Besides, I would prefer to rent from a large reputable
house where I can be assured of quality and service rather than some random guy who happens to have a lighting
console.
Yup.
If I'm going to go rent a
console, I'm probably going to be renting more than just the
console, so I'd be calling up a local rental
house and giving them a full order. Even if I know you've got a 520i on the market and I decide that I want a 520i (which I don't), I'd prefer renting 1) everything from the same company for
ease of logistics and 2) from a company I can
call up and say, "It's not working," and I know that they can either fix it or replace it in a timely manner.
If you've got friends who need a
console, you can probably rent it to them or maybe put together a lease agreement for extended use, but you're not going to make much money either way. Even selling it won't get you very much.
The 520i is a decent
console if it doesn't have any demons in it (faders going bad, hardware failing,
etc.), but because consoles like the
Element have gotten so low in price for groups on tight budgets, you'd be lucky to get a few grand selling it.
Otherwise, it makes a good backup
console to keep on
hand if you're not using it for anything else. These days my time is spread between three different venues. Each one has at some
point replaced their sound and their lighting consoles. In every case, they've kept the old gear in case:
+ The new gear fails and they need something to get them through until repairs are made.
+ They expand their business and need another
console for
portable applications or an added performance space.
+ They get a
call from a good friend desperately hunting for a
console after theirs tanked on them and now they need a
console by 6:30p that night or they have to cancel the show.