Osiris

It'd definitely be a handy option to have although with the limited screen space available it'd probably make editing more difficult so I understand why it is how it is. As for the patch scrolling, you never know, that may perhaps come in a future firmware update. Although I don't use that feature myself as I'm only really interested in the 'boring' utilitarian stuff I can see how it'd useful for people with more demanding needs.

I'll need to double check as I've not used my 60B for a while but I don't think it has the option to permanently display the patch name either, it flashes up for a couple of seconds when you change patches but then disappears to display whichever effect block you have selected within the patch. I've had a quick flick through the 60B user manual online and can't see anything obvious to suggest it can be done. But if anyone knows a way to do it on the old unit please post the details.

I've not tried stringing a Fallout with long scale strings but I have fitted long scale strings to several other short scale basses and never had any issues. Yes, you'll get some extra string wraps around the machine heads but I've never had any strings snap, slip their tuning or any other issues. I'd say go for it!

I was out and about earlier and was able to try one of these out to see what I thought, and in short it wasn't bad. Not astounding but not terrible either, and certainly way better than that guy from PMT makes it sound - but having seen a few of his videos and while he's a decent player he does that guitarist playing bass thing of trying to make the bass sound like a big guitar rather than a bass... For context, I have never played the original Hyperdrive so my thoughts are based on this pedal on its own merits. Anyway. The set up was short scale P/J into the pedal into an Ashdown combo with the mid-scoop muppet button off and the EQ flat-ish. The bass was on the P pickup only. It's definitely more of a drive than a distortion, it didn't appear to do crazy amounts of distortion, at least none that I could coax from it, but that's not what I was looking for anyway. The drive character is kind of smooth like it's a soft clipping circuit but with a subtle hard clipping gritty edge. I was trying to dial in a warm pushed valve amp type saturation and it actually did a decent job of copping that sort of tone. If you want Darkglass scooped clank or Sansamp style homeopathic levels of midrange then this is definitely not the pedal for you, it's more warm and vintage than modern sounding. But there were a couple of issues that prevented me from buying it. First up, I struggled to get unity gain with it engaged, the input was up to around 3 o'clock and the gain around noon but even with judicious amounts of clean blended in it was still quieter than when bypassed. But the main issue I had with it was what it did with the clean signal, it applies a weird EQ curve that I found detrimental to the overall sound. The clean signal loses some low end, not by large amounts but noticeable when compared to the bypassed tone. There's also a small cut in the low mids, again not excessively so but enough to stop things getting mushy, not bad in itself but worth mentioning. The mid-mids were still present and there was no fatiguing spike in the upper mids like you get with a lot of modern drives, and the highs seemed to be rolled off adding to the darker, vintage feel. If it left your clean tone alone I think it would have been a more useful pedal, at least for what I am looking for in a drive. For my tastes it sounded better fully wet with no clean blended in. And while it's chunky for what it is, it wasn't as massive as I expected it to be. I'd actually like to try it with the rest of my gear to see how it plays with what I'm familiar with, for example I think it would sound better, at least for what I'm looking for, with some compression before it. But whether I can be arsed to drag all my gear over to the shop for a pedal that I'm ambivalent about...

It does that - pushed valve amp, just fattening up the sound without obviously distorting it - sound brilliantly. From what I've heard of the MK3 it's more of a modern distortion sound, but the MK2 is definitely more on the vintage side.

Mildred, my love... Oops sorry, just having a flash back 😲 I can't speak for the EBS Microbass 3 but I've been using its predecessor, the Microbass 2 for some time now and it fills your requirements perfectly. It's not obvious from looking at it but you can link the 2 channels to give you a very flexible EQ section with parametric mids, a mid cut/treble boost sweep on the treble control using the filter button, and a broad bell shaped treble boost (preferable to shelving types, IMO) using the Edge control. The gain control on the drive channel goes from clean through some authentic sounding edge of breakup type sounds and beyond. There's also a little valve (or toob* as the cool kids call it these days) simulation button that adds a fatness to the signal without overdriving it. I've not tried it myself but I'm assuming you could use the fx loop return as an aux input too. I don't think it's in production now that the mk3 is out but you can pick up used ones fairly cheaply. *Not to be confused with a certain Manc halfwit.

