And the winner is...

I finally settled on a bass and amp. I decided not to go with the Fender pictured in the last blog, but went a little more budget-oriented with a "scratch and dent" Peavey combo that includes all you see below:

The bass is black though, I didn't want the sunburst you see pictured there.

I also got the following amp:

Decent Crate combo amp, 100w with a line out, plus an extended warranty on it for 3 years coverage total. I also picked up a stand. Total cost was just over $450. Unfortunately it probably won't get here until next week, but at least its on its way.