Re: floor pedal device that autotunes up or down.
 
Such a thing DOES exist. It's made by a company called Morpheus (remnants of Digitech, I believe).
 
There are two versions - the Droptune tunes down in 1/2 step increments and the Capo tunes up in 1/2 step increments.
 
Works pretty good for guitar, but I've never needed to try either on bass (see 5-string remarks above).
 
Re: capos - yeah that's the nifty little secret employed by the vocal-based project I'm in. Key change = no problem for the guitarist! He just grips, moves and releases. Presto, new key!

I've got a tweakable patch like that in my Boss GT-10B unit.  It's another option, but I haven't played with it yet.  Seems to me that playing chords would be a problem and the whole envelope would change.  I'll check it out.  I'll check the Morpheus one out as well.
 
As for the amp capo, I love it.  Hello Cleveland!

But see, that's the other thing:  I only play five-string, as I'm not smart enough to go back and forth between it and a four.  I have friends in town that effortlessly play a four, grab a six, put that down and go to upright, etc.  Can't do it.  If I pick up a four, something's hopelessly missing, and I'm off a string, so it's set in stone (ought to be, went to fives in the 80's).  Those Stevie Ray and Van Halen things, no problem, and it now seems very ironic those guys tuned down to record and play those bass lines on open strings.
 
I've never thought much about the floppy part of playing that B-string:  It is what it is, and I just don't think of it at all.  Strangely, the B makes my G feel too tight !
 
Why is it no one capos a bass ? ? ?
 
J o e y

Moder Dave capos his bass, and it's a 6er ...
 
IIRC, he uses a SpiderCapo XXL.

I mostly play only four-string. If I think really hard (or rehearse really hard) I can use the six, but the spacing is too tight.  The six mainly gets loaned out to students who want to mess around with more than 4 strings.
 
I have no problem switching from a long scale to the upright to the Ashbory and back again.

That Spider Capo is scary looking.  Like it was designed during the Inquisition!
 
hehehehe
 
Bill, tgo

LOL Bill...exactly.
Do they really need to make it so pointy???
 
I'd be a little more than careful even bringing that into the same house as an Alembic in case someone besides me wanted to try and use it.

Joey -  
 
I play fretless occasionally.  When I first started I was not confident (and rightfully so), and I actually tried your idea of running it through a TC Helicon pitch corrector for vocals.  While it works well for vocals, it didn't seem fast enough for fretless bass.  I don't recall playing particularly fast (although as I think about it, I guess vocalists don't sing articulate 8th notes), but it seemed to provide little correction, in essence giving up before providing any correction and/or the next note appeared.  
 
I suppose part of the problem could be the bass frequencies, or perhaps my intonation was so bad it couldn't figure out what I was trying to play.  
 
Regardless, after trying it for about 20 minutes, I gave up and practiced more before the gig and was able to play passably well and still play fretless a couple of months out of the year.
 
JFT

I go from a 31.5 4 string to a 35 6 string to a 34 5 string fretless. If you do it enough, it's not that big a problem, especially if the basses are very different. A Starfire is so different from a Modulus Q6 that the number of strings is the least different aspect of it.
 
The fretless has become a bit squirrelly as I don't play it much these days.

When I was coming up in East Texas, there was a beyond-fabulous local guy that played lined fretless, and had faultless tone and pitch.  Like most newbies, I was a little intimidated by fretless.  I picked his brain about it, and he was sure he could never play a 'blank' fingerboard-ed fretless, he needed the lines, and he advised if I went for it to play right on top of the lines as to be in pitch.
 
I was a little suspect of the advice to a point:  I heard him many times in many situations, and he was always on the money.  He told me he always tuned up at home, and if he was a little north or south of the band once he got there, he'd move ever so slightly to match them !  Sheessshhhh . . . . .
 
J o e y

We used to play Unchained by Van Halen which is a drop D tuning & I used my Jazz Bass for that one song because tuning down to a low D on my short scale SCSD would be a nightmare! Now I have a 5 string & we quit playing the song! Go figure! LOL!

Yeah, but you had a good excuse to get a 5'r.
 
Trust me, you'll find some other good use for it - especially if you join a project that changes keys frequently.

David, I have already put the 5er to good use incorporating it on 6 songs in our sets now! I bought a Schecter Stiletto Studio 5 to learn on, next up, a full custom Series II Europa 5!

Good move, buddy.
 
I'm currently awaiting my Europa 5 (with standard Europa electronics).
 
It's all paid for and it should be any day now that I receive the call Your bass is ready to ship.
 
And no, the waiting is not any easier knowing it is this close to being in my hands...

Congratulations David! I would imagine the wait gets even more intense knowing it is close to shipping! I have been on pins & needles just waiting to hear on my loan approval, but I just got confirmation today that it is approved so my order will become official today!