I founded Doppler FX after years of building and repairing audio and electronic equipment. Before setting off on my own, I was building for a large tube amplifier company in Massachusetts. In October of 2025 the Ball Lightning was released into the world. This was my attempt at distilling the relationship a player can have with the high-wattage amplifiers I love so much into the stompbox format. I am very proud of it and I hope you enjoy it too. Maybe it can even find a place in your art.

- Matt Smalley, Doppler FX Founder

Matt thrives in Queens, NY with his loving girlfriend and their cat, Keith Hernandez. You can hear him play all over town with his own music, Goat Motel, or drumming with the avant-jazz group Disensembles.