This has been a very interesting convo to read.
I will second what you state about the nux Melvin Lee Davis pedal for home practice. I bought one recently. I downloaded the shift line bass ir pack also (has ampeg b15 can ir). Sounds cool with headphone for silent practice.
I keep switching back and forth to amp combo with my pedal attached and just pedal and headphones as the headphones vs speaker moving air experience are different.
The word “connection” really feels relevant. Not sure if it was you or another member who stated this.
I don’t gig. It’s more a creative outlet for me. My friend who is a gigging bass player doesn’t like iem’s but when you are playing big arena’s and touring you have no choice. He uses a quad cortex pedal.