Hello, World!

The topic of the title came to me as someone is interested in renting mine. I am well aware that several stores offer the possibility to rent a guitar or a violin, among many other instruments, but I have never seen this with a Stick. Moreover, since (to my knowledge) there are no Stick stores, many people do not have the possibility to "try before you buy".

Of course, this (the stick) is a rare instrument, custom-made to each buyer, which involves waiting times and does not allow SE to have a (large) stock on site. Not to even mention in other cities or countries. And given the price of a brand new Stick, some people may not be ready to order one without having played or even seen one.

As you may be aware, I am selling a Graphite Stick (this is not an ad!), and a potential buyer asked me if he could rent my stick for a couple of weeks without any obligation to buy it. I am still considering it, as I don't know what the right price would be, and also how to protect myself in case the stick is damaged or stolen.

There is a platform in Switzerland where you can rent stuff (cameras, tools, instruments, etc) and their suggested price is 3-5% of the NEW price. Meaning that the daily price of a Stick would be 100-200 bucks, which is not too crazy as you see guitars going from 10-100 bucks per day. They also offer insurance (up to a certain amount) in case something happens to the item.

Now here are two questions for you:

How much would you pay (per day) to rent a stick?
Would you even consider renting yours?

Thanks a lot for your help and fruitful discussion!

Cheers,
Walt

P.S. I had the idea once to become a Stick distributor in Switzerland (or central Europe) and order about 10 Sticks of different kinds. This would have allowed me to have a stock in-house and given people the chance to try them before buying. I proposed this idea to Cambria a while ago and she said that this would need to be discussed with Emmett (may he rest in peace). So, if either Grace or Greg (or anyone else from SE) are reading this, feel free to contact me if this is a possibility.

IMO renting my stick would be a dicey option. Unless you want to be a Stick Renter. Sooner or later the dings and damages surely await. If someone purchases ten sticks it’s nobody’s business what they do with them. SE is a custom family boutique business ,partners and business associates would open up unneeded complications (I would think).many of us blindly went out and gambled on a purchase and many sold them when they didn’t like them. I tell people buy a stick you might like it. I did.

I see what you mean, but its a similar risk when you run a music store, eventually someone is going to ding or break a guitar...


I agree with this, in my case I was not "brave" enough to make the jump, so I managed to find a few used that I could play before buying. Although my mind was already made up that I would buy it.

How many are renting out guitars that cost over $3000?

That is a point well made!

The cost of the Stick is only part of the overall cost of creating outstanding tones with reverbs, delays, amp modeling, etc. I paid almost as much for my amplifier and Helix floor. When I learned how to use Impulse Responses, my whole world changed. IRs are a game changer, when it comes to music.