I've got an ampeg 4x10 cabinet that I ran with an ampeg head......I bought a combo amp because I got tired of dragging [DEL]that[/DEL] those lead weight(s) around. Plus honestly the 4x10 wasn't doing the B string justice *at all*.
After hunting around and playing through a bunch of stuff, my old teacher called and had a friend who was selling his Fender Bassman 1x15. When I called the guy and found out he played a 5 also I headed straight over. Bought it and I *love* that puppy. It's not the one they currently sell (it's about 5 years old) but I imagine the current ones are pretty close in terms of sound? I can pick it up and put it in my front seat without killing myself (it's still pretty heavy at I think 65 lbs...but much lighter than a head and a 4x10!!). I can hit the B and it holds its own- even tuned down, it's actually audible. Had I found that first, I wouldn't have gotten the ampeg. I've played in blues, rock, funky, acoustic, reggae groups/gigs with the combo and no problems. Played outdoor gigs with it, indoor, "stuffed in a corner", so far so good. Caveat though, you do have to have be able to play with a little volume or the tone loses the highs-so if you're playing a lot of acoustic dinner sets you may want a smaller one (but then the B loses out).
It might be the ampeg head but the 1x15 projects and fills better than the 4x10 ever did. Being a combo, I don't have to keep track of two parts (and two cables) to set up the rig. If I were you, I'd go looking into a 1x15 combo. If you're playing a huge gig, you're probably going to DI into a PA system anyway and then you use the combo as your stage monitor. The 5 string does make a diff on which speakers to get, like I said the 4x10 just lost the B string in my experience.
