Dunlop Crybaby

Come on. Its a wah pedal. You click to turn on, and you click it again. WOW. Its now turned off. Rock the treadle back and forth to get that distinctive wah wah sound.

Sounds quite good for the price. Just dont expect great things. Ive been using this thing for more than three years, so I know my Crybaby pretty well. The treble is the real problem on this pedal, as is the bypass. For me, the treble sounds too thin and harsh. It also seems like there is some gain loss when you have the pedal in its trebliest position. Not great at all. This mid sounds suitable honkey, and the gain recovers a bit here. Sounds quite decent. Bass: too much. I put some extra rubber stoppers under the treadle to prevent too much bass from muddying out my sound. I think this pedal just needs a few tweaks, to make the range more versatile and useable. Over all, its a bit noisy when your not playing, and you are using a high gain setting. Actually, if you roll off your volume, it sounds like wind noise! The bypass is a major tone sucker. It takes out a fair amount of gain and treble even when bypassed. It seems kinda pathetic really, because this is the pedals only real major downfall. or a few bucks more, Dunlop could add a DPDT switch, to remove the sucking, but we are dealing with corporate whores here. For the price, not bad, but not great. A great first wah pedal.

Seems very sturdy. This pedal has probably seen more than 2 weeks continual, hard use. No problems. Pot isnt even scratchy. Only bad thing was the battery door deteriorated after a couple of years, but I dont use a battery any more.

I have never dealt with them.

I tend to stick to rock/britrock/metal/grunge for the most part, and this pedal is fine for these styles, and this price range, but if you have the dough, then I would seriously advise you to cheack out the Budda and Tesse wahs. The might cost a bit more, but ive heard many times that the difference is worth it. Even though im close to ordering a Budda, I will keep this pedal, and maybe put a DPDT switch in it, and a switch to change from a wah to a volume pedal. I like the fact that is a straight up, decent sounding wah pedal for just a few bucks. It really is a shame for the bypass, it really lets the pedal down. I use it with this setup (constantly changing, mind):

Maverick SF1 Custom>Crybaby>TS9>Digitech Whammy>Small Clone>Maxon AD80>Line6 DL4>Marshall DSL100

Duh. Plug in, click on and Go.

Read the previous reviews for wah pedal tone tips.

Ehhh....I bought it twice and hated it twice. The first time I thought it was just my untrained ears. The second time was 2 years later, I knew what I was buying, I plugged in, clicked on, and.....*sigh*. Now granted, I haven't bought any new units in the past few years, so I don't know if things have improved since then, but let me say this: Tweaking the gears inside didn't work. Switching guitars didn't work. Switching amps didn't work. Futzing with the tone controls on my amp didn't work. In both cases they were gone within 2 weeks and both times I felt let down by Dunlop because they had taken a classic effect heard on Hendrix, Zeppelin, etc. and turned it into a chunk of tone-sucking crap that sounded muffled on one end and super fizzy on the other end with no sweet spot in between. I don't know what they did to the Crybaby wah pedal, but this was awful. Twice. NEVER AGAIN!

It was built like the proverbial Bricked necessary room, able to be gigged relentlessly, and put through all sorts of paces.

It just *sounded* like crap. The rest was solid.

Dunlop is generally helpful and courteous. They even had a list of revisions to the Crybaby circuit listed on their website dating back to when they bought the rights to it from Thomas Organ back in the early '80s.

Well, I didn't buy them for their fashionable appeal...I wanted the classic wah sound. Unfortunately, it was not to be had here. I had to scour the used and vintage shops for for 3-1/2 years before I found an old Thomas Organ wah pedal at a decent price.
I won't review that pedal here, as it's not the place for it, but just let me say that I have been more satisfied with it than I was with Dunlop's version of the pedal.
However, if you DO want to read a review of *that* pedal, It's under the Thomas Organ section of this database.

The Dunlop Crybaby is a wah that is super easy to use. I have used Dime Crybabys and all other sorts with knobs and volume when not in use a stuff but the Crybaby Original is straight forward. Push down and rock that foot!

I am using the Crybaby on a Marshall JCM 900 cabinet and a JCM 800 head(the best amp combo i can think of) and it just kicks! It don't crackle or notihng. It always comes crystal clear and can hear that "WahWahWah" even when heavy distortion is used. If you like Hendrix and other phsicaldelic music, this efect is a must!

I trust everything to this wah and would never second guess it. The only part I would back up on it is a spare power supply or battery (9 volt).

You won't need any! It is that good!

I play lots of Hendrix covers like Voodoo Child and Puple Haze so I need this. I also sometimes use it just for fun. I have been playing for about 5 years and have thousands of dollars of gear and the Crybaby is my favorite single effect with the exception of Yngwie Malmsteens tube overdrive. I chose this wah mainly because its a heck of a lot cheaper than "Mister", "Dime" , "Hendrix" and many others and you don't have to spend a million years figuring out how to use it.

