Until gigs make money use what you have. I remember the days of "must have" ads. Transportation and long hair were the requirements at one time. That was quite a while ago.
Pro gear? Gear that does the job and earns you money. Not pro gear? Gear of any type that doesn't make you money.
The person that shows up with the $4000 bass and $4000 amp and knows no songs and fiddles with knobs all night to get his sound is going to either learn very fast or be pissed off at the "soul sucking" paying bands who insist that he learn the material they play. Notice I didn't specify cover band, etc. It's somewhat ironic to me though that the less a gig pays and the less busy a band is, the more the worry is on gear.
Show up prepared, on time, with gear that makes other peoples lives easier or doesn't add stress, you're a pro. No one will care how much your equipment cost as long as they don't need to worry about it. And no one will care how much your equipment cost if you can't play what is required either.
I know it seems like I mentioned money several times during this post. I love playing. I play in many different kinds of situations. It's not my only source of income, but the free gigs that are not free by choice are long gone. Professional anything means you are getting paid for your work, otherwise it is a hobby. Professional also means attitude, encompassing the preparedness, etc.
Oh, and for the record, I really enjoy wedding and corporate type gigs, soul sucking has to do more with attitude than material. One band I play with is tons of Motown, disco, soul, etc. and I love it. Another is lots of new dance music where I play along with sequences, and I love it. I can't say every song is my favorite, but I'm making money that provides for my family by playing music- tell me the part that sucks? I'm a social worker on the other Side of my life, and there is some pretty heavy stuff going on in the world. Covering "I Love it" along with a sequence is not even close to that!
Ps- for the record- that band has not cared what bass I showed up with. My $99 esp short scale did about 6 months of gigs while I figured out how to get the right short scale. Now that I have a birdsong (arthritis has made a short, light bass a necessity), the bandleaders haven't noticed at all. And no amp on that gig, I go direct and use in ears, which I love. In my other band, I need an amp for stage monitoring for the other people in the band as not everyone is on in ears, and my amp for the past three years was a kickback 12, on many many different sized stages, and my DI, which hit the PA before my amp. I only went amp shopping recently when the hartke was unreliable. It's fixed now but I have been very happy the past month using my bh250 with the headless kickback cab (and tomorrow night my new tb110 from the thread on tb instead).
The singer who was phenomenal but wouldn't give her info for tax purposes? No longer in the band. The singer who showed up prepared, with her own awesome wireless system, in ears, percussion, and acoustic, but caused tons of interpersonal problems (mostly with the aforementioned singer), also not in the band. The people who are getting along well with everyone, causing no drama, showing up on time, knowing their songs? All in the band.
Your gear is fine. I'm happy to play any gear that anyone demands of me. Just provide it and I'll play it. If I'm providing it? I don't use credit cards, so I'll get it when the gig money justifies it and I have the money.
Ok, off of my soapbox now! Have fun and do a good job; everything else tends to fall into place.
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