{"id":5305,"date":"2012-03-16T12:47:39","date_gmt":"2012-03-16T17:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=5305"},"modified":"2012-03-16T15:05:56","modified_gmt":"2012-03-16T20:05:56","slug":"affected-but-still-manufacturing-and-making-music-in-oklahoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2012\/03\/16\/affected-but-still-manufacturing-and-making-music-in-oklahoma\/","title":{"rendered":"Effected, But Still Manufacturing and Making Music in Oklahoma"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_5314\"  class=\"wp-caption module image center\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Robert Keeley\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/robert-keeley.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5314\" title=\"Robert Keeley\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/robert-keeley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/robert-keeley.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/robert-keeley-500x295.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/robert-keeley-150x89.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/robert-keeley-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ NPR StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Robert Keeley and the first-ever Keeley Compressor, the first and best-selling effect his company manufactures.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Jeans and rock band t-shirts are the uniform at Keeley Electronics, and almost every one of the 18 or so employees works with earbuds in \u2014 and an iPod nearby.<\/p><p>This doesn\u2019t seem like a factory, but it is. And it\u2019s growing and expanding in a state that\u2019s been hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs.<\/p><p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5309\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Technician Shaun Brown assembling the components of an effects pedal, which are all hand-wired.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly3.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5309\" title=\"Shaun Brown\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly3-300x174.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly3-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly3-500x290.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly3-150x87.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly3.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ NPR StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Technician Shaun Brown assembling the components of an effects pedal, which are all hand-wired.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Robert Keeley\u2019s office is a waist-high sea of guitar amps.<\/p><p>Downstairs is flooded, too. He opens the door to one office space with caution. It\u2019s wall-to-wall guitars, which are filed neatly in their cases.<\/p><p>&#8220;Everyone is surprised when I say I&#8217;m a manufacturer. &#8216;Really? In Edmond, Oklahoma?&#8217;,&#8221; Keeley says, recounting a puzzled tone he regularly hears.<\/p>\n<div><p>The business began with a bad omen.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Keeley shipped out his first guitar effects pedal on Sept. 11, 2001.<\/p><p>The electrical engineer and guitarist got to the post office early, \u201cbefore everything came apart,\u201d and mailed a Keeley Compressor to his first customer. The eBay sales picked up, and a year later he decided not to return to his job at Vatterott College, where he taught tech students basic electronics.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignleft\">\n<h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4>\n<div class=\"links\">\n<h5>Posts<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/maps\/migration-patterns-where-people-go-when-they-leave-oklahoma\/\">Migration Patterns: Where People Go When They Leave Oklahoma<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"topics\">\n<h5>Topics<\/h5>\n<p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2011\/09\/quality1-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/topic\/quality-jobs\/\">All About OK\u2019s Quality Jobs Program<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2011\/11\/internet-taxTN-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/topic\/internet-tax\/\">Brick-And-Mortar Retailers Want an Internet Tax in Oklahoma<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><p>\u201cFrom there it was pure magic,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery year the sales doubled.\u201d<\/p><p>In 2004-2005, Keeley\u2019s effects pedals were added to a catalog assembled by venerable guitar maker Fender, which distributes the publication of musical instruments to brick-and-mortar dealers throughout the country.<\/p><p>\u201cEvery mom-and-pop shop in America had a catalog with a Keeley Compressor in it,\u201d Keeley says.<\/p><p>It didn\u2019t stop with catalogs and local dealers. Musician\u2019s Friend added his pedals to their roster of products, and Guitar Center started carrying Keeley\u2019s pedals in some of its stores. Instrument dealers now comprise about 75 percent of his sales, Keeley says.<\/p>\n<h3>Show Me the Way<\/h3><p>But Keeley Electronics really came alive in 2005.<\/p><p>Legendary English musician Peter Frampton has a signature sound defined, in part, by the \u201ctalk box,\u201d an unmistakable effect he helped popularize in the mid-1970s.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZvGSwIWuAp0\" frameborder=\"1\" align=\"right\" width=\"300\" height=\"233\"><\/iframe><\/p><p>The effect employs a tube, which allows a musician to use their mouth to change the frequency of a guitar or other instrument \u2014 to \u201ctalk\u201d or sing through the instrument, in effect.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">(Fast-forward to about :15 in the video to the right to hear it yourself.)