First of all if you dont know how to use a wah you shouldnt play guitar. Any sound out of this is a sound you can use. The manual is useless not cuz its bad but because it doesnt need one geez!!

I use a gibson les paul with a boss ds-1 distortion and a line 6 spider 112. It can get noisy with the treble turn all the way up good for standing out of rythym though. I can get wondeful sound of my favorite ska/punk to even metal arist. Forget the dimebag darrel wah this is where its at.

This thing is a friggin brick. Its almost weighs as much as my guitar. But this is a brick seriously. I dont really have any gigs but i would definetly use it especially since clapton does.

never needed to yet

I play ska/punk , blues,surf,metal fun stuff. This pedal is great for it. Any other crybaby totally is either the same exact sound or just plain crap.

Well, unlike most other effects pedals, it has no knobs...

When you've used nearly every wah on the market because you have fanatical friends who love wahs, you can get a decent idea what they are all about. They all swear by their respective wah pedals, so I'll go with what I hear. I rarely use a wah, so investing in a fulltone, teese, or a clyde would just be rediculous. It makes a wah noise, so it does the job for me. I actually use this more often to control feedback pitch and level than to actually make the a-typical chicka-chicka bad porn wah noise or the vocal solo wah thing. But, for those occasions when I need those, it's suitable. Thats it. Nothing more than, well, ok. The actual tone of the pedal seems to be sort of jumpy. That is, it goes from extreme bass to piercing treble. NO midrange whatsoever, and I mean NONE. I tried 6 different crybabys to see if any of them were better. None were, they were all clones of themselves(not that this is a huge surprise). Here are my wah rules:

1. Want a wah that will make all of the people in your audience cry when you hit that solo? Is wah an integral part of your sound? Don't care how much it costs? Buy/order a Teese. Teese is the best of the boutique. In my opinion, of course.

2. You shred? Can you name all of the members of Meshuggah? Who cares how much you want to spend, buy a Morley. Morley is the shredder's wah. I mean, Vai endorses it. Don't even screw with the boutiques. Plus, it's easier to bypass so you can screw with different distortions, chorus, delay, and whatnot. i'm not cracking on metalheads, i love metal, i'm being serious about that. Optical bypass is a great idea, i just wish morley wahs didn't sound like crap without assloads of gain.

3. Want something a bit less than boutique? Play blues? Go for the Bud-Wah.(AKA the rich man's crybaby) Plus, it's purple! Everyone loves purple! Right?........ If you hate purple, I hear Vox makes a mean wah, too.

4. Like to do cover tunes? Crybaby 535Q, or, if you dig digital stuff, that new Boss V-Wah. Actually, go for the 535Q, Boss is overrated. Booooo Boss.

5. Don't use wah much, but want it in your pallate of sounds? Crybaby time. Think about a bypass box or bypass mod if you are a tone fanatic. I suggest the box. I like easy things.

6. Beginner looking to see if you actually like wahs? Never used a wah before and want to get the hang of it to impress members of the opposite sex? Crybaby.

7. Do you make minimum wage? Crybaby.

By the way, not only do I rarely use wahs, but, due to college, I also make minimum wage. So, Crybaby it is. I mean, it's really not that bad, just, know your style, and know that most 60's and 70's artists used vox, not dunlop.

I'm not a huge fan of SPDT switches or direct-mount jacks, but if it breaks, fix it. Or buy a new one eventually. Whatever floats your boat, man. Every wah will eventually fail, as will anything with moving parts. But, it seems fairly strdy, and I spotted no cold joints on the board.

I really don't know, i've never owned a dunlop product before this.

It's alright, nothing special. Find the wah that fits your style and go with it.

turn it on, rock it back and forth

Sounds great. Nice fat sound, good sweep range. Not any more noisy than any other stomp box pedal. The bypass is not the big issue lots of people make it out to be. For the price you're paying this is a great value.

Eventually it will have problems but so will every other brand of wah pedal. They take alot of abuse though. I had a Teese wah that had issues with its switch, so even the really expensive models run into problems. Again, for the price these are a great value.

Bought a replacement pot for an earlier wah and their customer service was fine.

Many people slam this pedal but it is fine for the vast majority of guitarists. The sound is exactly what you want in a wah, and it holds up well with reasonable care. You can spend lots more money on a wah but you probably won't get much more value for your money than simply getting a Dunlop. A great pedal for a great price.

I think we all know...

This and the Vox are my 2 favorite wahs. If you like the classic nasal Page/Hendrix wah, this is the pedal. If you want that really deep, artificial sounding sweep, this is not for you. Yes, it has quirks -- but it's all about TONE.

It will break. This should not by a news flash. Anyone who detracts points here because of a 'scratchy pot' probably complains when their car runs out of gas and won't move anymore. A POT IS AN OLD-FASHIONED DEVICE THAT DERIVES ITS VERY FUNCTION FROM PHYSICALLY MOVING PARTS THAT CREATE FRICTION. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but wake up. Yes, you will have to replace your pot, or at least spray some contact cleaner on it. Heck, the only reason I'm writing this is because I just bought another Crybaby today. It's my 3rd in 12 years of playing, and if I had the money, I'd buy a new one every year. Hendrix used to carry dozens of these things with him. If you want a pedal that will never get scratchy, be prepared to pay a lot of money for something that will sound and feel vastly different, and will probably break down in some other, more expensive way.

