Learn More About Techrep

Our Background

Techrep Marketing is a manufacturer's rep firm with unique ideas and attitudes. We bring a large array of diverse skills to the marketplace. We have a range of people with experience in contracting, live sound, retail and manufacturing. With history at such diverse companies as Digidesign, Mackie, Yamaha and Clair Brothers our staff brings the highest level of experience to our field operations.

Our Philosophy

We believe in combining a high level of technical knowledge with a commitment to service for our dealers, consultants, manufacturers and end users. Our goal has, and will continue to be, to do more than is expected for our customers. We accomplish this by partnering with our manufacturers and dealers in honest communication. We deliver market driven training, sales materials and presentation and support our dealer in all aspects of the sale.

Our Work

Our company has grown continuously to become one of the major rep networks in the United States with solid coverage in 13 states. We cover sections of the country that are difficult and expensive to travel and we have spent years of man time developing systems to cover it effectively.

Awards

Earthworks
- Rep of the Year Award - 2008
- Quota Buster Award - 2008
- Rep of the Yeat - 2009
- Most New Dealers, Ohio - 2009
- Best Inside Sales - Becca Sanders - 2009

Hear Technologies
- Rep of the Year Award - 2004
- Rep of the Year Award - 2005

Ivie
- Rep of the Year Award - 2006
- On Board Award - 2008

Monster
- Rep of the Year Award - 2003
- Salesman of the Year - Jamie Criswell - 2005
- Independent Specialist Dealer Growth Award - Techrep Southeast - 2005
- Rep of the Year Award - 2006
- Rep of the Year Award - 2007
- GC Rep of the Year - 2009

Presonus
- Rep of the Year Award - 2000
- Quota Buster Ohio Valley - 2001
- Rep of the Year Award - 2008
- Retarded Growth Award - Michigan - 2009
- Most Dealer Additions, GA - 2009
- Best Inside Sales - Ricardo Hurtado - 2009

QSC
- Retail Rep of the Year - 2006
- Retail Rep of the Year - 2007
- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - JC Bittence - 2007
- Obsessed Award - JC Bittence - 2007 - Retail Rep of the Year - 2008
- Quota Buster Carolinas - 2008
- Rep of the Year - 2009
- Courage Award - 2009

RDL
- 2008 #1 in dealer sales growth
- 2008 territory target buster
- 2008 dealer quota buster
- 2008 The Million Dollar Club
- 2008 Rep of the Year

Sennheiser
- Professional Products Rep of the Year - 2001
- Most Improved Professional Territory - 2002
- Sales Achievment Award - 2004

Tascam
- Excellence in Dealer Product Training - 2001
- Outstanding Performance in the "Capture Your Art" Program - 2003
- TASCAM REP OF THE YEAR! - 2004
- TASCAM REP OF THE YEAR! - BOBBY KELLY - 2006
- TASCAM ABOVE AND BEYOND AWARD - JC BITTENCE - 2006
- Rookie of the Year - DAMIAN LANG - 2008

Our Team

Principals

Jeff Mac has a far ranging history in the pro audio and music industry. He graduated from Belmont College with a Bachelor of Business Administration. His five years of retail experience at Sam’s Music in Nashville, Tennessee served as a valuable grounding of the business in a major recording market. Primary responsibilities included building and developing the pro audio and keyboard departments, retail and professional sales and management of the staff.

In 1994, Jeff took a position as National Sales Manager of SADiE Inc., a British based Digital Audio Workstation. During his tenure there he succeeded in considerably raising the American presence of the company through sales presentations, suitable advertising and by transitioning the company from a direct sales model to a dealer distribution model.

In 1997, Jeff moved out on his own as an independent consultant and immediately did extensive work with Yamaha Pro Audio’s digital division. The consultation consisted of developing and implementing a sales and product training regimen for Yamaha’s digital mixers as well performing tradeshow presentation for their digital products at AES and NAMM.

In 1998, Jeff joined Mackie Designs as Eastern Regional Manager, where he was responsible for management of 7 rep firms and more than 700 dealers east of the Mississippi River. Jeff is also a published author in AudioMedia, Keyboard and Video Systems magazines.