<\/p><p>In 2000, Peter Frampton started selling his own version of the talk box. When Frampton started looking for a new company to take over manufacturing, he turned to Keeley, who he\u2019d been trusting to repair his vintage effects.<\/p><p>After a show in Nashville, Frampton invited him up to his hotel room, Keeley says.<\/p><p>\u201cThe deal was kind of done on a handshake,\u201d he says, and Keeley Electronics has been making Frampton\u2019s signature \u201cFramptone\u201d talk box effect since 2005.<\/p>\n<h3>Business Ablaze<\/h3><p>By 2008, Keeley Electronics reached $2.5 million in sales, growth led by their first and best-selling product \u2014 the Keeley Compressor \u2014 a guitar effect <a href=\"http:\/\/www.harmonycentral.com\/reviews\/91593\">beloved<\/a> by both amateur pickers and celebrity strummers like John Mayer, Pearl Jam and Dweezil Zappa.<\/p><p>Keeley\u2019s company had caught fire. In January 2009, it caught fire \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/newsok.com\/blaze-brings-setback-to-firm\/article\/3338348\">literally<\/a> \u2014 and the full force of the recession nearly smoldered his business.<\/p><p>The layoffs started that year, Keeley said. More than a dozen employees were let go, cutting his full-time staff by more than half.<\/p><p>\u201cThe economy was really tanking then,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was really sad. It wasn\u2019t anything they were doing wrong, I just couldn\u2019t afford them.\u201d<\/p><p>Keeley wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5307\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Crystal Gilles attaches switches and input jacks to a case that will house an effects pedal.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5307\" title=\"Pedal Assembly\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ NPR StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crystal Gilles attaches switches and input jacks to a case that will house an effects pedal.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Oklahoma lost more than 15,000 non-farm jobs from 2009-2010, data from the state Department of Commerce <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ok.gov\/oesc_web\/Services\/Find_Labor_Market_Statistics\/index.html\">show<\/a>. Manufacturing bore the brunt of those losses here <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/08\/28\/magazine\/does-america-need-manufacturing.html?pagewanted=all\">as it did <\/a>throughout the country. About 6,200 \u2014 or 40 percent \u2014 of those losses were manufacturing jobs, the data show.<\/p><p>Recently, the <a href=\"http:\/\/newsok.com\/consumer-confidence-drives-oklahomas-economy-states-finance-director-says\/article\/3657337?custom_click=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Newsok%2FNews%2FLocal+%28NewsOK.com+RSS+-+news+%3E%3E+local%29&utm_content=Google+Reader\">news<\/a> is better. The number of manufacturing jobs increased 5.9 percent from January 2011 to January 2012, which Commerce officials say added about 7,400 people to the Oklahoma workforce.<\/p><p>Business has picked up at Keeley.<\/p><p>Keeley Electronics is growing and hiring \u2014 and Kelley has re-hired many of the same workers he was forced to layoff during the worst of the recession.<\/p><p>Keeley effects are wired and assembled by hand in a small, two-story unit next to a college dorm in an Edmond office park. Men \u2014 and a surprising amount of women \u2014 solder each and every resistor and component to bright green circuit boards.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5312\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Matthew Adams uses a drill to tightly wind wire that will be used to connect electronic components.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly6.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5312\" title=\"Matthew Adams\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly6.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly6-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2012\/03\/assembly6-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ NPR StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Adams uses a drill to tightly wind wire that will be used to connect electronic components.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Every screw, bezel and washer is hand-tightened. Effects pedals \u2014 often called stompboxes \u2014 are foot-operated, and the result of the hand-assembly process is a sturdy metal brick that protects delicate electronic audio components.<\/p><p>Hand-building the effects pedals also gives the technicians a keen understanding of how to repair a customer\u2019s unit. Keeley also does brisk business repairing vintage effects and modifying other manufacturer\u2019s pedals, which customers send in for customization.<\/p><p>The current bottom line for Keeley Electronics: roughly 1,000 units a month.<\/p><p>And Keeley&#8217;s pedals aren&#8217;t cheap.<\/p><p>\u201cThey <em>are<\/em> expensive,&#8221; he admits. &#8220;The components and craftsmanship are just part of it,&#8221; he says. Doing repairs is costly and time-consuming, too, he says. And then there are your workers.<\/p><p>&#8220;It takes a lot of money to pay people right,&#8221; Keeley says. &#8220;It takes a lot to be in business in America.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jeans and rock band t-shirts are the uniform at Keeley Electronics, and almost every one of the 18 or so employees works with earbuds in \u2014 and an iPod nearby.This doesn\u2019t seem like a factory, but it is. And it\u2019s growing and expanding in a state that\u2019s been hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":5314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[300,15],"tags":[336,240],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5346,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5305\/revisions\/5346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}