Bob Crooks founded the Standel Company in Temple City, California in the early 1950s as a custom guitar amplifier company. In the late 1950s Standel expanded their product line to include electric guitars, with a telecaster style instrument made for Standel by Semi Moseley of Mosrite. In the mid1960s another collaboration with Moseley led to a Standel guitar with a reverse bodied stratocaster style body (like the Mosrite Ventures model). The Standel Custom model was made from 1966 until 1967 by Joe Hall at the Bakersfield factory - its low output pickups were desgined to be matched with a Standel amplifier. In 1967 there was also a line of 10 semi-hollow body and arch-top guitars, five acoustic models (with 12-string variants) and two basses. These were designed and made by Sam Koontz and The Harptone Manufacturing Company.

In 1972, as a result of financial difficulties due to warranty repairs on defective components, Standel was sold to Randall Instruments Inc and then  CMI established a controlling interest. Intially the Standel range was consolidated to a smaller number of models,using modular circuit boards. In 1972 the Standel brand name was replaced by SG Amplifiers and these amps used hybrid solid state and tube circuits - but the factory was soon closed down and the Stadel brand name abandoned.

In 1997 Bob Crooks regained control of the Standel brand and licensed Danny McKinney to make Standel amplifiers, in Glendale, California. After Bob Crooks died in 1999 McKinney continued to operate the Standel Company and eventually became the sole owner of The Standel Company and The Standel Company trademark. In 2007 the Standel factory moved to Ventura, California.

Source: Standel Musical Instrument Amplifiers website (17 July 2019)