Pedal Renting?

[weebles]

Anybody ever used a pedal rental service to try stuff out? A new business opened up in Austin to rent music equipment like an Extended Stay Hotel for musicians or something, but they don't have any of the more interesting pedals I want to try without having to pay full price then try to flip if I don't like.

I've found The Sound Parcel online that has some Red Panda, Montreal Assembly, and others, but am wondering if any of you have used an online service like this you would recommend.

[D.o.S.]

We had a couple that were run by ILFers I think, with various degrees of success.

I have never found a pedal I would like to try that I'm ultimately not willing to purchase/trade for, though, which seems to be this business model's undoing.

[echorec]

Pedal Genie has the largest inventory by far, but there are several hiccups to account for. It seems like everyone has failed at this, with the exception of PG, and that seems to be because PG has superior financial resources. The ILF-approved outfit in Puerto Rico had the best customer service and the fastest deployment, but it folded, along with 3-4 other smaller rental services. I had multiple problems with PG. You have to e-mail them to get a return label, and I don't ever recall them shipping me a new pedal on the day of any returns.

http://pedalgenie.com/subscriptions

Let me walk you through the experience. (sorry for jumping back & forth between 1st and 2nd person, rushing out the door now)

1) open new account, get card charged, request pedals on Sunday
2) get an e-mail from customer service on Monday informing you that you can't have a pedal without adding more stuff to your waiting list (ugh, I don't want those other pedals, I just want my top 3-5, not a top-10). then after updating your list, you won't see a shipment until Tuesday or Wednesday. You've already lost 2-3 days of the billing cycle.
3) receive pedals from Florida (PG's HQ) on Thursday. open the box and see it's the last pedal you wanted. pack it up 5 minutes later and drive to the library to print a label---oops, there's been no e-mail back yet. go to dinner, get e-mail too late in the day to return the pedal that day.
4) mail back unwanted pedal on Friday
5) Saturday - no pedal for the weekend
6) Sunday - no pedal
7) Monday: pedal lands in Florida
8) Tuesday: 2nd pedal is shipped
9) Wed - no pedal
10) Thurs - no pedal
11) Friday - receive another pedal I'm not particularly interested in. Hmm, do I send it right back or do I keep it over the weekend? I want something else, but I'm costing myself 3-4 more days of the billing cycle, if I ship this pedal on Friday or Saturday.

In a 30-day billing cycle, you'll never see more than 3-4 pedals. And then you're likely to only get one pedal you really click with. Then you'll think to yourself, "Crap, I spent $40 in rental fees this month, when I could have just financed this pedal instead."

----I could add a lot more to this, comparing different services, but I just don't have any more time right now. Good luck.

[indianDYsummer]

Yeah, honestly with the HUGE resources for online/used sales, all the promotions constantly available from dealers, and direct sales from certain pedal makers, i don't really see how this strategy can be sustainable.

Buying used and flipping (for me) usually just results in my losing out on shipping and paypal fees (at worst) if i want to try something and flip it. Doing that 3 times a month is like $40. Plus, nowadays everything has really high quality online demos to begin with so people can be pretty sure the like a certain pedal before committing anyway.

[repoman]

doesn't seem like it makes any sense to me

buy a pedal, keep it cool, don't like it, sell it on reverb and lose 10-20% (if new, more or less break even if used) which usually works out cheaper than rental thingies, or at least about even, and you don't have to deal with a rental hassle.

[rfurtkamp]

Doesn't make any sense to me, given cost and hassle. I'm good enough that I either bottom feed on prices or order from somewhere with a return policy, plus have an idea of what I want.

$40 "rental" fee just doesn't make sense to me for a couple pedals, where I'm not likely to be out $20 per when I flip 'em (if I do)

[Chankgeez]

Yeah, I don't understand the whole "pedal rental" thing.

Is based on a weird/outdated "video store" business model or what?

Join a forum, make friends, do temp trades. Win. Win.

Maybe take a gamble, buy the pedal.

… or just don't buy the pedal.

[rfurtkamp]

Video store model even before streaming started to die once it wasn't $90 for a VHS any more.

[Chankgeez]

Yeah, I could see the pedal rental thing working if a Strymon Timeline were like $5,000 or something.

[rfurtkamp]

Yea, it makes sense for say, if somebody wants a rackmount Eventide for a week...but those rentals haven't gone away.

And you get what you want, not "pick from 10 like Netflix and pray (or copy the DVD and shut up about it)"...

I've flipped so few pedals it's funny, and usually the ones I flip are the ones who deserve a home because they're nice and I'm not using them more than anything.

Now I just have a three drawer plastic storage box full.

[Jwar]

I'll rent you my pedals...

[echorec]

Pedal renting makes the most sense when it comes to recording.

Example: You want your EP to have an amazing reverb/delay, which costs $300-400. You know the exact sound you want and the exact piece to get you there. You don't, however, have $300 to spend, but you can cover $40 for a 30-day rental. After all, you're going to be playing small clubs with mediocre sound, so it's not like that nuance is going to be preserved in a cramped, smoke-filled basement.

For something like that, then Sound Parcel makes some sense. Unfortunately some of their monthly pedal rates are flirting with $50 (which would be approximately 2 billing cycles if you financed the same piece of gear from a retailer).

---The lottery system that places like Pedal Genie use is something I hate though. They sent me pedals that weren't even on my list (I wanted the Disaster Sr, a $345 pedal, but I was shipped a Disaster Jr., a $145 pedal). That cost me a week of my rental period and they didn't give me any account credit, or offer to ship my next pedal, once they received tracking confirmation that my return had already been posted.

I have seen some really cool stuff in LA, Chicago, and London. (electric pianos, rare synths, electric harpsichords) There was a place in London (circa 2002) that offered daily rentals for Lovetone pedals, and I believe they also had the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase and an EMS Synthi Hi-Fli as well. They're probably no longer in business.

----BTW, PayPal has a site feature now that allows you to get reimbursed for return shipping on purchases made through PayPal Credit (you have to activate it first). It covers up to $30 on 11 separate purchases. As others have noted, if YouTube isn't cutting it, then try to buy used or during a promotional sale. That will significantly reduce any possible losses on things you to decide to resell.

[Disarm D'arcy]

It would make sense of shipping wasn't such a costly hassle.

[fcknoise]

I borrow pedals from my local pedal store and 3 out of 4 times I've bought the thing. Maybe not the same but still relevant

[rustywire]

I'm inclined to echo multiple sentiment expressed thus far.

It sounds like a good idea in theory, but I've resisted trying any mail order type rental services.
A primary reason is people are more likely to abuse and/or neglect rental items than something they've purchased & own. I wouldn't want something to arrive finicky & be held responsible for someone else's damages, let alone waste my time, resources & patience in the song & dance which would accompany such a situation.

Agree with echorec about renting gear for an album. Studios do this with big ticket vintage items as not everyone can afford a Fairchild 670 or pair of Pultec EQPs for the master bus. But again, unconfirmed substitutions and grab-bag selections are a poor interpretation of the rental business model. It becomes like a lottery, only you don't get to keep *the winnings* and PG's specific model can mean a lot of squandered downtime and waiting around when time is money.

Buying to try can be much less of a risk & hassle if you find a reasonable price on previously-owned, secondhand etc gear... or something in need of a minor repair. Unless it's a particularly obscure or reviled piece of kit, recouping expense (less shipping) when flipping it can be easy if you're savvy. And being lucky helps