Car And Home Stereo

Bass'd on experience

Car and Home Stereo

Tim and Sam Campling have been together for 25 years. Having met at a gig at which Tim was playing guitar with his band, they are now also joined together in a formidable business partnership that has enhanced many aspects of their relationship.

To say Tim is a busy man is a bit of an understatement. His huge energy for business and leisure pursuits not to mention renovating an 18^th century farm house, his three teenage sons and a passion for flying model planes, it is a wonder that he manages to find time to play bass in a retro heavy rock band let alone carry out first class audio installations to all manner of vehicles. I was fascinated by the relationship between Tim’s musical interest and his day job and determined to find out more about it.

Macclesfield always sounds like some huge industrial northern urban sprawl to me whenever I hear it mentioned in the news or in traffic reports. In reality, it is surprisingly compact and sits in the shadows of the beautifully picturesque Peak District, except I suspect on foggy days, when the peaks dissolve into the cloud that frames them. On arrival on Sunderland Street, Car and Home Stereo was very easy to spot. Smart, fresh signage including a large window vinyl declaring membership to the FOUR MASTER programme greeted me as I turned down a cobbled street and parked up outside the workshop. Tim was fairly light-handed as Sam was teaching at a local adult education centre for those with learning difficulties. He was fashioning MDF rings for a pair of Audison Prima speakers destined to be installed into a Ford Focus ST. The sound of his jigsaw making any conversation impossible, I voted to nip across the road for a coffee. In fact, not only did I find a coffee and Laurence, my photographer du jour, but also, a quaint (in the nicest sense) sandwich shop with warm Holland’s pies for sale. I chose a meat and potato one that evoked vivid memories of regular five-hour family trips to Manchester in the 60’s to visit relatives, listening to the hits of the day on the Medium Wave radio in my dad’s Morris Minor. You can't get a meat and potato pie in Oxfordshire and so this was a very rare opportunity for me to relive a tiny element of my childhood and it was a very special moment!

When I returned from my self-indulgent, sentimental trip down memory lane, Tim had finished making a noise and moved on to the far quieter pursuit of installing the rings and speakers into the vehicle so we were able to talk. Firstly, the all-important company history; Car and Home Stereo was established in 1974 in Hazel Grove by Tim’s father who split his time between selling and installing home music systems and servicing the embryonic car audio installation market which was small and very much in its infancy. Tim expands; “My father had an accident and suffered back damage which meant he had to change career. He had always been interested in cars and saw a future where people would be attracted to the idea of enhancing their driving pleasure with an audio system they could actually hear while on the move.

This element of the business was very much a sideline to the main income, which came from home audio. The business has changed over the years but our commitment to service-based sales has remained.”

I knew something of Tim’s background as I have met him before. I knew for instance that he played guitar and I wanted to explore his musical heritage in more depth. Tim explained; “We were never a musical family although, there was always music playing in the family home. I remember one day hearing Jimi Hendrix’ Voodoo Chile on the radio and telling my dad that was what I wanted to do. This took me to a handful of classical guitar lessons, which wasn’t really what I had in mind. I admit, I wasn’t totally dedicated to the genre and its confines but I was taught a pentatonic scale at which point I decided I had enough knowledge to find my own way! This I did with some success and played in a number of bands. This is a pastime I enjoy very much despite my natural shyness, and I still put a lot of energy into making music.” More on Tim’s music later, in the meantime, I wanted to know how the business became what it is today. Tim continued; “I joined my dad in the business straight after ‘A-levels’ but continued to attend college where I studied Electronics. I had always been into cars and music and so the family business was tailor-made for my key interests. The business built steadily in line with the market and we continue to keep ourselves busy due to our good reputation. I was never convinced to join the throngs of businesses who took advantage of consumer’s access to credit in the 90’s and 00’s. The “stack ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap” model was always going to come tumbling down. When it did, we were fairly immune to it as we stuck doggedly to our principles of offering good quality product with installation and back-up service to match.”

As we talk, I am carefully watching Tim fit a pair of speakers to a Focus ST for a customer and marvelling at how easy he makes the task seem while still managing an attention to detail I was desperately hoping not to distract him from. I asked him about current business, where it comes from and what the split is between home audio and car audio. Tim explained; “We have been based at our current premises since 1975 and as the only specialist audio business around here we attract a good deal of business from word-of-mouth recommendations. We do a small amount of local press advertising and our store is very visible for passing traffic. Lately, we have attracted customers because of our ability to install discrete systems that sound really good. This is due in part to the availability of some excellent products, but I also like to believe that we treat each job in the same way and try to deliver a quality job regardless of the amount of money a customer is spending.” What about income sources other than car audio I ask? Tim continues; “The home audio side of things was considerable in the early days of multi-room and custom installation into homes, but wi-fi has more or less killed that as our strength was in our ability to seamlessly integrate entertainment into houses with no wires on show. Now, no wires are required and therefore this area is a lot less interesting to our business model. We still stock some equipment and do sell it too as we are well known for it, but the income from this side of the business has definitely given way to that earned from car audio sales and installations.”