No experience. They're probably sick to death of people calling to say, "The pot is scratchy."

If you consider yourself a classic rocker in the Hendrix/SRV/Zep sense, then don't mess around -- this is the pedal you want PERIOD. Well, this or the Vox. I've had them both, and they're very similar. I consider the Crybaby to be like a white t-shirt. It's not flashy, but it gets the job done. People used them 30 years ago, and they're going to be using them 30 years from now. They're cheap. When one breaks -- buy a new one. The one you bought 5 years ago is going to sound the same as one you will get 5 years from now. That's right. Everyone who posts at this site seems to think they have the ears of an Eddie Kramer or something, but let's face it -- you don't. These pedals are built with stamped circuit boards that are shot out by the thousands. You may get one with a loose capacitor or something, but that's about it. They all sound fine. Besides, 90% of tone comes from the fingers and arms, not some germanium chip.

it's a wah. just gotta move your foot back and forth

it is very noisy in mid-high gain settings but did it's job. i wish it was more pronouced and that the frequency range was a little bit broader though. after i few months mine pots got scratchy too.

My setup is a Yamaha Pacifica -> Crybaby Wah -> Mesa Bottle Rocket -> Fender 112 plus.

it does gets very subtle in high gain settings so it is not for nu-metal or heavy metal. get a morley if you play that.

this where this thing could have done better. it is built like a tank. but have had a few problems with it. i got this thing in July and after my first battery died it only worked about half of the time, coincidently mostly when i was at rehersals and such. Now just a few months after i got it, it doesnt shift frequencies and whenever enabled it just stays on the low frequency. i am going to take it in to the shop sometime in the next week and see how much it will cost to fix it. i would gig with it without a backup only because i have a hell of a lot more things to buy and dont want to spend more money on a freakin' wah pedal. i also take care of my gear, but i do run around a lot and maybe a few wires got knocked loose somehow.

i would give a 10 for the casing because that will never break, but the wiring and such i would give a 2 because that could have been done a lot better. then again i did only pay 70 bucks for it. i am being very critical and maybe i just got a dud.

haven't dealt with them

i play Alt. Rock(Built to Spill, Verve Pipe, Afghan Whigs...)to classic rock(Van Halen, Tom Petty, Zepplin, Rush...). i have been playing for three years(VERY DECICATED). Looking back now i should have spent twice as much and got a budda wah because i know they are well crafted and sound better. it doesnt have true bypass but that doesnt bother me at all i dont miss the piercing frequecies my guitar produces.

it is great for the price. however it does eat your bateries, which is not a problem for me because my drummer gets free batteries so i just bum them off him.

again, i am grading this strictly. it was a good pedal and did serve it's purpose well.

k. ANYONE who said that 'YOU HAFTA WEIGH AS MUCH AS AN ELEPHANT' or "HAVE A STRONG BIG TOE' is retarded.
YOU HAVE A DUD. i know, coz i got one myself. thats explored in reliability. BUT, when i got my replacement. EASY. push the front and its on.....
then push the front again when one wants to turn it off
simple.....
maybe those people were just retarded and can't use a wah OR had a dud i don't know but its easy to use

k
is good. no worries hear. you can change the sweep by using the screw....

BAH! sif.....Dunlop are known for makin duds. and i got one....as one guy put it.. it DIED. couldn't have put it better my self. thats EXACTLY what it did. the switch was crap and decided to be gayfaced and not turn on. big fat 1
(lol! it DID work once)

meh
stuff them. lol! support

k. its good. ITS A WAH. it makes a wah sound. and it does this with excellence. good for Jimi, Kirk and others (RATM). if it was stolen, i might buy one of the others but MEH!

Clicka-clicka, whacka-chow, whacka-chow!

A little trebly at times, but if you remove the screw on the saw, you can change the sweep of the pot, making it bassier. I run a '70s ES-335>Crybaby>Digitech RP-200>Fender M-80 Chorus, and I play funk, so I like the treble...

I have owned this since 1979, and replaced the pot in 2002; not bad for a $69 pedal. My brother Dietz had his since 1970, and I just replaced his pot, too. The only gig problems I've had is when the pot finally fried (after cleaning it numerous times with an electronic solvent), it was in the middle of a gig, and the squeal was a nightmare. Had to unplug in the middle of the song and run that wha on my Digitech RP-200, which actually sounded like sh%t.

I've never dealt with the company, only our vintage music store in town...

We play '70s funk, R & B and soul, and this thing wails. A little tinny at times, but you can change the sweep. Probably not a metalheads fave, but when I pull out my old SRV licks, watch out...