# Pedal rentals



## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

I just had a thought that there could be an opportunity to create a service whereby you rent pedals to customers who want to try out gear.

after a quick search, I found this

Pedal Genie | Home | All Your Pedal Wishes, Granted

I contacted them and they do not provide the service to Canada yet but are definitely interested in pursuing this depending on how it works out for them in the US.

I'm curious to know if there would be any interest in this type of service? only if it was domestic (keep shipping costs down)?


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

You can rent pedals from L&M can't you?


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Chitmo said:


> You can rent pedals from L&M can't you?


I don't know(?) - I'm not sure the pedals offered at L&M would include a wide variety given the limited boutique type pedals they sell - actually, you may have answered my question on why this probably won't work in Canada.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Chitmo said:


> You can rent pedals from L&M can't you?


Yep. Also, if it's used, you can rent it. Page 13 on has the rental effects.
https://www.long-mcquade.com/pdf/guitar rental rates.pdf


Sent from my Other Brain


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Alex said:


> I just had a thought that there could be an opportunity to create a service whereby you rent pedals to customers who want to try out gear.
> 
> after a quick search, I found this
> 
> ...


I can't see this as being around in 3 years. There are simply too many things to go wrong, not the least of which is people plugging in the wrong damn power supply, buggering up toggles, opening up the back to see what's in there and spilling beer inside, denting things, losing knobs, etc., etc. Not to mention the fact that the interest will be in the uber-expensive pedals, whose value will diminish rapidly, while the so-cheap-I-could-buy-one-2nd-hand-for-what-the rental-costs pedals will sit idle.

I mean it's a nice idea, but a pipedream of a business model.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

mhammer said:


> I can't see this as being around in 3 years. There are simply too many things to go wrong, not the least of which is people plugging in the wrong damn power supply, buggering up toggles, opening up the back to see what's in there and spilling beer inside, denting things, losing knobs, etc., etc. Not to mention the fact that the interest will be in the uber-expensive pedals, whose value will diminish rapidly, while the so-cheap-I-could-buy-one-2nd-hand-for-what-the rental-costs pedals will sit idle.
> 
> I mean it's a nice idea, but a pipedream of a business model.


I would think there is a verification period whereby a rented pedal is sent back to the provider for inspection - it it's broken you pay - challenges for sure but not unlike any other rental provider (car, rug cleaning, etc). I noticed that Pedal Genie requires a deposit for the 3 pedal rental service while the lessor services don't. One of the challenges will be to keep the inventory fresh - if the business model is to build long term customers, you have to have fresh and up to date stuff coming in and out.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

And that's one more reason why I don't see much longevity in it. If one was renting PAs or amps, there are some things you could depend on there being regular demand for, for years to come. I( mean how could you NOT get your investment back on a Twin Reverb, Deluxe, or an AC30? But the pedal industry introduces SO many new things each week, obne could very quickly exhaust money on inventory before stuff starts to pay for itself. On the upside, shipping costs are generally low.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

If they had it, I would probably use it. 

I would rent each type of effect in bulk and choose the best for my rig. It would probably save someone like me money in the end.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

adcandour said:


> If they had it, I would probably use it.
> 
> I would rent each type of effect in bulk and choose the best for my rig. It would probably save someone like me money in the end.


There's the spirit Chuck....probably would be 6 customers including you and I in Canada but think of all the stock availability : - )


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

adcandour said:


> If they had it, I would probably use it.
> 
> I would rent each type of effect in bulk and choose the best for my rig. It would probably save someone like me money in the end.


You, @CMCRAWFORD and @tomsy49 may actually save some money by renting.


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## CMCRAWFORD (Mar 17, 2014)

Yup...I would save a ton. The way I lose money on pedals makes me eligible to run for office. My moto will be "I will gladly sell you Tuesday what I bought today"


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## tomsy49 (Apr 2, 2015)

I would save a ton too! I have actually ceased my buying and selling for the most part right now. But my rural Sask town is 2.5 hours from the nearest long and McQuade and a good 1.5 hours from any rental location.

I think I heard this idea somewhere already but someone should start a Netflix for pedals where you rent online and they ship the pedal to you to use and you ship it back. Which I guess doesn't save any money for me anyhow haha.

EDIT: I should delete the second paragraph but I think it's too funny not to leave. Guess I should have read the original post and not just the one I was mentioned in before commenting haha


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## limelight65 (Jun 2, 2014)

River City Guitars in edmonton does backline and also rents pedals . Not sure of the rates but Brian is a good guy i believe.
Effects – The RiverCity Guitar


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I've rented two pedals from L&M - my DD500, and the mxr micro amp + I'm using (gotta sort out the 9V jack on my micro amp). The "pedals only" rental idea would be sweet, except that L&M recently stepped up their pedal inventory (strymon etc) and they're already a nation-wide chain with the infrastructure (and legal team) in place to pull off rentals. It was $6 to rent the micro + for a month.


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## metallica86 (Aug 17, 2009)

I rent pedals and amps all the time from L&M, they have good price and nice to deal with, I even rent a Mesa Mark 5 for a week with no hassle etc... their pedal selection is not bad around GTA location


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Alex said:


> There's the spirit Chuck....probably would be 6 customers including you and I in Canada but think of all the stock availability : - )


It would be magical.


Budda said:


> I've rented two pedals from L&M - my DD500, and the mxr micro amp + I'm using (gotta sort out the 9V jack on my micro amp). The "pedals only" rental idea would be sweet, except that L&M recently stepped up their pedal inventory (strymon etc) and they're already a nation-wide chain with the infrastructure (and legal team) in place to pull off rentals. It was $6 to rent the micro + for a month.


Wow - that's a fantastic price. Well worth it, imo.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Unless you're constantly changing amps, which the 3 of us do, and most pedals react differently to different amps. At least in my experience 




adcandour said:


> If they had it, I would probably use it.
> 
> I would rent each type of effect in bulk and choose the best for my rig. It would probably save someone like me money in the end.





Alex said:


> There's the spirit Chuck....probably would be 6 customers including you and I in Canada but think of all the stock availability : - )


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

davetcan said:


> Unless you're constantly changing amps, which the 3 of us do, and most pedals react differently to different amps. At least in my experience


And on top of that, I just found that switching pups can make an unuseable pedal totally useable. 

The way I see a pedal rental service helping me at this moment is that:

1) I have my amp
2) I have my guitar
3) I have the right pick-ups
4) my high gain pedal works
5) my distortion pedal finally works
6) I need to either get a new delay/reverb or see if a Moratto compressor will liven up the current pedal (dispatch master)

If the comp doesn't do much, I need to riffle through a bunch of delay/reverbs to find what works. 

I may actually consider renting from L&M, but I am concerned about the stock.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

davetcan said:


> Unless you're constantly changing amps, which the 3 of us do, and most pedals react differently to different amps. At least in my experience


I tend to be a little more loyal with amps.....My Matchless is going on 10 years (equivalent of 70 years in GAS terms...)


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