Bigwan

I remember seeing ads for these and the rest of the Fenix line, possibly in Guitarist magazine, WAY back.

I've given this some thought too. With regards to the d-roc you can change the pickup selector - they're freely available from bass direct. Is there much difference in the actual placement of the pickups? You can swap mid and front pickups around to change the available options from musician-esque to jazz-esque (see videos on YouTube). As for fret access, is there much need to be up the REALLY dusty end?

Oh, and if you can find an MTD Heir or Kingston they're also worth a shout...

If you keep your eyes open you MIGHT get a Lakland 5501 at the top of your budget or very slightly over. Best 5 string costing that kind of money that I've owned. The neck is just sublime. Sire are great, but I'm not a great fan of their preamp. Also make sure you play before you buy as there are occasional QC issues (binding, etc) and some are like boat anchors (my Alder/Rosewood V7) was knocking on for 11lbs/5kg, although balance was good which helped a lot).

Will these work with HX Stomp? Enquiring minds and all that!

I recently bought one of the HAZ clones advertised on the Spector fans FB page. I had planned to put it in my Euro 5, but you've got me thinking about mounting it in a pedal instead!

Oh, local builder I wasn't aware of... Might have to look into these!

That's just lovely...

Yeah I wouldn't suggest a signature bass for exactly the same reason. Just something similar!

Depends what era of U2, but I'd go with a jazz. His current signature bass looks good, but any jazz with blocks would fit. Or a sparkly P bass with a block/bound jazz neck. He's used so many over the years...

Perhaps they could be persuaded to make a V2 of the super vintage which was switchable between svt and b15! Maybe too much like the newer Ampeg preamp then though...

Never been on my radar before, but I really want to try one now!

You'd have to spend A LOT to get much better than the Hartke. If necessary HPFs, cab sims and IRs can all be done "inside the box" in software for free. While a Tech21 VT bass will sound different, it's not necessarily better just a different flavour... and given Tech21's total lack of interest in controlling the cost of their products for anybody outside the US I wouldn't be buying one unless it's used. There's probably a cheap/free plugin out there that does a better Ampeg anyway if that's what you're after. My only problem with the Hartke is its size, but since I'm not gigging it's not exactly a problem!

Is it something to do with your settings to have the app running in the background? Don't have my iPad near me at the minute but I'll check later.

This

I don't think they've actually been released yet