Tim deals with a number of lunch time customers including preparing a quote for a major system (a home audio solution to someone who wants to convert his vinyl collection to something more durable without losing quality), taking money for the speaker installation into the Focus ST, selling a pair of RCA y-leads and a couple of other items which definitely make opening up on a Tuesday worthwhile. I have a good nose around his store. I am struck by the uncluttered presentation and the definite dominance of car audio over other car enhancement products usual for this kind of business. There are no security devices, reversing sensors, radar detectors that usually proliferate such stores. At about this moment, Sam turns up. She is on a lunch break.

Sam is relatively new to Car and Home Stereo having worked with Tim for just one year. I ask her what it is like working with her husband she tells me; “We are both really happy with this new arrangement. I have a lot to learn and this is generally a very male dominated market, but I am determined to become expert in the basics allowing Tim to concentrate on doing what he does best. I have played a major part in our recent refurbishment. Previously I suppose, the store had become somewhat “tired” and we have radically changed the way we present ourselves. For instance, window space is used more sparingly. We have kept the product on show at a deliberately low-level which gives people a better view of the inside of the store. A rationalisation of product lines is currently taking place. As the market has become generally less brand-oriented, it is no longer necessary to try and stock everything and so we have focussed on the products we sell the most of and know to be good performers, rather than those we previously believed would attract store traffic.  This is still a work in progress, and we have further external signage planned as well as some further shop fitting to invest in to remove even more clutter. Some things have had to stay - We carried external Pioneer branding for many years and are known locally as “The Pioneer Shop.” So a continued presence for that brand was not only desirable but also necessary.” What is it like working with your partner I ask somewhat intrusively? “Working together has bought a new dimension to our personal life. We have more to talk about. I can fully relate to Tim’s business now and feel I can offer constructive input when we talk about it. Similarly, I have developed a bit more of an interest in what Tim does and its connection with the general well-being of the family.”

What about other work? Sam continues; “We are both high energy people. I have four horses which is a big commitment, and I enjoy singing in local musical presentations as well as running the home and providing for three hungry teenagers. Tim has his band and model planes so having an excuse to be together a bit more is a very positive thing for us. I still work part-time teaching adults with learning difficulties, but I am here three afternoons and two full days per week at the moment.”

Once the lunchtime rush has subsided and Sam has returned to her teaching role, we get Tim to ourselves for a while. This is a perfect excuse to go upstairs for a look at his rehearsal room. This is furnished with the trappings of the classic rock three-piece set up. There is something extremely pleasing about seeing a Marshall stack in the context of a car audio store! I ask Tim about any connections which may exist between his hobby and his work; “They roll into one really. It all comes down to a fundamental love of music. I am a dyed-in-the-wool heavy rock fan. It is the music I prefer and the music I like to set car audio systems up to. The requirement for punchy articulate mid-bass sets the bar very high and I know that if I can play my top five and have a wry smile, the system I have installed will work with just about any genre.” So could Tim have turned professional as a musician at any time? “While playing bass in “Deepest Purple”, we were offered European tours. We were pretty good and put on a good show. I thought about it for a short while, but it would have meant making far too many sacrifices that I felt would compromise family life too much. At about this time, life began to imitate art somewhat as band members began to fall out with each other and that made for an unpleasant atmosphere at times. I am a happy and enthusiastic amateur and am now playing in my favourite band format; guitar, bass and drums. We play really old heavy metal such as “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath, which is effectively one long bass solo which is great for me!”

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Car and Home Stereo and spending time with Tim and Sam. A lot of what I have reported is character-based but it is hard with these lovely people to separate their personalities from their business as they seem to have the same calm and measured approach to every single aspect of their busy, busy lives. I have no hesitation in recommending Car and Home Stereo for those looking for more music in their lives.

Contact Car and Home Stereo: 01625 432707, www.carhomestereo.co.uk

Tim’s Top Five Driving Sounds

All My Life - Foo Fighters

Cream - Love Hate

Set Me Free - Velvet Revolver

Peacemaker - Green Day

Let There Be Rock (live) - AC/DC