I was asked, because I am already going to be in town, to do some fairly basic (but still decent quality) recording for two events, one being a dress rehearsal for a musical, the other being a promo concert for a local group releasing an album. I called a great company, Hi-Tech (who I'll have to go with, despite the equipment being different from what I prefer). They told me that, based on what I was looking for, this guy, John Hargess (owner and operator of this one-man business), would have the piece I asked for (a Marantz PMD 660). Audio Master did, indeed, have it, but despite the equipment only being a $500 piece (with me being more than willing to pay for it if damaged or lost), they refused to let me rent it out... he claimed that if I ""wanted 30 of them or something"" he would do business with me (does he have 30? did he spend $15K on them? Who needs 30 portable recorders at one time?). In any case, he felt it was his right to discriminate--a hundred dollars is a hundred dollars, and he could buy another one if he'd let five people like me do business with him.\r
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Incidentally, despite me being a second-generation professional musician with degrees and a lot of album work on my resume, he insulted me at the end of the conversation by saying I should get a hand-held recorder at Wal-Mart, as if someone requesting a Marantz by name (as a mid-level piece that I could take around easily) would be satisfied by ... a sony lecture-designed microcassette? In any case, he's not worth getting through the pretention to get the equipment. Stick to a company like Hi-Tech or Ed at Musimatic, who value their potential customers and give legitimate advice on getting things done the best way possible.
Cons: discriminating, pretentious, rude and belittling
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