Ted Bahas graduated from Ohio University majoring in Film and Video in 1984. He worked for Take One Media Associates in Cleveland from 1985-early 1987and graduated from the Dale Carnegie Sales Training Course.

In 1987, Ted worked at Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks California. He started a new software department there and was the first employee to specialize in and sell computer software. He worked with Doug Provisor, of Digidesign, to set up model inventories for other stores.

In 1988 Ted joined Digidesign as Domestic Territory Manager. His responsibilities included setting up the dealer network west of the Mississippi and setting up first field sales office in Los Angeles. Ted set up new territories in Northwest US and South Eastern US. He regularly exceeded sales targets in a high-performance sales environment. Duties included technical product demonstrations and field support, dealer management and sales.

In 1993 Ted took a position with Sonic Solutions as Central States Territory Manager. His responsibilities included managing a 22 state territory and selling to dealers and end users as well as training of highly technical digital audio systems to post production, broadcast and duplication facilities.

In 1994 Ted worked with Sam's Music, Nashville as a high technology salesman. He designed and integrated large studio packages including wiring, equipment and furniture. He setup over a 130 ProTools systems in and around Nashville area and provided technical assistance, consulting and integration.

Karl McBryde - Vice President of Sales

Prior to his nine years with Techrep, Karl spent ten years as a staff engineer at DBS Recording in Nashville along with an extensive background in the retail side of our industry. He is a graduate of MTSU's Recording Industry Management program. Karl has worked as a DAW consultant and guest lectured at Belmont University, Vanderbilt, SAE, Club Cubase Atlanta, Club Cubase/Nuendo Nashville and many others. Karl is currently covering the state of Georgia and based in Atlanta.

Becky Bahas
Becky graduated from Ohio University majoring in Communications in 1987. She worked in business and sales positions in California and Tennessee before joining the Techrep Team in 2000 as an inside sales manager at the Ohio office. She has a music background playing keyboards and vocals with “Crazy Applesauce” (YES, the Crazy Applesauce) in the 70’s and is currently learning to play guitar.

Carolee McPherson

Carolee has been actively working with TechRep Marketing since 2003. She was an Organizational Communication major in college and studied at both Freed-Hardeman and David Lipscomb Universities. While there she performed with many campus groups including playing keyboards and singing with the top 40's band, "Phoenix". She still enjoys singing and playing piano, but her favorite past-time is spending time with her family. She is married to the illustrious Jeff Mac and they have three beautiful daughters. Carolee prides herself in being one of the only "real" native Nashvillians left at Techrep!

Staff

Bobby Kelly - Territory Manager

Bobby has a long history in the industry in touring and recording. He spent the early 70’s touring with Clair Brothers, Showco & Maryland Sound. Those years had him working with Yes, Jeff Beck, Miles Davis, Bill Monroe & many others. As a recording engineer Bobby has recorded over 150 albums with the likes of Tony Rice, Vassar Clements, T Lavitz & Larry Keel. As a bassist, Bobby has played or recorded with Hubert Sumlin, Bob Margolin, CJ Chenier, Carey Bell, Percy Sledge and many others. Bobby also has over ten years in music retail and has turn-keyed over 100 commercial and project studios. Bobby covers North and South Carolina.

JC Bittence - Territory Manager

JC covers the northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania areas for Techrep. His organizational skills are unparalleled among our company and his experience as a rep, guitar salesman, integrator and live sound engineer make him an excellent resource to our dealers. JC's passion for the industry is rivaled only by his obsession with old rusted machinery. If he is late to an appointment, it's only because his 1923 Dodge Touring car tops out at 35 MPH.

Jamie Criswell - Territory Manager

Jamie covers southern North Carolina and Eastern West Virginia for Techrep. Jamie has a long history in the industry as a salesperson, integrator, rep and rep principal. He is also 6 foot 7 and is of great assistance in collecting past due invoices and reaching things on the top shelf in the warehouse.

