Coast Recording Equipment Supply

Located in the heart of Hollywood, Calif., Coast Recording Equipment Supply Inc. has catered to Southern California’s Professional audio community and its audio enthusiasts for more than 25 years.  During this time, the company has become an icon among professionals and aspiring professionals alike.

Coast Recording counts high profile recording facilities Conway Recording and Skip Saylor Recording as well as your average audio enthusiasts among its numerous clients.  On any given day, you never know who might show up. On the day of this Music Inc. interview, legendary rock guitarist Pete Townsend of the Who was on site for a demonstration of the new Sony DMX-R100 digital mixer. From the accomplished professional through the recording enthusiast, Coast Recording is a prime destination for all things pro audio.

Originally operated under the name Charles E. Washburn Co., the store was purchased in July 1973 by present owner Jerry C. Cubbage – at the time, an electronic design engineer for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Co. who had a penchant for audio and a desire to make it his career.

Coast Recording grew rapidly. From humble beginnings in a one-room structure, the company now occupies a 10,000-square-foot facility. The store incorporates demo rooms, ample floor space to accommodate large format recorders and consoles, display cabinets as well as warehouse facilities.

The company focuses on three areas of business. While new product sales make up the majority of Coast’s operation, they also have an enviable reputation as a supplier of used equipment. Of particular note, Coast Recording operates a substantial studio props rental business (known as Coast Recording A/V Props) for the television and film industries.

Old School Charm in a
Modern Era

Affable and reserved in nature, Jerry Cubbage’s personality permeates every

aspect of his store’s operation. As you walk though the door, the vibe is relaxed and friendly. Featuring recording products of every conceivable nature, Coast’s retail environment encourages browsing and knob wiggling. With so much product on display, it’s easy to be initially overwhelmed, but the manner in which store personnel greet you is quickly reassuring.

In this day of dot-com everything, print and direct mail advertising, Coast is a retail operation based almost solely on one-to-one relationships. The company has no website and rarely advertises in local trade publications or conducts direct mail campaigns. From a marketing perspective, Coast recording is an enigma – yet it continues to attract high-profile clientele and expand physically. When Nadine’s Music, a popular Hollywood combo store, folded a few years back, Cubbage stepped in and acquired the facility for his Coast Recording A/V Props division. Further, a separate operation known as Recording Studio Outlet occupies another building nearby.

Coast Recording’s customer base has been developed exclusively by word of mouth – with the emphasis being on treating the customer fairly and with respect.

“We’re very fortunate that, as an established business with a considerable history in pro audio, all the studios and engineering people in the industry know who we are.” Cubbage explained. “We have customers who come to us from as far away as Bakersfield to the north and San Diego to the south. I have always maintained that if you treat people right, they’ll tell others about their experience.

“We do not have any ‘official’ advertising campaigns. Professional customers generally know what they want, and our job then, is to facilitate the sale as expediently and at the best price as possible. Of course, some customers will come in looking to fulfill a particular requirement without having any specific product in mind. In these instances, the recording and technical backgrounds of our sales staff is what really differentiates us from the pack. Our sales people are well qualified to help clarify the features of one product versus another.”

Finding a Niche in Used Geer

Coast Recording has a reputation throughout the Los Angeles area as the place to buy high-end used equipment.

the equipment is used is a critical element for pro audio sales – particularly with the higher-level equipment. I look at a person’s technical aptitude before I look at their sales ability. I take the approach that if the person has the technical and applications background, I can show them how to qualify a customer and help them become an effective sales person.”

Unfortunately, employee theft is a very real and all too common issue these days. Hence, finding people that can be trusted with the inventory is a genuine concern.

“I also look for honesty in my people” said Cubbage. “Which so much small equipment, such as microphones, you need to be able to trust your staff. Without this, that equipment could very easily walk out the door.”

Cubbage has clearly been successful with his hiring tactics. Many of Coast Recording’s sales and office staff have been with the company for years – a rarity in this industry.

One of Coast’s other permanent “fixtures” is sales manager Carl Dito. Well known among Los Angeles pro audio equipment buyers, Carl agrees that an employee’s technical background and experience is essential.

“We routinely deal with customers who have considerably more than a small mixer and a pair of ADATs,” he said. “The customer who is looking for a recorder to connect to his Euphonix System 5 is an entirely different animal, and his questions are likely to be a lot tougher than average. The ability to address these questions lie at the core of Coast’s strengths. All of our guys have been in the trenches.”

“Used equipment sales was a significant part of the business before I took over the company,” Cubbage said. “Charles Washburn actively promoted used equipment, so when I later assumed the helm, I continued to pursue this area.

“Unlike most music stores, when a customer enters Coast Recording, he sees a rather unusual blend of high-end, used recording equipment such as DASH or 2-inch analog open-reel machines and large-format analog consoles – all in the same general vicinity as our new equipment. Rarely does this type of equipment get any exposure in the more conventional MI store. As a result, the opportunity to examine this type of gear has become a significant attraction for many of our customers.”

With such an extensive array of equipment, many customers find themselves purchasing high-end used gear as opposed to always buying the latest model products.

