About Strymon

Artists. Innovators. Thinkers.

Damage Control Engineering began in 2004, founded by three next-level engineers who had grown tired of working for big companies. Tube-driven effects like the Glass Nexus and the original TimeLine delay followed soon after, quickly earning kudos for both their innovative analog circuits and killer DSP and sound design.

Strymon officially began in 2009 with the launch of the all-analog OB.1 compressor pedal, and it’s been a whirlwind of activity ever since. Many Strymon products have redefined or even created entirely new market segments over the years, with products like BigSky, TimeLine, Mobius, Zuma, Flint, El Capistan and Volante becoming household names the world over.

Our goal is to empower musicians with technology that feels effortless – with feature-rich products that are easy to use and sound amazing right out of the box, allowing you to make YOUR music quicker and better than ever. We sweat the little stuff so that you don’t have to, refining the products we make to ensure that you’ll be delighted to use them for as long as you’re making music. We hope you’ll stick around and keep an eye on us, as there is always more to come!

Built In The USA.

At Strymon, we’re proud to design, build, and ship all our pedals right here in Southern California.

Keeping production local ensures that we can maintain our uncompromising standards of quality, getting our innovative products into the hands of musicians around the world faster. This approach also allows us to support our community by hiring local talent.

Our commitment to excellence and our roots in Southern California drive everything we do, ensuring you get the best possible gear to inspire your creativity.

Meet the Team.

PETE CELI

Co-Founder, DSP Engineer

Pete Celi is perhaps the most visible of the three co-founders at Strymon, as he is the lead DSP engineer and contributes to the content output at the company.

It is his golden ears and creative brain that end up tuning every Strymon product (even all-analog products like the original OB-1 and Compadre still get his input), and his unique ability to translate what he wants to hear into mathematical equations that truly set Strymon’s products apart.

In the span of his career Pete attended the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, designed processing chips for Analog Devices, worked on digital products at Alesis that helped to democratize the entire recording industry, and created entirely new product categories at Line 6 via his integral role in the creation of the Variax guitar line.

GREGG STOCK

Co-Founder, Analog Engineer, CEO

Gregg Stock is the CEO of Strymon, and one of the three co-founders of the company.

In addition to his success at the helm of Damage Control and Strymon, he serves as our chief analog circuit guru, helping to ensure that Strymon effects and power supplies sound amazing and are dependably rock solid.

Over the course of Gregg’s career he has designed military-grade and mission-critical power supplies at Boeing and Power One, designed analog circuits at companies like Alesis and Line 6, and spent years under the hood of every kind of guitar-based device imaginable to truly understand what makes stuff both sound and feel good to guitar players.

DAVE FRUEHLING

Co-Founder, Firmware Engineer

Dave Fruehling is one of the three co-founders of Strymon, and he is the guru of all things software architecture, firmware and MIDI at the company.

A long-time guitarist and gear tinkerer, Dave’s design ethos on simplicity, elegance and product robustness have become ingrained in the DNA of the company.

Over the course of his career, Dave has designed hard drive systems at Seagate, worked on hard disk recorders at Alesis, and worked towards creating popular and category-defining products like the Bass POD, Spider III amplifier and electric and acoustic Variax guitars at Line 6.

MARK MCCRITE

Director of Product Development

Mark McCrite is our Director of Product Development, and it is his follow-through and attention to detail that helps keep our development process moving.

With a strong background in products mixed with a long career as a performing and touring musician, Mark operates as the liaison between every faction in the company, making sure that everyone is aligned and knows what’s going on (which ain’t easy!)

Over his career Mark attended Dick Grove’s School of Music, worked as a live sound engineer, live musician and composer for television, and met all three founders while they all worked at Alesis together. The most knowledgeable music encyclopedia you are ever likely to meet, Mark arrived at Strymon after long stints at Line 6 and Seymour Duncan running Product Management, and he now feels like he has found a true home amongst the crazies.

STEVE CELI

COO, CFO

Steve Celi is Strymon’s COO/CFO, and it is his cool head and fastidiousness (and his decades of experience in the financial and management sectors) that keeps this place from burning down on a monthly basis.

A dedicated cyclist even when the weather doesn’t cooperate, Steve can often be found out on the roads early, long before the rest of the guitar players in the company are up and going.

Steve started on drums and played in a band with his brother Pete (who tells stories of their mother telling Steve off for drumming on the dashboard of the family car), and after college he worked in banking, financial analysis and healthcare networks before moving to companies like DEC, eventually entering the C-suite as a CFO for multiple companies. He’s happy to be working at the company that his brother co-founded, and a good long walk, a good joke and a proper brew are things he looks forward to.

TIM LATHAM

Director of Manufacturing

Tim Latham is Strymon’s Director of Manufacturing, and it is his fortitude and detail-oriented personality that keeps our entire production process from imploding, especially with the supply-chain craziness we’ve all gotten used to during the pandemic!

A lifelong guitarist and writer who grew up in the west of the United Kingdom, Tim’s good humor and positivity in the face of adversity are attributes that we all have learned to lean on. A musician most of his life, Tim left school for an apprenticeship in Tool and Die-making, which was followed by additional studies in Manufacturing and Production Engineering. He moved to Los Angeles, starting an aerospace company, then to Alesis as a Manufacturing Engineer. He also worked at Line 6 in the same capacity at two different times, and was an early Damage Control partner before leaving for the Broadcast industry for a decade.

We’re glad to have him back, and crack jokes about mushy peas on a regular basis.

TERI SPIKER

Director of Sales

Teri Spiker is Strymon’s Director of Sales, and it is her decades of sales experience in the world of MI that helps to keep our dealers happy and healthy.

A bona fide aficionado of all things metal and lead guitar, Teri has spent many years on the supply chain side too, so her varied background makes her a true asset to the company.

Over her long career Teri has run Sales at BC Rich, been a General Manager at Alesis and run materials sourcing for a number of firms, as well as running her own strategic sourcing company for over two decades. While her current love for outdoor fitness occasionally takes over her jones for guitar, when we’re working on something cool she’ll insist on setting up the rig and taking one of her pointy guitars for a spin!

HUGO MERIDA

Director of Test and Support

Hugo Merida runs the Customer Support, Product Testing and Beta Program functions at Strymon, and his decidedly non-hasty voice of reason helps keep our aggressive product development process on course.

A self-taught guitarist since the mid-nineties, Hugo began his career in customer support at Line 6 in 2007. While there his persistence, clear head and attention to detail immediately caught the eye of management, and he moved up the ranks quickly. He came to Strymon in 2013, and now is an integral part of the organization, lending his talent and expertise to not only Customer Service and Testing, but Engineering, Product Development, Manufacturing, QA and Sales.

SEAN HALLEY

Head of Marketing

Sean Halley is Strymon’s Marketing Dude, and it is his experience and ability to relate to musicians and creatives of all stripes that drives the way that we market to our customers.

A celebrated presenter and professional studio/live multi-instrumentalist and composer, Sean also spends a great deal of time on the product side, bringing his decades of experience “on both sides of the glass” as a performer and engineer/producer to the product development process.

Sean has appeared on record with folks like Richard Marx, Simon LeBon, Tony Levin, Vinnie Colaiuta, Michael Manring, Greg Bissionette, etc; played 280+ gigs a year in the 90’s, built recording facilities and gear, composed orchestral music for film and tv and spent two decades in the MI space in Products, Content and Marketing at companies like Avid/Digidesign, Blue Microphones, Line 6, TASCAM and Slate Digital. And he writes a lot lately. Especially bios, for some reason.