Any exp on getting a store to let you demo mics?

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:24 pm

It is easy to walk in a store and demo instruments like guitars and keyboards because of the real time feedback, but with recording mics you almost have to record with them first before you know if it is what your looking for. Does anybody have any experience with this? Do you know of music stores having a mic demo day or anything? I would like to get 3-4 mics and bring them home and try them out overnight, before I went back the next day and made a purchase?

Or even if somebody has a database of vocals recorded on a lot of different mics through the same setup, so people can A/B them.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:55 pm

Not since the box stores killed off the mom and pops.

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:41 am

Try this:

http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/session1.htm

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:19 pm

bent wrote:

Not since the box stores killed off the mom and pops.

Yeah, mom and pop would always sell you an SM58 for $150. Loved them.

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:06 pm

Up here in the great north WET, we generally can "rent to own" just about anything. They tend to be a little picky about mics though or anything that can come into contact with bodily fluids...well...saliva anyway. I think they generally are pretty lenient about this though. Particularly if you are considering a more expensive mic.

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:39 pm

Get to know your sales guy, They may even let you borrow the gear for free for a night. I tried a lot of compressors and mics that way.

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:12 pm

Call up the manufacturers you're interested in. They can let you know dealers in your area, or they might have a demo or two floating around that's meant to travel from dealer to dealer.

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:37 am

The Hygiene issue stopped GC and other stores from the usual 30 day trial so I started asking to have several mics setup in advance before going down to A-B-C them. I did this with the TLM103, Blue Dragon and NTK and went for the TLM based on the silkier sound compared to the Blue which really cut for rock but I thought was not as versatile as the Neumann.

As they said, I think it's all down to your sales person. I had purchased a lot of gear at that time so they were willing to do that for me. Prior to that I had taken many mics home and brought them back if I didn't think the bang for the buck was worth it. These included GT 55's and the Neumann M147.

That listening site looks interesting. Might be a great option.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:59 am

BobRogers wrote:

bent wrote:

Not since the box stores killed off the mom and pops.

Yeah, mom and pop would always sell you an SM58 for $150. Loved them.

This is quite funny actually...

When I first moved to this area about 10 years ago (maybe a little longer) I hadn't really gotten into much "internet shopping." I didn't know Sweetwater or other similar companies and I certainly didn't know of Guitar Center.

I would go to one or two of the local music shops and see what I could get from them via their distributors.

One of the shops (the one that's still in business) actually had distributors.

The other one, whose prices were always higher, confided in me one day that all they did was buy their gear from Musician's Friend and then mark it up 10% (for me) or 20% (for "regular clients"). I guess I should mention, I did teach music at that store as well, hence the "discount."

The funny thing is, this seems to be the model for a LOT of mom-and-pop stores - especially music stores.

I've had some luck depending upon the manufacturer just calling up and giving them a credit card number and asking to use a mic for a short period of time. Often I get "review" samples that are older or no longer needed for reviews or open-box mics, but I'm fine with this as I've never had one of the dealers not be willing to cover it under warranty as if it were a new product.

J.

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