An Intersection of Music and Science: A Conversation with Strymon's Pete Celi

Strymon co-founder Pete Celli's career is a blend of passion for music, especially guitar, and engineering. His intimate connection to both disciplines informs his understanding of the practical needs of musicians and how to fulfill them. 

Strymon emerged from Damage Control Engineering in 2009 with the launch of the all-analog OB.1 compressor pedal, and it’s been a whirlwind of activity ever since. Strymon products have redefined or even created entirely new market segments over the years, with products like BigSky, TimeLine, Iridium amp modeler, Flint, and El Capistan becoming household names the world over because Strymon listens to their customers and ARE their customers.

Pete and his co-founder team at Strymon are always looking for new ways to generate the sounds they hear in their heads, and along the way they have evolved and refined their design and engineering skills. A great example of unique "sound in your head" is the Strymon NightSky, which does an excellent job of blending reverb and echo into a user editable ambience creator. And, the new and powerful BigSky MX, which allows the user to run two reverbs at once highlights refined engineering skills. Finally, consider the Zelzah, one of Pete's personal favorites, that blends chorus and phasing from different eras (70s, 80s, etc.) and allows the user to create their own hybrid sound.

Recently they have introduced several plugins modeled after some of their most successful products. The plugins include BigSky (of course!), El Capistan, DIG, and Deco. Definitely worth checking out.

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Pete was kind enough offer some of his many thoughts...

Could you share a bit about your musical background and how you found yourself at the intersection of music and engineering?

My journey, like many in this industry, began with a love for music. I started playing clarinet in the fifth grade. I was in the junior high band and I picked it up fairly quickly. But clarinet wasn't something I was truly passionate about.  

What sparked your deeper interest in music?

In junior high I started to play piano. We had a couple of these older instruments at home. One was called the Optigan. It was an optical disc-based instrument, a sort of consumer-level device. It had a keyboard for melody, and the left hand had keys for chords and bass lines. You could select different tempos and styles like samba, calypso, or rock and roll. It came with books to help you play. While it wasn't a real piano, it did teach me some basics of music theory, like chord structures.  

An interesting introduction to music…

I think I remember seeing a modern recreation of something like that at SynthPlex a few years ago. But since we couldn't get a real piano, a neighbor offered to teach me guitar and he let me use his older acoustic guitar. I was about 14 and that's when things really took off for me. I quickly became captivated by it.  

https://youtu.be/39p2WZf-bek

The Optigan at SynthPlex

Was there a specific moment that solidified your passion for it?

Absolutely. One day, I went to my guitar teacher's house for a lesson, and he had an old Silvertone electric guitar and amplifier. I still had the old acoustic guitar, which could be a bit of a painful experience. He let me try the electric guitar, and as soon as I played a note through the amplifier with reverb, I was hooked. It was a transformative experience. That was the seed for my ongoing relationship with the electric guitar.  

And, you continued with guitar through your high school years?

Yes, I continued learning, bought Mel Bay books, and played with friends in garages. We played some gigs at parties and things like that. At the same time, I was also drawn to math and science in school. When it came time to decide what to do after high school, I was debating between pursuing music or engineering.  

What led you to choose the engineering path?

It was really the course offerings that steered me. I hadn't really considered electrical engineering and electronics until I started looking at the curriculum. My older brother was a mechanical engineering major, and I knew about civil engineering, but when I saw courses like active network theory, filter design, and amplifier networks, I realized that's what you study if you want to work on the kind of equipment that was interesting to me as a guitar player.  

Did you have any formal musical training beyond guitar lessons?

After I graduated college, I worked at Analog Devices in Massachusetts before I decided to move to California to attend GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology, now Musicians Institute). I had been reading about it in Guitar Player magazine for a long time, and I had always wanted to move to the West Coast. So, I worked for three years, saved up enough money, and moved to California.

That’s a bold move!

 80s Ford Aerostar

It was a great time. The sense of freedom was incredible. I bought a Ford Aerostar cargo van to pack my belongings, and a friend and I drove across the country. Everything was new and exciting.  

What was your biggest takeaway from GIT?

Pete Celi Shredding

That I wasn’t going to be a professional musician! (laughs) The level of musicianship there was insane. Guys like Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, and Joe Pass were around. The top players were just on another level. But I also realized that my love for music didn’t have to be limited to playing—I could contribute by designing the tools musicians use.

After GIT, you ended up at Alesis. How did that happen?

I started writing letters to every company I saw in Guitar Player magazine. I sent one to Alesis, and a few weeks later, they called me in. They had this policy that all engineers started in the repair department before moving to development. I was fine with that—I just wanted to be in the industry. Eventually, because of my history at Analog Devices, I moved to ASIC design, working closely with Keith Barr, the founder of Alesis.

Keith Barr is a legend in the audio industry. What was it like working with him?

MI Legend Keith Barr

Keith was a genius. He was entirely self-taught, but had an incredible ability to solve complex problems by breaking them down intuitively. Working with him was one of the most valuable experiences of my career.

After Alesis, you moved to Line 6. What led to that transition?

At Alesis, I started feeling like I was working on technology rather than products. I wanted to be closer to the actual music. Line 6 was at the forefront of digital modeling, and I was excited to be part of that. I worked on the Variax guitar, which was a huge learning experience. I got to develop DSP algorithms and really dig into sound design.

Then came Damage Control and eventually Strymon. How did that shift happen?

Damage Control Liquid Blues

Some former coworkers from Alesis and Line 6 wanted to start something new. I joined them, and we became Damage Control. We made these large floor pedals with 12AX7 tubes running at high plate voltage, combined with DSP. They were like spaceship-looking things.

Peavey distributed those products for a time?

Peavey Vypyr

The people who bought the Damage Control pedals loved them, but they were big, heavy, and had unique power supply requirements, and they weren't really able to sustain the business. So, we struck a deal with Peavey where they became our distributor, and we were hired as consultants for the Peavey Vypyr amp line. 

What came after the Peavey consulting?

We took what we learned from Damage Control and worked on a new line of products. We knew they had to be small, lightweight, and use high-powered DSP. We leveraged the design work we had done for Damage Control and came up with this new line that we branded as Strymon. We decided to sell the new products direct from our website. The timing turned out to be right for putting all that DSP power into a small pedal, focusing on performance, noise specs, and converters.  

Strymon's impact on the pedal market is undeniable. Were you surprised by the initial success?

Strymon OB.1

Yes, we were. We originally released the OB.1 analog optic compressor, which was a great compressor, but a bit of a niche product. After that we released 4 digital pedals pretty much at once – The Brigadier delay, the Ola Chorus, the Orbit flanger and the Blue Sky reverb. The Brigadier, Ola and Orbit, while great sounding pedals, were not big hits. But The BlueSky reverb was the one that put us on the map.

The BlueSky was a game-changer for reverb pedals

BigSky MX

It was. Reverb pedals weren't really a big thing back then. No one was dedicating such a large amount of DSP processing power to a single reverb algorithm, certainly not in a pedal. We laugh now, but our international distributor said it wouldn't matter what we charged for the reverb, because no one would buy it anyway! We remind him of that every now and then.

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Strymon is now a household name in the pedal world. What was the breakthrough moment for the company?

It started with the BlueSky reverb, and then ramped up from there when we launched the El Capistan tape-style delay a few months later. We felt like we could really build a company at that point.

Let’s talk about Strymon’s design philosophy. How do you and your team approach product development?

It always starts with a goal to design the highest quality product in every phase, from hardware, to user experience, to sound. For things I work on, I have an idea of how something should sound, and I rely on experience and intuition to figure out how to achieve it. Some of the more advanced DSP projects of the last few years, including our amp modeling,  Impulse Response algorithms, and the new reverbs in BigSky MX, have been done entirely by other members of the team who are much better at the real “math” stuff than I am.

Has the shift to remote work over the last few years affected Strymon’s development process?

Surprisingly, productivity didn’t drop when we went remote. Our engineers all have home labs, and they only come into the office when necessary. I do miss the camaraderie, though. Those impromptu hallway discussions were valuable. I personally prefer working in the office—I get too easily distracted at home!

Strymon has also entered the plugin space. What’s your take on that?

I see it as a way to make our sounds more accessible. But personally, I’m more passionate about hardware. The plugins are mainly driven by the team, and I trust them to get it right.

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Where do you see the future of guitar effects going and of course Strymon?

I think players are moving toward all-in-one solutions for live performance. Musicians want portability and convenience. That said, individual pedals still have their place, especially for home players and purists. We’re always experimenting. I can’t reveal too much, but we’re looking into new ways to integrate DSP with classic analog sound. We’re also paying attention to trends in live performance gear.

Last question—who are your favorite guitarists?

Jeff Beck and Alan Holdsworth are two of my all-time favorites. Recently, I’ve been blown away by Matteo Mancuso. He’s on another level!

https://youtu.be/ndYD94q0uK4?si=vXalIHLytmt6NOE9

A Matteo Mancuso tribute to Jeff Beck

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