Right after discovering grunge, I bought my first electric guitar: a black 1992 Yamaha RGX. It was an inexpensive workhorse—a very lean but overall well-crafted “super-strat.” At first, its only companion was a solid-state Charvel amp with a single channel and a two-voice built-in overdrive (rock or metal, mainly driven by different mid-range settings).
However, I soon realized that I needed a pedal—an overdrive or distortion—to emulate my heroes: Cobain, Hendrix, and Metallica. I had a few bucks and there was only one music shop in town, Discobolo. They sold everything: instruments, sheet music, and records. I stepped inside, probably with my brother or my mother, or both.
After explaining what I was looking for, I was presented with the DOD Classic Tube FX53. Based on the serial number, the pedal was likely manufactured in the early ’80s, meaning it was already ten years old when I bought it. I tested it using a Strat and a large Marshall tube amp, and I liked it immediately.
Once I got home, I plugged in my guitar and cranked everything to ten. The tone was completely different—very, very dark. At the time, I knew very little about what it takes to shape a good tone, so I had to learn by trial and error.
I never truly fell in love with this pedal, but it was the first effect I ever owned. It is forever tied to sweet memories of me playing Nirvana and Hendrix on a weird rig in my parents’ garage.
