Boodang

Right on straps every time.

Have you tried guitar chat?!

TC Electronic Spectradrive. DI, drive, comp and 4 band eq. Plus the toneprints give you access to tons of drive types, and comps, so it's very flexible.

If it's reverb you're primarily after then the Slo pedal is probably not the best choice, but if it's bonkers reverb then it'll hit the spot and some. The Slo is a modulated reverb and i would say it's not on the subtle side. Took me a little while to find the sweet spot for me, but now it's got a permanent spot on the board.

https://www.walrusaudio.com/collections/all-effect-pedals Walrus are doing some cool stuff at the moment. The Slo pedal is bonkers.

For small pedal boards I now use skateboards with funky artwork! Without the trucks obviously.

Mackie DLM series is also nice and compact. Not the cheapest though.

Seriously did this for years with a band back in the 90s. We had this depressed indie vibe that could clear a pub by set 2. In the end we just started announcing songs as if they were an obscure cover by The Cure or such like, and everyone loved it.

PS these strings are super delicate! Once they're strung they're fine and I've never had one break on me but be v careful when stringing them.

Best strings I've ever used. My DB has strings with a nylon synthetic core so these appealed to me. I use the Synthesis flats on my fretless and they have a sublime buttery soft feel to them (they are the opposite of a stiff string). Sound wise similar to TI flats. But as mentioned, takes quite a few days to settle in but so do the nylon cores on my DB.... the price you pay for a synthetic core.

Just tell venues you're a covers band and then turn up and do your own music. When they say they didn't recognize any numbers just tell them they're obscure songs no one remembers and you're keeping the flame alive.

In price order; Zoom B1x - cheap, cheerful and good enough Zoom B6 - even better TC Electronic Plethora X5 - simpler operation, and tc's toneprints are fantastic

With bright onion you can choose the colour of the pedal, the writing and each led. Awesome pedals.

...oh, it has a phase switch, how handy is that!

Sacre bleu!! Jaco will never forgive you... oh wait, it's fender he should never forgive for producing the thing in the first place.

...yet!

To be less disappointed, try a, now discontinued, Squier VM jazz fretless. S/h should only cost you a few hundred.

No phase switch!

I only buy amps that go to 11.

Famously the Kubicki basses have a high output level (so not many!) but these days most onboard preamps have sensible output signal levels.

The worst for me was Fender's attempt at a Jaco signature. The Squier VM fretless had a resin board and was closer to the mark.... and 3 grand cheaper!

To a certain extent the boosting thing is correct, it's just a different way of looking at it. The preamp will have an ideal signal level and passive inputs normally have more gain than an active input to try and achieve that. And that's where you can get a problem with a 'hot' signal where the gain applied exceeds the headroom and causes clipping. Impedences often get forgotten about but is a crucial part of the circuit.

TC Electronic Plethora X5 could be a good fit if you know what fx you want to you use.