Less weight is definitely a plus!
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At my age? Most definitely. 50lbs used to be my upper limit. Now it’s 30-35lbs.
Luckily everyone is making lightweight cabs and combos now. Thirty years ago I played a dual 15" cab with a 2x10" cab on top and bi-amped them. Then it was a 4x10 Hartke 4.5XL to cover the low end of the 5 string I played. More recently an Epifani 2x12 Neo cab. That one weighed just over 50lbs so it had to go.
The new Genzler Bass Array cabs are perfect. The 110 weighs just 19lbs and the 112 weighs 29lbs. Light enough to carry up or down a flight of stairs if needed. Cabs and lightweight heads like my Magellan 350 are definitely the future of bass rigs for us Boomers to tote around with the knowledge it’s the very last rig I will ever need.
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agree, sorry I wasn’t trying to sound as critical as it came out 
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Mine is a 1x15 with a horn. It’s got the beef but the horn brings the top end back. I tend to play older stuff so it sounds perfect for my catalog. The nice thing is the few newer things I play doesn’t sound bad on it either. Granted, I’ve used other amps that were just the 1x15 and it was a bit muddier so I can confidently say the tweeter makes a big difference.
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Two facts should come out of all of these various posts for you.
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The style/genre of music you plan to play should have a great deal of influence on your rig of choice. For instance. I joined a 7 piece blues band with two guitarists and horns. My Jazz Bass through 12" speakers just added more mid range to an already mid heavy mix. I switched to my PBass and a single 15" cab to get “under” that mix and it worked out much better. I could hear me much better and so could the band.
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Play as many different head/cab configurations that fit into your budget as you can afford so you can find what suits your needs and playing style best. A separate head/cab rig gives you more options to try or combine different cabs for different needs. They can also be lighter and less cumbersome than a comparable combo. Spend more on your amp/cab rig than on your bass. It will pay off in the long run.
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As a gen Xer I can say we’re right there with you. 
My back hurts just thinking about a 50 pound amp. 
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No worries. You’re just sharing your opinion. We don’t all have to agree. In fact, it’s more interesting conversation when we don’t.
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Great thoughts! Thank you.
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Thanks everyone for sharing your rigs and thoughts!
I think a good follow-up question is:
What would you recommend to a bass player who can only afford to buy one amp, but who plays different styles of music? What’s a good Jack of all trades amp/combination?
I like the idea of having an amp with a couple different cabs you can use separately or together to be able to get a variety of tones. Do you think that’s the way to go for an electric player like myself?
Any recommendations or thoughts are appreciated. I’ve already learned a lot from this thread.
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absolutely, we’re all friends here.
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I’ve noticed that. I’m really impressed with the respect and civility of everyone in this community. What a wonderful place.
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Just what I’ve gleaned from this thread but it seems that some combo of 2X10 / 4X10 and a 1X15 should cover most genres paired with whatever head you like. GK heads have a great reputation and should cover most everything you might want to play.
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For me, if I go back to ever wanting to play live, I’m getting a pair of 12" 750-1kw PA speakers and going with amp/cab sims. But then again I need stereo and not everyone does.
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I wouldn’t have thought of that (although I was comparing the RB-210 vs a JBL EON PA system at music go round the other day), but I was also trying to keep budget in mind.
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Well, if I did it, I would also be needing to support a guitarist, mics, and synths+drum machine, so running it all in to a mixer with a couple PAs is the only sane option really, otherwise we would need a van.
Already have the mixer (and all the other stuff including the guitarist), just don’t have the PAs.
For PAs I would probably go with the lower end Yamahas like the DBR’s.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DBR12--yamaha-dbr12-800w-12-inch-powered-speaker
A pair runs about $900, for 2kw of power. Bass response is fine, would likely sound great, and if it didn’t, I could just add a sub.
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The other option I landed on (relatively recently too), if I wanted to play just my bass with a band, is to pick up a G-K Backline used and run it in to one or two Eden 12" cabs, depending on which Backline I got. The Eden 12" sounds great and is not very expensive, and used Backlines are way cheaper than I realized. The RB is about my favorite solid state amp sound, and while not the same, the Backline is in the same family of sound.
To me, 2x10 or 1x12 sound much, much better than 1x15; YMMV.
But I really have no desire to play live again. I’d only do it because my bandmate does want to 
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You’ve got three great 2x10 lightweight combos out of the gate.
Fender Rumble 500/800
Boss Katana 210
Ampeg Rocket 210
Lots of online video reviews. Start there. 
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Yeah the selection is really great right now. A lot to be said for the convenience of all three of those.
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Building on this and based on my very beginner opinion
I wanted to upgrade my Ampeg 108 and went for rumble 500 (hesitating with the Ampeg 210) - i like it so much even at low volume I don’t regret buying it … it covers my son’s acoustic drum easily
Went for combo to reduce the number of variables of my sound (love the P bass for the same reason)
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I would look at dependable used heads in the 350w to 500w range. This will save you quite a bit of money. Genz Benz (Genzler), GK, Ampeg, Eden, Hartke, are some products to look at and play that should be available at a reasonable price.
As for speakers I might look at new or barely used. There’s more risk here with used gear and not knowing how they’ve been used and for how long. Some cabs may have been abused. A 210 cab and a 115 will give you an option of one or the other or possibly both if the amp is able to run both together. That will depend on the amp and the ohm rating of the cabs; 8 ohm vs 4 ohm. Some amps can run at 2 ohms.
If you want to simplify it with a single cab I’d look at a 4 ohm 212 to get the max output from your bass head.
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