 Standel (a portmanteau of "standard" and "electronics") was the name of Crooks' side-business of radio and hi-fi repair, located in his garage at 10661 Freer Street, Temple City, California.In 1952, Bob Crooks was approached by inventor-musician Paul Bigsby, who advanced the engineer 75 dollars to build him a custom amplifier to go with the then famous Bigsby solid-bodied electric guitars and pedal steel guitars.It was the first Standel branded amplifier.