Car Radio Skipton

Heading back to the future

FOUR MASTER - Car Radio Skipton

Established some 30 years ago, Car Radio Skipton has gone through a recent revolution and become a national draw for those looking for audio excellence.

Locating Car Radio Skipton (CSR) in this beautiful, bustling North Yorkshire town is a bit of a challenge but well worth the effort. The locals all know where it is as it is part of the fabric of Skipton having traded there for some 30 years. The character of the business has changed dramatically over the last four years however. At this time, the previous aged owners sold the business as a going concern to business partners; Carlo Corbin, Peter Preston and Dave Legg. This was not their first business enterprise however. I first met Carlo in the early 90’s. At that time, he ran a national installation service for a company based in Mitcham, Surrey. I have bumped into him many times since and know that his first and overriding passion is music. It is probably little known to all but me, that Carlo used to play the trumpet and has always had a fondness for Jazz and Blues music. Unfortunately, on the day of my visit to Skipton, he was out installing but more of that later.

Dave Legg is a long time installer and partner to Carlo. They came together during the halcyon sound competition days of the 90’s and both still operate as head judges in the EMMA UK format. Dave is a precision installer and a legend in the car audio scene.

Peter Preston has over 20 years of experience in the industry having worked for famous car audio superstore, Unicar in Leeds, later joining a UK distributor of car audio products and accessories where he rose to the position of national sales manager. Peter effectively acts as shop manager and his product knowledge is immense. Peter told me about CRS, how it came to be and where it is heading; “Carlo and Dave had been operating out of a small industrial unit in Clithero for four or five years. Although the intention was always to focus on installing audio, they landed a lucrative contract with one of the largest coach operators in the country almost out of the blue and spent most of their time installing CCTV, tracking and fuel economy systems to these. This work is still ongoing but far less intense than previously. When the initial contract calmed a little, Dave and Carlo decided that in order to bring in more audio work they would need a high street presence. I knew them both well and when I was offered the opportunity to join them in their new venture I jumped at the chance and promptly resigned from my previous job.”

“Our plan was to establish a store where we could demonstrate medium and high-end car audio with installation facilities on site. We keep close control on the products we offer and do not price match as a matter of principle. We were determined to establish a bulletproof business model that would enable us all to make an honest living doing what we love to do. Many doubted us pointing to the relatively small market for our products and services in the area. In the four years since we took over CSR we have not had a quiet spell. We put this down to a heavy focus on quality products and first class personal service.”

I asked Peter where his business is coming from? “We are pulling in customers from all over the country. We are very active on enthusiast forums and have our own site, www.ultimatesoundmachine.co.uk dedicated to our passion for quality car audio. We are fortunate to have built a reputation for audio excellence, which also brings in a lot of remedial work. There are plenty of people around who want great audio and equally, many businesses that purport to deliver it. However the reality is often somewhat different and we find ourselves inheriting distraught customers who have been sold equipment and services based on assumptions rather than as a result of a proper conversation before the work starts. We always take time to engage with customers before we start bandying around model numbers, technical specifications and prices. I can see that for some retailers the priority is to “ring the till” but our business relies on helping a customer find the right solution for their ears and their pockets and our future relies on them leaving here with only good things to say about us. I have to say that we are largely successful in doing this. We will often see customers who have no idea how much it costs to achieve a certain result but will always invest our time and expertise even if there is no immediate sale as a result”

Peter concludes; “The desire for good quality audio in a car is definitely on the up. New products are being presented to us that overcome all of the traditional obstacles to achieving it and the immediate future is very exciting to us. As FOUR MASTERS we are able to operate within a network of like-minded individuals offering a staggering knowledge base equipping us with the very best technical solutions.”

Recently, CRS has expanded its installation capacity by employing a new installer. Gary recently joined the company but has many years of installation experience. Previous to his career in car audio, Gary was a sound engineer - a skill-set well suited to the work that CSR do.

I would thoroughly recommend Car Radio Skipton to anyone wanting to get the best sound out of a vehicle.