“Perhaps a customer was planning on acquiring a new digital piece of equipment, but finds it to be a bit of a stretch financially,” Cubbage said. “We routinely see instances where this customer ends up buying a used piece that is still very viable and in the process, he saves some money.

“As more and more analog recorders are now being replaced by digital technology, we’re seeing a slowdown in the sale of the older analog machines. It’s still important to note, however, that many recording enthusiast prefer analog for its ability to saturate the tape for creative effect. Thus, we still sell a number of used analog machines, particularly 2-inch 24-tracks, to people who intend to lock them up with digital recorders such as ADATs and DA-88s. This practice is particularly common at the project studio level.”

Qualified Sales People Make the Difference

In this low unemployment economy, finding and retaining trustworthy, qualified employees is a tough job for any business. Cubbage offers his employees a competitive compensation program and health benefits, and, for his sales staff, places a priority on one’s technical background and experience in the recording arts. He then opts to develop the employee's sales skills in-house.

“The first and foremost concern is finding someone who has a genuine background in recording,” said Cubbage. “An understanding of how

Training to Maintain a Competitive Edge

Selling high-technology products requires ongoing training sessions and a willingness to experiment with the equipment in order to remain ?up to speed? with the never-ending onslaught of new product introductions. Given the store?s dependency on the technical capabilities of its sales staff, Cubbage regularly takes advantage of manufacture training sessions. These early morning ?coffee-and-doughnut? sessions have become the mainstay of Coast?s training program.

?We regularly have early-morning new-product training sessions with the various representatives and product specialists from the companies whose products we sell,? Cubbage said. "These sessions have proven to be quite beneficial. They enable our staff to get their questions answered and to gain insight as to how the equipment addresses a particular task. Of equal importance, our sales people learn how to most effectively demonstrate the unit. This can go a long way towards making a sale.

"We also encourage our sales staff to spend additional hands-on time with the equipment and to familiarize themselves with the owner's manuals.

We provide the opportunity for our staff to take equipment home, so that they may work with it in their private studios without the distraction of the store environment."

Making the Sale

Cubbage reports no special formula for becoming a strong salesperson. He does, however, believe that the best sales professionals have developed the ability to listen.

"I believe the first rule of thumb is to be open and begin by listening to what the customer has to say," Cubbage said. "Don't assume that you know why they want a particular piece of equipment or how they intend to use it. Once this customer has had the opportunity to voice their concerns, you are then in a much better position to direct that customer to a product or group of products that will best suit their requirements. You don't

necessarily want to change the customer's mind if they are set on a particular product, but I believe it's good business to point out viable options in certain cases."

In discussing the differences between selling to the accomplished professional verses the aspiring audiophile, Cubbage again

stressed the importance of listening to the customer as this first step frequently defines the entire sales process.

“The enthusiast may enter the store and express an interest in a microphone, but what he really wants is advice. With this customer you need to listen to get an understanding of his technical aptitude, try to grasp what the problem is and how he wants to resolve it. This is where the applications experience on the part of the salesperson becomes important, as it provides a means for being able to properly qualify the customer.

The professional tends to be very challenging if he wants further information on a particular product, as his knowledge level is already quite high. This situation forces the salesperson to consider his responsibilities much more carefully. The aspiring professional, by contrast, is likely to be seeking more generalized information. Again, the salesperson’s technical background and experience makes all the difference in differentiating these two types of customers.”

Does the sales pitch vary between the accomplished professional verses the aspiring audiophile? According to both Cubbage and Ditto, the answer is a resounding “No".

"I don't believe the sales pitch varies at all, since you're dealing with the person as opposed to the position," Dito emphasized. "People look to us for our experience with recording

equipment. While we certainly make every effort to provide the customer with a competitive price, our strength is in our understanding of the products and the applications they were designed for.

“Boutique audio is a dying form, but that’s what separates us from the mass marketers of the business. We take the time to ensure the customer’s success. Pro audio has, for several years, been melded into the larger MI realm of product marketing and, unfortunately, much of the mentality has shifted to moving boxes as opposed to genuinely qualifying the customer.”

A Breed Apart

Due to its location in the heart of the

Hollywood production community, close ties with the professionals who create many of today’s records, television and film soundtracks, combined with a unique cross sampling of new and used equipment, Coast Recording is truly a breed apart from the more conventional MI environment. While its lack of commonly accepted marketing practices might spell disaster in other cities, Coast Recording continues to thrive in a highly competitive environment.

When queried about any possible tips and tricks he might offer to other pro audio retailers to improve their

operations, Cubbage stresses the importance of service to the customer.

“It’s important that your sales staff be received as a first-rate information resource,” Cubbage said. “If the customer feels the advice provided by the sales representative is good, he or she is likely to make a purchase. That salesperson then becomes a reliable source for accurate information, with the customer being more open to suggestions and more likely to return for future equipment purchases.

“I believe that maintaining an open, attentive approach of what level that person may be at. You accomplish a lot more by listening first, and then guiding the sales process as opposed to controller the sales process without giving you customer an opportunity to voice his concerns.”

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