Thanks, Ken,
I used to always use an Underwood through an MXR 10-band equalizer and a Polytone; I loved that sound. I never liked what the Underwood did to the acoustic sound of the bass (dampened tone and volume), I used to prefer having the option of a little more "edge" on the sound, if I wanted it.
Interesting that you prefer the Underwood style pickup, too. You clearly prefer the Shadow pickup; how is it A/B with the Underwood? I've never tried one.
I'm currently using the Full Circle, which is nice, doesn't affect the acoustic sound, but doesn't quite seem to have the range of possibility that the Underwood had.
Whatever you did, your bass sounds round, full, and clear all at the same time. The "time" and mix are nice.
For my laptop, I use some old Bose speakers that a friend gave me. sounds as good as most stereos I've had (but I've never had super-fancy stereos
). If I don't have that setup handy I have some inexpensive Panasonic headphones that do the trick for a low budget:
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RP-H...nic+headphones
It is funny, but clearly true, what you say about "your favorite" basses being the ones that people want. You have some great instruments pass through your stewardship!
I still think about your Hart/Maggini...
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/doublebasses/hart/