There's a very favourable review of it linked below. It also has transformer driven outputs which I suspect may make @krispn uncomfortably moist 😀 https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/post/warm-audio-pedal76-compressor-review

I also replaced the pickup in my Lionel, not that there was anything wrong with the stock pickup and I really like the staggered pole piece arrangement of it too. But as has been said, it's a very modern and clean sounding pickup, not bad characteristics in themselves but it lacks that warmth and low mid thump of the classic Precision sound which is what I was expecting from a bass with a pickup like this. So it might look like a P but it doesn't sound like one. Like the lovely @Adee I swapped mine out for an EMG Geezer Butler and it now sounds more like I want it to, although compared to my JMJ Mustang the pickup in the Lionel is around 10-15mm closer to the bridge so it has a slightly different inherent tone due to its position. The JMJ sounds much more Precision-like whereas the Lionel has its own voice, a bit of the P flavour but not full fat.

Just received another loom from John to replace the guts in my cheap and cheerful Harley Benton. Quick and easy to install even for a kack-handed idiot like me, and sounds great with a smooth even taper. Great price, great comms and a quick turn around too. Cheers John!

Hope this helps. FWIW, I've tried to match the string spacing on my Lionel (still a daft name for an awesome bass!) to match the JMJ, and while it's close the Sandberg strings are a fraction of a mm wider even at the closest even spacing than the JMJ.

I don't know the numbers off the top of my head but I've played several different Mustang variants, including owning a Mexican PJ as well as a JMJ, and the spacing varies. The PJ, Squires and IIRC the current top of the line Performer (which was also the most underwhelming IMO) all have tighter spacing and slimmer necks than the JMJ, they're more jazz like necks with narrower nuts. The JMJ is a more chunky P like neck with wider spacing, but still comfortable and addictive to play. The JMJ models definitely live up to the hype and I regularly gig mine in preference to my Sandberg shorty.

I get that, there's always that feeling that there's something out there that's better even if what you already have sounds great and does everything you need it to. I've been using the Boss LMB-3 for 20 years or so on and off and keep trying more expensive units on the assumption that they'll be somehow better. But despite having tried some cracking units that are great in their own way, there's something about the way the Boss adds an addictive aggressive punch to the mids that I've not been able to get from any other unit. The DG Hyper Luminal was close and the Basswitch dual band even closer, but the cheap old Boss does everything I need. Agreed, it's an excellent unit in its own right and lives up to the hype it gets but I found it didn't play too well with my EBS preamp, and as most of my gigs are on IEM's these days, having the right preamp is more important for me. And yet I'm still curious to try the updated model. 🤷‍♂️

I wouldn't have thought that a Cali76, or any other 1176 based unit, would be the most appropriate choice for fretless as the 1176 and its offspring are FET based designs which are very fast and impart colour on the signal which I'd guess is not overly desirable for clean fretless playing. However, I'm not a fretless player but optical units, like your Ampeg Opto comp, are slower and generally warmer sounding. But as with anything, it's down to personal preference and whatever works for you. I'm half tempted by the new Cali76 as I like FET based comps as they work well with my heavy handed technique - a legacy from when I started playing 40 odd years ago as an angry young teenager, but like @peteb commented above, I struggle to justify dropping £300 on a single pedal, no matter how good it is. But that's not to say I won't at some point...

Treat yourself to an Orange Squeezer if you can find one, I think they haven't been made since the 70's. No controls at all other than an on/off switch 😁

Apologies, I misunderstood your original post. It takes time to get your ear in although it's really more of a feel thing, the way the bass is more consistent and present in the mix, if that makes sense? I don't have anything particularly helpful to add in answer to this other than keep experimenting to see what works best in he different contexts.