Double Bass Pickup for rental bass

[schneidy]

I'm in a weird situation and am looking for help. I'll be touring for a month in Europe with a rental bass (I have no idea what I'll end up with) and I'll need to bring a pickup. I currently have an Underwood and a Realist. Since I'm doing about 50/50 arco and pizz I'd like to avoid the the Underwood but I'm afraid the Realist might not match well with the rental.

Does anybody have any suggestions? I'll be plugging into a two channel Walter Woods and a Raven PMB-II blender if need be, but mostly the audience will hear me through the house's board.

 

[McBass]

I think the realist is your best bet because it requires no modification of the rented bass's bridge and has the most predictable response. You might get stuck with a bridge that has narrow wing slots and then you'd have to ask if you could file them down. As someone who's done a few European bass du jour tours, I'd be more worried about the strings and the action. Try and request an adjustable bridge and bring a set of your own strings. If the strings on the bass have a slightly different surface or winding it could wreak havoc on your callouses. I once flew to Brazil to play one set of music on a borrowed bass and by the end of the set I had a blister. The strings I use are flat wound and the strings on the borrowed bass were round wound velvets or something.
P.S.
I wouldn't bring the WW head unless necesary. Too much to carry and you never know what speaker you're going to get anyway.
Eat some good food and good luck.

 

[schneidy]

Thanks McBass. I'll defnitely be bringing my own strings and I have requested a bridge with adjusters (who knows if I'll actually get it).

Anybody else have any thought on this matter?

 

[Vunz]

A more expensive alternative is to buy a Schertler Dyn-B transducer. It can be put on and taken off an instrument in seconds and sounds great, both pizz and arco. Not quite the cheapest way to solve your problem, though...

Vincent

 

[olivier]

Anybody else have any thought on this matter?

Can't you request an e-mail or fax conversation with the european organizer to get a clearer idea of what to expect? Maybe even talk on the phone with someone who knows and has seen and will check the bass ?