Trying/Renting Mics

  • Thread starter Thread starter BeniRose
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BeniRose

BeniRose

New member
Ok, I thought I had posted this already, but I couldn't find it when I went back to check on replies.

We've all seen the million and one threads in this forums asking "which mic is better" or "which mic should I use for this". While we have a large group of contributors to attest to a mic's abilities, the common response it comes down to is "try the mics out and see for yourself!". While I 100% agree with the fact that you need to use your ears to make the judgement, I'm curious where this "trying out" occurs. I'd love to find a place that has mic's available to be tried out, and even more so, where I could rent the mic to take it home and try it out. After all, what good is trying out a mic on a completely different signal chain than yours in an environment that you'll never be recording in, and most importantly, without trying it on applications you'll be using it on.

Long story short, I'm wondering if anyone has any input on places you can try/rent mics. All the music stores I've checked in the Philadelphia area don't have mic rentals, and I'm assuming once you take it home and use it, there's a slim chance of being able to return it (especially after doing that a few times). I'd especially love to be able to rent a great vocal mic if I know I have someone important coming in to record (right now my best mic is an NT1a).

On a side note, I had an idea about a business plan for an online mic rental site, with an annual subscription and a fee per day, based on the mic. Users could also contribute the mics they're not using to be rented by other users if they want to make some extra cash.
 
Well it's hard to give you a good answer cause you really have to know the area to give a good answer. i did a couple of google searches for gear rental in Philadelphia and got noth'n. That dosn't mean anything though. the best gear rental places here in LA can't be found in a google search. There are studios in your area that have good gear. You could rent some time at a studio, bring the stuff your familiar with for a control and compare it with the studio stuff.
The other thing I read about alot is people who develop a good relationship with a local retailer (i/e not a chain)and gain enough trust that they can borrow stuff that they are genuinely considering buying or easily return stuff they are not satisfied with. (though you almost always buy your alternate items from this same retailer in this kind of relationship)
 
The rent-to-buy service is an interesting idea, but for the possible issues that might have to be anticipated and worked out. Like disputes if a mic comes back broken in some way..

It might help with the regular dealers if you're willing cover the whole cost of all the mics you want to try with the understanding you'll a) pay for any 'screw ups, and b) end up buying at least one of them from them.
 
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