Selling THD Products

Andy Marshall on: Selling THD Products THD Electronics (206) 781-5500 [email protected] June 18, 2003 So, there’s some THD stuff sitting around the store and you can make some money if you sell some of it. But how do you get customers to give Andy Marshall, you money for it and take it home? Ah, good question. Glad you asked! THD’s president and chief product designer, talks What is THD, anyway? about selling THD products: First off, if customers ask, “What is everybody.” THD? I have never heard of them,” you To which the customer responds, “Oh! have a really good answer. • The BiValve-30 Then why aren’t they famous?” guitar amplifier You can respond with, “They are the You answer, “They are, if you read the The 30-watt, Class A world’s top boutique amp builder, and amp that Guitar Player guitar magazines. But then, they don’t have been turning out award-winning said “produced a level of spend a ton of money on advertising, amps, cabinets and accessories since tonal complexity and and that shows in the reasonable prices 1987. They started the whole tweed-amp sonic dimension that was of their products.” simply off the scale.” re-issue craze back in ’87 with their first product.” If you have been selling THD for a while, • The UniValve you know how happy your customers are guitar amplifier So then the customer asks, “Really? with our products and how amazingly The 15-watt, Class A Who uses their stuff?” amp that can use almost few of them ever need repair. These any tube combo. You come back with, “The Rolling points are definitely worth mentioning to Guitarist said it’s “one of Stones, Metallica, Van Halen, Bob your customer. We’ve found that the best playing Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, REM, customers like to be given reasons to experiences any guitarist Third Eye Blind, ZZ Top, Ben Harper, believe that they will be happy with their could hope for.” Mark Knopfler, Foofighters, Jimmy Page, purchase and that they are very unlikely • The Hot Plate Eric Clapton, The Black Crowes, U2, to have problems with their new power attenuator Pearl Jam, you know, almost purchase. Do you love the sound of your amp wide open, but don't want to go deaf? The Hot Plate lets you Selling THD amplifiers get that screaming full- output sound at any volume. Why is the customer looking for an amp? If your customer is in the market for a are good to know and will help you point new guitar amplifier, it is always good to your customer toward the best product ascertain what amp they are currently for them. using and what it is that has them out Assuming the customer needs to be looking for a new one. Is it that they heard, is looking for more flexibility, need more volume, more overdrive, a wants better “feel” and “response” in his better “feel” to the amp, an amp that will amp and/or is recording (home studios help them be heard in the band? Or, is it are getting very popular), then he or she that they want to record more and need is a good potential customer for a THD a more flexible amplifier? These things UniValve or a BiValve-30. Selling THD Products Page 2 of 6 THD guitar amps are louder than you think Both the UniValve and BiValve-30 speaker cabinet. Also, the UniValve and amps are really much louder than the the BiValve-30 both have an uncanny customer likely thinks they are. Most ability to be heard very clearly in a group people have the impression that 15 watts situation, even when there are much is only loud enough for the studio or for more powerful and louder amps playing playing at home. against it. We constantly hear from UniValve owners that they have no If your customer plays clean most of the trouble competing with a Marshall 50. time, then the BiValve-30 is likely a Even Tom Beaujour pointed this out in better choice than the UniValve. This is his review of the UniValve for Guitar because the UniValve reaches the onset World Magazine. (By the way, after The THD UniValve of distortion at a noticeably lower writing the review, Tom bought two guitar amplifier volume. However, the UniValve’s UniValves for himself and gigs with them overdrive sound is quite loud, especially all the time.) when played through an efficient A quick way to get familiar with the amps In selling any product, it is always good Next, turn all of the controls to the 12:00 to familiarize yourself with the features of position and plug into the upper input. the product. If you haven’t already done Here you have a very wide range of so, grab a guitar and go plug into a overdrive sounds, from classic Clapton UniValve or a BiValve-30. Plug into the and Hendrix tones to more modern early lower input and turn all of the controls all Van Halen levels of overdrive. Use the the way up. With most guitar/ pickup gain and tone controls sparingly. Hit the combinations, this will give you a very strings hard and you get real punch. Pick nice, early ZZ Top style overdrive when them lightly and there is a lovely bloom. you hit it hard, but when you back off the Turn the volume on the guitar down and volume on the guitar (or the amp), you play gently and you get a nice clean get a lovely, thick, rich clean sound, not tone. Not as clean as the lower input, but “THD has pulled a rabbit the cold, dry clean sound that most still a nice, fat clean/crunch tone. out of a hat with this baby. people are used to hearing. Note also Explain to the customer how they have a With its tonal range, smart that the transition between clean and whole spectrum of sounds available to features, and superb overdrive is smooth and continuous and them just by adjusting the controls on all of the tones in between are useful craftsmanship, the their guitars and how they play. UniValve is a bang-for- and musical. Don’t forget to point this out to your customer when showing this. buck winner." Guitar Player Magazine Gauge the customers response After you familiarize your customer with attention to the customer’s reactions and the amp, you can then point out that all responses. If they seem interested in of the wonderful sounds that they have and excited by the option of changing just experienced are available before tubes at will, delve further into that topic. they have even addressed the option of If it does not seem to interest them, changing tubes in the amplifier. Pay move on to another point. Page 3 of 6 Selling THD Products “...thirty Class A watts will leave your standard 100W What’s the difference between the UniValve and BiValve-30? combo struggling to keep up.” You will likely be asked about the they did with their previous amplifiers. Australian Guitarist Magazine difference bet ween the UniValve and the This is because the speed of its BiValve-30. It is not just the obvious — response gives the notes more punch that the BiValve-30 is twice the power of and more impact. Its overdrive sound in the UniValve. The BiValve-30 also has the upper input is very “in your face”, but the added abi lity to use two different not painful, not harsh, just immediate. It types of power tubes in the output cannot be ignored in a mix. It is so quick section, allo wing the player to mix the and unique in sound and feel, it can be sonic signatu re of different tube types. one of the quietest things in a band or in a mix and it still can be heard loud and The UniValve is smooth and sweet in the clear because its signature is so clear “bloom” of th e notes: the note grows and and distinct. gets more co mplex as it sustains, developing harmonic richness. The BiValve-30’s clean sound on the lower input is so rich, detailed and The BiValve-30, on the other hand, has complex that some people say it sounds a much faster response, fast as hell, The THD BiValve-30 like it is running through a chorus effect. actually. The speed of its response can guitar amplifier This is because the amplifier is capable make it sound and “feel” much more of reproducing the intricate, complex aggressive than you would think based signal from a guitar with a level of detail on its distortion alone. that most people have never Many people find that with the BiValve- experienced before. 30, they end up using less distortion than It’s not just the amp’s features — it’s benefits they provide “The BiValve-30 delivers totally on the UniValve’s When you’re describing the features of need to re-bias the amp. the amp to a customer, remember that promise of more to come, Benefit: This gives the user a people do not buy based on features, and the result is one of the tremendous variety of sounds at his they buy based on benefits. When you best playing experiences fingertips. Different tubes sound and feel show them a feature, be sure to explain different to play. Many customers any guitarist could hope the benefit of that feature.

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