Boodang

So that could vary from just a DI box to tone shaping and effects to all of that and I want in ear. However, none of that in essence is difficult. If you like the sound of your bass and need nothing else, buy a DI. If you want tone shaping you'll need a Zoom/Stomp/pedals then DI. If you want one of those and IEM then you'll need two outputs, DI and IEM, and it's more complicated and more money. Btw, a cheap and reliable way to do iem.. instead of using a wireless system (expensive, flakey, black magic), I use a wired system (cheap, reliable not voodoo). I run a physical cable to a headphone amp on my belt to my in ears.

A multi FX like a Zoom or a Stomp will easily do the job, if however like me you don't get on with them, I use just a couple of my fav pedals that'll do the job for the gig. Always a comp (that does my tone shaping), an FX or two, then a radial sb2 passive DI. The nearest I've got to multi FX is the TC Plethora X as it feels more like pedals. If I'm not doing FX, then I've started using my behringer xr18 stage box. It might be a digital mixer but it's got a huge amount of tone shaping plus classic outboard emulations and an XLR out for FoH. And they've come down in price so way cheaper than a stomp for instance (although it's doing a different job). Then when you're not using it for gigs it can your home studio interface. Small and light as well.

No belt loops.... as my tailor says, why would you need belt loops when the suit is made to fit you perfectly!

My savile row suits fit perfectly, no belt needed, I don't know what the issue is.

At the start of this post I said I'd just had a custom fretless made but as we'd just gone on a three year posting it didn't make the journey and spent it's time in the UK only getting played on the odd trip I made back. Well, now we've moved back to Europe and the bass is with me and in fact is the first time I've heard it plugged in. I've waited 3 years to hear those custom weather report pups! Of course it sounds as good as it plays. Just need to find a band to play it in now.

The OP drops a bone with the barest morsel of meat on it and basschatters make a banquet out of it.... but I guess it is a place to chat about basses... even so!

Either practicing the bass feels like filling out a tax form or basschatters have very boring jobs with too much time on their hands to be participating in this thread..... now where did I put that password for SBL.

Well, as you put it so eloquently, who could argue with you.

I always use a Radial Stagebug SB 2. It's passive so no worries with psu's and circuitry not working at gigs (I know you're recording but if you use it later) and the transformer in it has a nice sound and difficult to overload. The di output is about 6 dB down as it's passive. About £80.

I got replaced in a band by a beat buddy.... either says a lot about me or my drumming, or both!

I'm not a professional, so for me it's as much about the social side as the playing. Consequently it has to be a comfortable environment to relax in. And that's not just extreme views or prejudices, but also something more mainstream if it was too preachy. An interesting debate where there are differing views is one thing but if it was constant it would take the fun out of playing.

Actually, that's just given me an idea, next time I'm asked to play in the low B territory I'll just plug in to a fart pedal... nobody would notice the difference, might even be an improvement on my usual playing!

5 string low B is just an indistinct fart! So I should have been more specific and said I hate 5 string strung low B..... and yes I have lost work because I won't play low B but also I'm more of a 4 string fretless guy so I just stick to what I'm good at. As it happens I do play a 5 string but high C.... and yep, get up the dusty end of the C string all the time, but then I'm not playing death metal.

Hihat for groove, ride for swing. And one of the reasons I mostly use a dry ride is to give some space. Drummers just tw@ting everything as hard as possible all the time is one of my pet hates but I wouldn't call that irrational.

Fair point. In which case I hate 5 string bass!