UA WebZine "Dealer Focus" April 04

Dealer Focus: Rainbow Guitars
Interview with Steve Itule of Rainbow Guitars

Harvey Moltz, President of Rainbow Guitars

Harvey Moltz started out Rainbow while living in a cave on Mount Lemon and used pack mules to deliver product to his clients. After the pack mules died from heat exhaustion he turned to the more exotic animal trade for cheap labor. It worked well for him until the State Labor Board cracked down and sent him to jail for 7 years. He met James Brown while incarcerated and became a devout Druid and today he has seen the errors of his past and has just decided to give all employees freedom to sell as much Universal Audio gear as possible.

How many people does Rainbow Guitars employ?
19 Full Time Employees.

How long has Rainbow Guitars been in business?
Rainbow Guitars has been in business for 29 years.

Why Tucson, AZ for your company’s headquarters?
Got to have the desert, the best Mexican food, and the Wildcat (University of Arizona) basketball team. Also, we are close to Mexico in case the witness protection program fails.

What makes Rainbow Guitars unique?
The knowledgeable sales staff. This staff is one of the strongest in the industry. Rainbow Guitars has in stock a tremendous amount of current and vintage equipment. Rainbow Guitars carries just about all major lines and is also key on locating and stocking of new, cutting edge products that other stores are afraid to take a chance on. Most of are staff are directly involved with the recording industry, so we stay on top of what the latest innovations are. Our vintage guitar selection is one of the absolute BEST in the country. We service what we sell as opposed to the big chain stores that do not have any repair department. Rainbow Guitars main concern is Customer Satisfaction with great pricing and no pressure sales tactics.

What is the profile of a “typical” Rainbow Guitars customer?
The typical Rainbow customer truly encompasses the entire gambit of clients. Rainbow Guitar treats everyone from the beginner to the “Rock Star” the same. Entry-level equipment is explained in detail to the beginner, so they get the right equipment for their needs. Rainbow Guitars is well known in the film and television industry as the place to get the high-end pro-audio recording equipment. Local working musicians and studios owners love us because we have, in stock, the equipment they need today with the price and service to back it up on a local level.

Why is Universal Audio important to your business?
How can you be a pro-audio dealer and not carry Universal Audio? UA is by far the premier company that has to be in stock for the extremely knowledgeable client. The LA-2A, of all compressors is an industry standard. UA is also taking leaps into future pro audio needs by melding the old with the new technology with products like the 6176, 2-1176, 2192, 2108 and UAD-1 Studio Pak. And besides Harvey can't do a session without his arsenal of LA-2A's and 1176's.

What makes selling UA gear cool?
When you sell UA gear you always hear back from the client thanking you for the product and raving about how GREAT it sounds. On a side note, when there is a rare problem, UA's service department it extremely fast in keeping the customer happy.

What makes selling UA gear a pain in the neck?
Ordering product from UA and having it back ordered! I guess that is a good [problem to have] for UA.

Rainbow Guitars
2550 N Campbell Ave
Tucson, AZ 85719
520-325-3376 Phone
520-326-7207 FAX
RBSTEVE@dakotacom.net

-Terry Hardin

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