Always told told to demo before buying...

[Geddyleewannabe]

It seems that rental places (including Dreamhire) do not want to ship a Neve 1073. It is so often recommended to rent gear, get to know it, and then decide whether to buy it, but how do you suggest I get my hands on a 1073 to test at home in the environment I plan to use it in?

The Demo Gospel is constantly being preached like it's a simple thing to do. Who do you know of that makes renting a Neve 1073 a do-able task. I don't live in a major metropolitan area where I can drive to pick up a 1073 at their office door.

HELP!

[Rufuss Sewell]

I think a lot of the people on this board are from L.A. and NYC. It's a lot easier to rent nice vintage equipment in those places I'm sure.

Otherwise, there seem to be a few places with a liberal return policy to allow you to try before you buy... well you still have to buy, but you have the option of getting your money back. That makes the most sense to me. But if I want to A/B a few things I probably won't have the money laying around for 3x nice pre amps all at once.

[danasti]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

It seems that rental places (including Dreamhire) do not want to ship a Neve 1073. It is so often recommended to rent gear, get to know it, and then decide whether to buy it, but how do you suggest I get my hands on a 1073 to test at home in the environment I plan to use it in?

The Demo Gospel is constantly being preached like it's a simple thing to do. Who do you know of that makes renting a Neve 1073 a do-able task. I don't live in a major metropolitan area where I can drive to pick up a 1073 at their office door.

HELP!

Have you called up VK?

You have to have a credit card and room on it (for obvious reasons). They would bill your card and refund the money when you send it back, - shipping.

This is how we do in NYC too - merchants ship here it under these conditions.

Possibly get 2 or 3 pres shipped under the conditions that you are keeping one of them. You have to ask them.

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

It seems that rental places (including Dreamhire) do not want to ship a Neve 1073. It is so often recommended to rent gear, get to know it, and then decide whether to buy it, but how do you suggest I get my hands on a 1073 to test at home in the environment I plan to use it in?

The Demo Gospel is constantly being preached like it's a simple thing to do. Who do you know of that makes renting a Neve 1073 a do-able task. I don't live in a major metropolitan area where I can drive to pick up a 1073 at their office door.

HELP!

Vintage King has a great demo/return policy..
I've never had problems demoing or returning stuff..they aim to pleasethumbsup

[Tibbon]

Also find a friend or fellow GS that would let you borrow the piece for a little bit to try. I borrowed a pair of Earthworks from a very nice guy in NYC that i met on here and it went great. I didn't end up getting the mics (yet), but it went very smoothly. If I had any extra gear at the moment, i'd let people borrow it if they lived close- or at least come to my place and try it out for a few hours. I love for other people to record and mess around here, as it gives me new ideas for how to use things.

[Mike Caffrey]

I think the in-house rental place at Blackbird in Nashville with ship rentals.

[nlc201]

Try finding a studio locally (as local as possible I guess) that has one and go there and play with it. Make friends with the owner and se if he/she will let you borrow it if you hit it off. Or suggest some mic pre/EQ shootout and bring some of your own. You may have to lay down a few dollars and some time but it may have benefits beyond just demo'ing that piece of gear. This is something that with the right relationship/vibe, it would be fairly easy to accomplish. That is assuming you can find one locally....

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by nlc201

Make friends with the owner and se if he/she will let you borrow it if you hit it off.

Show me a studio owner that does this...


and I bet you he won't be in business for long.

[studilaroche]

Eclipse Audio in Atlanta will ship their rental gear. They've got 1073s, 1084s, 1066s, 1064s...
http://www.eclipseaudio.com/

Ben

[Reggie Love]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

Show me a studio owner that does this...


and I bet you he won't be in business for long.

A quickish tryout in the studio is more likely than a loan. You can however get loans of tryout gear from a dealer but only if you have established a notatimewaster reputation - which to be frank involves having an existing commercial relationship. I could recommend a couple of people in the UK who stock both vintage and modern but I believe a local rental would be less than a plane ticket.

If you're into gear do you have a dealer with whom you have a relationship?

[pympwell]

That's how I stay in biz. I search for clients @ banjo-mart, tell them how much better they can sound if they focus on creativity while I handle the sound
sculpting.........then I just take their gear as a studio deposit.


Some gets sold, some kept......


p.s. - anybody got an 002r to trade for a track or two? [got my Triton same way ;-) ]

[Led]

haha...try being in Australia and getting anything vintage to try before you buy... it's usually a case of do as much research as you can then jump into the abyss...hope you don't land on your head.

[TonyBelmont]

If you like it.... Just make sure you buy "that" 1073, as the next one might not sound the same.

[Geddyleewannabe]

Originally Posted by studilaroche

Eclipse Audio in Atlanta will ship their rental gear. They've got 1073s, 1084s, 1066s, 1064s...
http://www.eclipseaudio.com/

Ben

I just received an e-mail from them today saying they will not ship rental gear out-of-state. This is getting very hard and frustrating.

[studilaroche]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

I just received an e-mail from them today saying they will not ship rental gear out-of-state. This is getting very hard and frustrating.

so sorry to lead you down a dead end. last i knew, they still shipped out of state.

ben

[Mike Caffrey]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

I just received an e-mail from them today saying they will not ship rental gear out-of-state. This is getting very hard and frustrating.

Try Blackbird in Nashville.

[proxy]

For what it's worth, if you're attuned to the resale value of units and you buy used, you can sit with the unit for as long as you want to get to know it, then decide later if you wish to sell it. If you're not holding on to the unit for more than a handful of months, the likelyhood of losing money is pretty negligable.

Not to say you couldn't get burned, but if you're diligent, it's a great way to develop your relationship with the piece at your own pace. If you can't part with it, then you've made the right decision. If you love it, but want to try other things, get your money back out, and do it again.

I can get an initial impression of new gear in 24 hours, but there's always those extra layers of personality and tricks that pop up in the next month...

- proxy

[max cooper]

That's what I was gonna say. Just make sure you buy it "right" so you can get out of it if it doesn't do it for you.

It's too hard for me to decide if I want something in a couple of days. I have to live and work with it for a spell.

Besides, if it costs you a couple hundred dollars to have something for a month, consider it rental.

[Geddyleewannabe]

Originally Posted by max cooper

Besides, if it costs you a couple hundred dollars to have something for a month, consider it rental.

Excellent point and excellent way of looking at it!

[ALL*MYTEE]

Hi Geddylee,

I don't have a 1073 but I have some other pres I'll ship as long as I can properly secure a deposit for the value of the equipment. Let me know where you are located and if something like this interests you.

All the best,

Eben

[Geddyleewannabe]

Originally Posted by ALL*MYTEE

Hi Geddylee,

I don't have a 1073 but I have some other pres I'll ship as long as I can properly secure a deposit for the value of the equipment. Let me know where you are located and if something like this interests you.

All the best,

Eben

Thank you Eben! If I demo a few other pres, I'd like to do it while a 1073 is in my possession, so give me a couple weeks and let me see if I can work this out. Again, thanks for the post.

[Sqye]

i have a yellow plastic dukes of hazzard professional GEEE-tar with those
comfy thick red rubber strings on it that might be interesting .





u can always return it via wells fargo wagon if you're disappointed with it


i also have a cuppla shoe strings and a yoyo.


i don't believe any of the above units ship standard with spdif i/o,
but Drew at Mercenary will handle that mod for you, if you're nice


don't worry about a thing - i accept all major credit cards.



lots of luck with your decision.

[thejook]

While you gotta make sure you get a 'good' 1073, as there are variances between them, you won't be going wrong. I think this is indeed one piece of gear that one could buy before they try.