John Frusciante’s DOD FX80B/FX55

This DOD pedal first appeared on John’s pedalboard around 1991, at the start of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour. Below is a photo from December 31, 1991, taken at the Cow Palace. The DOD pedal, circled in red, is positioned right next to a Boss DS-2.

There’s some debate about which specific model this DOD pedal is. It could be a DOD FX80B Compressor or a DOD FX55 Distortion. Both pedals are red and look nearly identical, making it tricky to identify based on the photo alone. However, it seems more likely to be a compressor since John already had a distortion pedal on the board—the DS-2.

That said, we can’t completely rule out the possibility that John needed a different distortion tone for certain songs, which could make the FX55 Distortion a valid candidate.

Another contender is the DOD FX52 Classic Fuzz. While it has a similar design, it features an orange finish, unlike the red pedals mentioned above. Based on another photo, taken just a few days earlier on December 27, 1991, at the LA Memorial Sports Arena (thanks to Ryan for sharing it), the pedal does appear to be red, narrowing the possibilities slightly.