use a passive AB/Y switcher as a footswitch and even run into both channels at once (how good this sounds is very amp-dependent, but if not - it still works as a switcher). This one from Fender is excellent and less than $50.

Grab yourself an ABY Box like this one This one Two leads from the pedal, one to the Normal and One to Top Boost. This way you can switch between or have them both on at the same time. I do Exactly this with my AC30CC2.

The "footswitch" input on the back is for the Vox VFS2A footswitch. This Allows you to turn your Reverb and tremolo on and off.

I don't think so. I haven't tried the B+ but I understand its binary compatable.

Re the bypass, you'll need a splitter (Y cable), and then a mixer of some sort where the original signal and the effects signal can be mixed together. This gadget seems to be one that can do the job.

However, before shelling out 80 bucks for a mixer, I'd get your looper working just so you know its going to work ok for you.

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.

I use this foot swtch with an Orange amp and it’s great. Also very pedalboard friendly size — I don’t have it on my board right now but I used to and it’s about the size of a Boss pedal.

Edit: foot switch has a 1/4” jack so you can use whatever cord you want.

If you're wedded to Mainstage, then your best bet would be standard audio interface to bring your Mic and Guitar inputs in, then a midi footboard (ie. Line 6 FBV Shortboard ) to control Loopback instances.

There are various VST/AU loopers available that you could use instead of Loopback, with varying levels of complexity, Mobius, GLoop for example.

You can use any dual pedal footswitch that uses a TRS connection. Hooray!

http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Guitars-FX-020-Stereo-Footswitch/dp/B000EO6N08/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1410751618&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.com/Vox-VFS-2-Footswitch-AD100VTH-V9168R/dp/B004OAMNAC/ref=sr_1_8?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1410751618&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.com/Rocktron-Velocity-Double-Footswitch-Bass/dp/B001CZF764/ref=sr_1_11?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1410751618&sr=1-11

Your guitar plugs into a box, that acts as a splitter, and runs an input to each amp.
Something like this.

I was planning to look into this, but I fell at the first hurdle which is that you need the most expensive version of BiasFx to use midi control. And right now I cant justify spending the extra money on the upgrade.

I was planing to build my own midi controller as I don't need something as big as the FCB1010, and I prefer these style foot switches

ABY pedal. I've got this one to do just what you're asking - http://www.amazon.com/Fender-023-4506-000-Electric-Amplifier-Footswitch/dp/B00HQXUH5W

There are much cheaper options available if you look.