When I started playing on my ¾-size Yamaha guitar, I quickly felt the magic that many other players feel. I knew I had the desire! My first electric was a Danelectro, but being a teenager who didn’t know the value of things, I smashed it to pieces in the streets of Kaiserlautern, Germany. My friends and I laughed, especially after we tied the remains to my bicycle and rode around the village in a triumphant whirl!

I regret that destruction to this day, but the reason behind it was that I had just got my first Stratocaster. I was also armed with a Peavey Deuce (with 4 x 6L6GC valves in the output stage), so was in heaven. My first effects unit was an Ibanez MS-10. I asked my Dad, who was an Electronics Engineer, what we could do to make it sound better. I also asked him how to make the amp louder, which proves I was crazy. He was OK with modifying the Ibanez, but not so keen on boosting the amp.

Later I enrolled in electronics technical college covering everything from analogue circuits to computer repair. During this time I got a part-time job as a technician in an expensive audiophile store. I was repairing a wide variety of high-end audio gear, and at the same time started modifying my own guitar amps. My next few jobs saw me designing pre-amps for Sony VCR's used for surveillance, and remote control panels for CD players so record store customers could select from a range of 100 discs to listen to. Meantime I finished college and enrolled at the University of Oklahoma to continue my education.

During this time I started a business, just out of passion, repairing and upgrading Fender amps, and built my own modifications into dozens of them. I also built my own valve amps based around the Deluxe and Bassman designs. My experience with audiophile equipment meant that I had already learned what to do to improve the sound of standard, mass-produced equipment.

My final University project was a microprocessor-controlled analogue delay unit using Panasonic BBDs. I had programmed the microprocessor to accept keypad inputs for the different delay times. It had a built-in digital tuner and could also be controlled by a PC. The course tutor was a big music fan and when I brought in a Fender amp and a 1967 blue Musicmaster to demonstrate my project, he marked an A on the paper before I even played it!

Later, while teaching electronics in a private college, I was developing my effects modifications in my spare time. Very soon the pressure of developing my Compressor plus the TS9 and BD-2 modifications meant I had to resign my job and go into business full time. This proved to be the right move as the business grew 5-fold in the first year. One of the biggest challenges is keeping up with demand.

The key element behind this success, second only to sound quality, is my approach to customer service. Being in repair shops and dealing with the public directly over audio gear for over a decade made that my founding principle. The Keeley Electronics philosophy is all about engineering the finest in customer service.

The same service and support philosophy is now available in the UK from our exclusive and official distributor, Dave Cartwright, owner of Moonphase Ltd.