Dan Dare

Poor thing. I feel for it.

I reckon that will be a tasty rig.

Anything reasonably decent will do the job. A pal uses an Elf with a BF110 and it works well. Why not take the 110 shopping and try a few? It weighs little, so no great effort required in carrying it. If you already have a higher powered lightweight head, there's nothing wrong with using it with the 110 and keeping the volume level sensible.

Par for the course these days, especially with compact/class D stuff. LD Systems offer 1U power amps. Their PA speakers get good reviews and I've been impressed by those I've heard (I auditioned a couple of their stick and sub models when I was looking for my PA a few years back). Lab Gruppen are definitely worth checking out, too, but they ain't cheap. If you want shallow rack depth, power outputs are likely to be lower. Quart from a pint pot, etc.

Phil's right. If you're using subs, anything larger than 12s in top boxes is unnecessary.

Wouldn't the best option be to get a new, fretted fingerboard - ebony, rosewood or similar - made for it?

Sensible approach. With new/class D amps, it's wise to go for something that uses proven components. I bought an Aguilar partially (I liked how it sounded, too) because they use ICEPower modules, which are readily available if something goes wrong. ICEPower, Hypex and similar are reputable components that can at least be replaced if repair is not possible.

I still have it, yes. May finally put it on an instrument.

I may be missing something, but if any item of jewellery is uncomfortable to wear whilst playing (or doing anything for that matter), surely the sensible option is to remove it and put it in your pocket whilst you play.

I have the perfect headstock decal for it. I bought it intending to put it on my Bitsa, but never did. It says Findus (in black and gold Fender script) Sea Bass. I might message the seller offering it to him.

Perhaps the seller is counting the strap as a string...

Even more strangely, the "Item specifics" on the listing for that, er, bargain, state Brand: Squier by Fender and Model: Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster HSS.

Have a look at Volt drivers. Nice, but not cheap, though.

It's a bit academic nowadays, as watts have become cheaper and more plentiful. As others point out, the difference between 50 and 500 watts is only around twice the volume (depending on speaker efficiency, eq choices, etc). And that's before you get into the minefield that is wattage, how much difference quoted/claimed figures actually make and so on. Class D has meant high powered amps are small and light, so there is no longer a need to have large and smaller amps. I use either of my heads (700w or 1000w claimed) for practice and small gigs with one or two cabs and keep the volume down. If I need to make more noise, I simply add more cabs and turn up the wick.

Good advice above. A quality DI will do the job in small to medium sized venues. In a smaller venue, some sound from the backline will reach the audience anyway. Most decent amps have an XLR/DI out, which you can set to use the eq setting on the amp, or flat. Quite often, the sound that works on stage doesn't translate that well to the room, so you may want to eq the bass differently in the PA.