Most people know me for the bright red Carvin 6, a terrfic bass with great low action and a deep silky tone. I haven't had a need to change the Rotosound Swing Bass strings in at least a couple years, as I prefer not to emphasise the high end as much on this instrument.
The Squier I have been using most of the time now with Outta Hand, as opposed to the Carvin I try to keep the strings (still Rotos)fresh. Don't let the Squier label fool you, this was one of the original series that came out in the 80's, and it has that Jazz snarl to it when I lean on the strings, and that midrange punch (think Jaco). It belongs to my friend and long time collaborator John Eisenhart. It was, I believe, Fender's response to the japanese and korean knockoffs that were all over the place during the 80's, getting a japanese shop to have the Fender label on their guitars and basses. Good quality instruments with perhaps a few shortcuts to them. I know a number of guitarists who have had Squier Strats for many years from this era and continue to use them.
The DBX comp/limiter I consider one of the most important parts of my signal chain. It allows me to play more dynamically, from a soft thump to string breaking snarl, while keeping a consistent signal to my amp and to whatever size PA I run through, from a small acoustic oriented rig to big 1000+watt club systems, and going into recording consoles.
I have become a believer in the need for low stage volumes, relying on the PA for the major part of my sound. Therefore I see little need in the majority of situations for a large stage amp. The SWR combo I could describe as being transparent, most of the time I can't tell where my sound is coming from, the amp, the drum monitor, or the house. What I want is to blend, be an element of the overall sound, and I see no need to haul a refrigerator around (I'd like to see someone fit an SVT in a Honda). If it has a fault, the DI is pre-amp, so the effects loop and gain control is useless to me going to the house.
The pedals I have were bought for specific songs and don't currently bring them out with Outta Hand, the Bass octave was for Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer, the flange and overdrive for Yes's Starship Trooper. The Digitech RP 50 I got for recording guitar, though the bass does play well through it.
Overall, I use technique for changes in my sound, moivng my right hand up and down in relation to the pickups and in relation to string tension and tone, thick r&b sound near the neck, midrangy punch closer to the bridge. An early lesson I learned from Jaco, also from Paul McCartney and James Jamerson, who got that thick sound by plucking where the string occilates widest near the end of the neck. I'm not much of a slapper, but I've developed a claw technique for popping, so I can get the funk out without radically changing my hand position or losing the bottom when I try to thumb slap,and can grab the d-string as well as the g. Brickhouse is a good example.