Looking for audio recording equipment

[prog.livejournal.com]

Howdy neighbors,

I have a somewhat urgent need for some studio-type audio recording equipment -- shotgun mics, mixers, that sort of thing. I find it hard to search for places to buy this stuff using the Web; the many places that sell speakers and stereo equipment tend to capture all the keywords I throw at it.

I'm rolling across the river to visit Guitar Center now, but would love to hear about any other places in the vicinity that might be able to set me up. Thanks!

Comments

Local options are limited

[red-liner.livejournal.com]

It's sad, but there really aren't any great pro audio shops in the area. Guitar Center and Daddy's are OK as far as they go, and if you're not looking for anything too exotic they can probably hook you up, but do your homework ahead of time and don't count on getting any knowledgeable input from them (though every now and then you can get lucky).

Mercenary Audio down in Foxboro (http://www.mercenary.com/) IS a pro place with intelligent employees, and might be worth a call.

On the mail order front, Sweetwater does a good job, as do Full Compass and B&H. Also, if you're looking for buying advice, it's definitely worth a visit to gearslutz.com - use the search function and you're almost certain to find discussion of whatever piece of hardware you're interested in.

Good luck - I wish I had something more positive to say about the local options!

Re: Local options are limited

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I'll add to this to say that B&H is your best bet for purchase. Even their slowest shipping is surprisingly fast. Ever since Equipment Emporium out in Cali closed up shop I've been buying audio gear through them.

If you need to RENT for a few days, contact Boston Camera; might be cheaper and quicker.

Re: Local options are limited

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

And if you happen to be a Harvard employee, or know one, Harvard has a very nice discount program with B&H - I've saved from $5-$50 on sound gear pricing from them that way.

You/your friend need to go to the B&H site via the Harvard purchasing site, which requires a Harvard ID PINSYSTEM access. Go to this link (http://vpf-web.harvard.edu/ofs/procurement/protected/ven_par_bnh.shtml) - it will ask for the Harvard PIN login, then take you to a link for B&H. When You get to the B&H site, you should see a a turquoise flag on the left side saying "Welcome Harvard University" - this indicates you will get the discount pricing (e.g. a Yamaha CP33 keyboard is usually $999, but with this link displays as $777).

Re: Local options are limited

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Really? Damn. You, ah, wouldn't happen to have a Harvard ID that fell off the back of a truck or something? Daddy needs a better long shottie.

...Wait, forget that last part.

Re: Local options are limited

[ron_newman]

I do! My Harvard ID number from last year (when I took Summer and Extension courses) still works to access this page. If this is helpful to either of you, let me know and maybe I can arrange something.

[ron_newman]

would Rockin' Bob's Guitars on Holland Street have anything like this?

[prog.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links, all. This is all tasty news to me!

Another friend of mine shared another local business that I intend to look into this evening: Rule Camera (http://rule.com). I must say that their website's tagline, Everything's going to be okay, really speaks to me.