Since you posted this Dr. Cheese, I've been considering an answer. The bottom line is that we're all different. All I know for sure is my own motivations.
For me, I've got a tone in my head. I have bought 2 basses over the last year. Before that, my previous purchase was in 1983. The Fender J Bass I bought a year ago was close, but not quite there. I made a few changes to it and got a bit closer (badass bridge, tapewound strings). I spent much of the last year practicing and thought maybe the key was in the amp. I'd been playing through a Fender Rumble 200. I took the bite and bought a Mesa Boogie TT-800 and a couple of cabs. Holy cow did that make a difference! But still not quite what I was after. Some pedals came next. Compressor, chorus, a bit of reverb. Getting there, but not yet. Continued a lot of practice.
I finally realized that the JBass was too heavy. I have quite a number of injuries from my past adrenaline junky days. So I started a quest for what I hoped would be "it". And I think I found it in a .strandberg Boden Original, through that MB stack. It's not there in the Fender Rumble. I am thinking about a few more pedals, just from a novelty standpoint, and for entertainment. But for now, I'm done chasing tone.
Now I'm thinking I may have that J-Bass turned into a fretless. Between my old G&L, a fretless J Bass, and the tones in that .strandberg, I'll have my tonal needs covered.
I still need a crap ton of practice.
