Close Up: Audio Rents

CC_Vito-Traci-GlennProfessional Studio Equipment At Affordable Rates For 40+ Years: Artists, musicians and audio professionals who think high-end equipment is something they have to wait and save up for have, for the past 40+ years, been thrilled to discover Audio Rents, which rents out recording gear for a fraction of the cost of owning. Audio Rents is the largest and oldest pro audio equipment rental house in Hollywood, CA, specializing in recording and post-production equipment. Its office is located on Wilcox and Sunset in an old film studio building that scored numerous films, including Rocky and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

A Vast Array of Clients and Gear: Originally launched as an extension of Sunset Sound Studios, Audio Rents’ clients have ranged from record companies (Capitol, Geffen) and film studios (Universal, Fox, Sony) to major recording studios (Record Plant, The Village, EastWest). They also rent to home studios, prop masters, bands, DJs, hobbyists, sound enthusiasts and (at a substantial discount) students attending local recording and film schools. Audio Rents is a major supplier of both vintage and modern audio gear, ranging from classic RCA ribbon microphones and Fairchild compressors to cutting-edge noise reduction machines by Cedar, a full line of DOLBY surround encoder/decoders and Pro Tools HD systems. They also carry a wide range of preamps, EQs, FX boxes and compressors by top manufacturers like Manley, GML, TV, Lexicon, Jensen, Chandler, API, Neve, Grace, UREI, SSL and others.

Mics-R-Us: Though Audio Rents still does business with film companies, the majority of its customers today are independent artists and recording studios—many looking for tried and tested solutions via the perfect mics and preamps for their specific needs. They confidently state that “our collection of recording microphones is one of the largest assemblies of tube, ribbon, condenser and dynamic mics anywhere—from Neumann and AKG to Royer and Shure.” Audio Rents also carries Manley tube preamps, tube mics, tube equalizers and Neve amps, as well as various vintage effects systems and digital interface systems (Apollo, for one) that allow users to adapt for mobile recording solutions.

Contact Audio Rents, 323-874-1000, http://audiorents.com

By Jonathan Widran