AJ567

If you're talking about jumping your distorted sound up and octave and adding that to the regular distorted sound, TC Sub'n'up works great for this. You can create toneprints to EQ the upper octave voice. Or add yet more distortion to it, etc

Nice! I have an MPC Keys, never tried running bass through it but I will now...

I'm not sure, but the Spectrum might be trying to emulate analogue octave up, which sounds more like fuzz. Clean octave up is a different ball game - needs digital processing like the pog, Sub'n'up, etc.

LA2A controls certainly are confusing... Not least because the instructions are printed wrong! It's corrected if you download the manual online. "Mix" knob is actually dry level, which has up to 6db gain above unity. "Peak" is peak reduction (i.e. more knob = more compression) and "Gain" is output gain of the compressed path.

Mini T47! Do you also have a collection of hen's teeth? PS let me know if you ever want to sell it...

La2a

Well, I bought one. First impressions: it's good. Noise level is very low. Does an excellent job of "compressing without sounding compressed". Might be a keeper. Need to play with it some more!

Well, a french bass players has left a positive review of the LA2A on Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/gb/universal_audio_uafx_la_2a_studio_compressor.htm Looks like they're in stock now so I might have to take the plunge and see for myself!

Easier said than done! USA Stingray bridges don't come up for sale often. The Sterling Ray34/Ray35 basses are excellent quality. I believe the pickups and electronics are the same as used the USA models. And the bridge is more or less idential to the real thing (except the engraved logo, but who can tell from a distance).

Envelope filters are deeply subjective. They work by "listening" to your playing and then doing something unique with that information. The way a filter responds to your playing input might feel completely right to you, and completely wrong to someone else. YouTube demos are all well and good, but the filter will sound and feel very different when you're the one driving it. With that in mind, it's hard not to recommend the SA Spectrum... as long as you are happy to get stuck in with editing on your computer. There is so much flexibility on offer with its digital wizardry that you will almost certainly be able to get the sound in your head... And many more to boot. Not so with the many great analogue filters out there. They all have their unique character. Which you might love, or you might hate. There's really no way to know until you've had a go.

NB There's some mixed reviews when it comes to noise rejection with the EBS-type of flat cable. Another option is the Ibanez mini link series. Not only are they small, but their sound/noise rejection is very good. There's a YouTuber who did a kind "scientific" test of many patch cables, with a giant spreadsheet as output, and the Ibanez came out pretty much on top. If you search you'll find mention of it. And luckily, the same product seems to be sold by Harley Benton for cheap: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_solder_free_patch_cable_kit.htm Downside is they are not robust. If you can solder, making up your own cables using the Squareplug SP series ends up being only a couple of mm less slim than the EBS etc. And the quality is excellent.