Trying out mics

[BeniRose]

Of course we've all seen the hundreds of threads in this section of the forums asking which mic we should buy, and inevitably, someone says "try them and decide for yourself." I'm always wondering where this person lives where this is an option. I've lived in Philadelphia for two years now and I still have no idea where I can rent/try out some mics, aside from offering to do some interning at a local studio that might have them. So, to the people who have proposed anyone to try a mic out before buying, I ask where you can try out mics in your area. Also, I'm assuming some of you may have tried some mics at a music shop, but I'm curious if this is useful, as it's hard to judge a mic outside of the environment you'd be recording it in, and also outside of actually putting it to use.

On a side note, I had a business idea for an online mic rental site, or maybe even for a mic share program or something. Wondering if anyone's had any similar ideas.

 

[guitar zero]

Some equipment vendors will rent you a mic to try at first. Once you've actually purchased from them, then they become more liberal, and loan you the mic to try for a couple days. The other option is to check out the local recording studios. Most have web sites that list their gear, or just call to find out which mics they have. Just pay them the hourly rate to try out two or three different ones. I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige.