A; My parents bought me an acoustic guitar (which I still have) when I was in 7th grade, but I didn't really do well with lessons. I got back into it around 10th grade and it stuck. That Christmas I got my first electric guitar (which I still have). I played that through my dad's old Heathkit stereo amp until I could save up and buy a Peavey Bravo, a fairly nice sounding tube amp with nice overdrive and clean channels. I had heard of "effects" and was eager to try them and wound up with a Ibanez Soundtank series chorus pedal, that I didn't end up using very much. I'd also hard of rackmount processors so I eventually bought an Alesis Quadraverb which I also didn't wind up using very much. These early experiences encouraged me to focus primarily on a guitar into an amplifier. Another decade or so would pass before I got curious about pedals again.

A; In my twenties my focus was primarily on recording, but through that I started learning some about electronics and how gear works and acquired some vintage tube amps that required servicing that I taught myself how to do. Around 2009 or 2010 I built my first from-scratch guitar amplifier, prompting my wife to say, "I'm glad we don't rely on you building amps for a living." Within 3 years of that I'd designed a couple of amplifiers of my own and started a company, Dusky Electronics, when I put one of those into production: the D2O amplifier. Amplifier production turned out to involve a lot of waiting for vendors to do things, so I got into pedal design around that time, too, so by the time the D2O was ready for release I also had a couple of original pedal designs as well, the Toasted Drive and the Octomotron. I've been plugging away at it ever since.

A: 2013. I designed my first guitar amplifier in 2011, though.

A: I am a freelance software developer.

A: I'd like to get enough help with production that I can focus on R&D and come out with new designs more often.

A: I basically work to support my music habit, so almost all of my hobbies are music related. In addition to Dusky, I record, I play guitar in a few bands, and am learning to play the drums. I bake sourdough bread, cook, and have spent enough time in Italy to become semi-fluent in Italian.

A: The sweetest tortoise shell cat named Josie. And the dumbest, most ridiculous "dog" I have ever encountered, named Scruffy.

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