Good advice about rental no doubt...one has to wonder how interested the OP is in that advice though.
Sorry to newbs everywhere that might think from this thread that TS.com isn't a friendly, welcoming place to newb tapers. I've personally helped tens, if not hundreds of newb tapers over the years. But when the first questions in the first two posts from a new member are about bootlegging and/or using a new recorder and taking it back the next day, the responses are predictably not going to be a big ole 'welcome'.
To the original poster, your friends were correct to direct you to this talkgroup...it's a wealth of knowledge from experience people. Many people consider this one of the most civil, friendly places on the web. However, you need to also read the 'start here' section, which discusses our view on bootlegging, and respect the fact that this site is occupied by legitimate tapers, engineers and equipment dealers. Its not a group of people that are here to talk about ways to scam equipment dealers and artists. Not trying to to be obnoxious with this response...just tring to help recalibrate your expectations a bit.