Rusty Sulzmann - Territory Manager

Rusty Sulzmann refers to it as “life without the possibility of parole” when it comes to his love of music and audio recording. First picking up a guitar at the age 15, he played his first bar gig at age 17. Before joining Techrep, Rusty spent time as a Production Assistant at Soundelux Showorks and most recently as the Western Regional Manager of Auralex Acoustics, Inc.

Chris Bednar, CTS - Territory Manager

Chris has grown beyond his original Techrep title (Boy Wonder) but not because it no longer applies. After a certain number of children, you can no longer refer to someone as "Boy" and Chris is up to three Little Chris Juniors at home now. He continues to show the aptitude for technology that won him that title in the first place. Chris is a key member of our team from a design standpoint as he applies his deep knowledge of EASE, CAD and Scrabble to the range of projects that he gets dropped into. He will also occasionally still wear his utility belt on a dealer training call. If you really needed someone to help you steal the Declaration of Independence, Chris would be at the top of your list.

Damian Lang - Territory Manager

Before coming to Techrep, Damian traveled the world as a touring musician. On his last European tour, an airline baggage handler smashed most of his 70s Slingerland kit. Being a musician, money to replace the kit was tough to come by but his experience in the industry earned him a spot on the Techrep team. Now he spends most of his days in music stores, listening to kids pound on shiny new drums.

Dan Bostick - National Sales Manager - FullscaleAV

Dan has been working in music retail and pro audio manufacturing for almost two decades including tech support, training and marketing roles at Mackie Designs and AKG Acoustics. He is a graduate of Belmont University's music business program and has performed in rock, jazz, and percussion ensembles from Seattle to Singapore. He is also an avid collector of vinyl records, vintage keyboards and machines that go "ping." Dan manages sales and marketing for Techrep's distribution company, Full Scale AV based in Nashville, TN. Full Scale AV is a leading distributor of professional software and audio equipment for recording, live sound production and audio contractors. www.fullscaleav.com

Steve Wingo - Territory manager

Steve joins TRM with a lifetime of experience in audio. He attended Birmingham-Southern College majoring in music composition and later went on to open two music retail stores in Birmingham. Steve has been a manufacturer’s rep for over 16 years. His passion for the industry, coupled with his technical knowledge makes him a great resource for our team.

Joe Gilder - Product Specialist

After studying recording and production at Middle Tennessee State University, Joe spent three years as a Sales Engineer for music retailer Sweetwater Sound, where he laid a great foundation in both sales experience and technical training. While at Sweetwater, Joe launched HomeStudioCorner.com, a training website for home recording studio owners. Joe is a songwriter and is also a worship leader at his church in Nashville. He is happily married and is the proud father of two slightly-overweight cats.

Becca Sanders - Inside Sales Rep

Becca had an impressive resume, until Techrep ruined it. Her former employers include MCA records and Ultrasone where she was the VP of Operations. Her experience in this industry has practically made her a household name if you have worked in the music biz for more than a week. Becca keeps our Nashville operation running smoothly, assists with Marketing deployment and aides in our inventory management.

Ricardo Hurtado - Office Administration

Ricardo has no experience in music aside from working at Techrep Marketing. He is in the process of learning to play guitar but for the most part, he stinks. Incase his musical endeavors are fruitless, he is currently pursuing a career as a standup comedian. He has travelled to various cities in and around the Midwest and looks to expand those horizons.

James Wise - Product Specialist

Ever since he learned to tie his shoes, James has been obsessed with strings. Guitar strings, bass strings, fiddle strings, banjo strings... you name it. When James is not in the office being our resident Rock Star, he can be found at the local Blue Grass Jam wowing his adoring fans. His experience in music retail, recording and studio management make him a great asset to our inside sales team.

Caryn Tovtin - Awesome chic

If you have ever called our office and gotten Caryn on the phone, you should consider yourself lucky. Caryn started at Techrep as our outgoing correspondence coordinator. She could make a lit binder in 3.6 seconds! (4.2 if the rings were hard to separate.) Since printed materials are going the way of the Dodo, Caryn has become the official Techrep Slack-Picker-Upper. Her experience as an elementary school teacher gives her the expertise and thick skin that she needs to deal with all the children in the above list.