Dunlop Crybaby

As there are numerous reviews of how to use it, I'll just mention what I've done to improve it's performance. When I got it, it was hard to switch on and off because of 2 rubber feet that protect the switch. I cut them off with a utility knife and now it switches like a dream--no more stomping up and down on it.

The factory setting is very trebly, so I opened it up and rolled the pot back a little to give it a bit more of the middle chunky sound. I find it to be a bit thin and trebly anyway, I'd prefer something with a narrower range that I can set--maybe one of those RMC's.

Well, I've lost three of the rubber feet, which is a pain, and a capacitor fell out recently, although it was easy to re-install. I would consider losing a component to be pretty rare, but I know a lot of people who've lost those stupid feet.

I use it very rarely, if I needed a wah more I'd probably step up to something a bit thicker sounding, with a narrower range. If it were stolen, I'd probably go ahead and upgrade it. In its defense, I used to have a DOD Wah/Volume that made this look like the Holy Grail.

Freakin easy. Exept changing the battery.

Ibanez blazer series>Boss HR-2>Zoom 510>Crybaby>Zoom GFX-707>Rickenback amp. Isn't really that great. Not much mid range. Low position, I can't hear it, forward position, it hurts my ears.

If you every want to break this, throw it in a trash compactor.

n/a

Doesn't give me the Kirk Hammett sounds I want, but it's ok.

Pathetically easy. And it isn't hard to turn on if you leg contains any muscles.

Fender>Fabtone>CryBaby>MilkShake(Chorus)>Princeton 65.
Awesome wah-wah lot like hendrix or Clapton.

It's friken a tank.

I play any type of rock and metal and this fits the spot perfectly!!!!

I find it hard to turn the damn thing on or off. you have to have a heavy foot to turn the switch on. it doesn't even have a light to tell you if it's on or not. Plus removing 3 of the rubber screws at the bottom of the pedal to access the battery is a bit of a hassle.

I'm using an electric guitar (an ugly model so i won't specify it.) with a Bill lawrence humbucker (the one Dimebag uses)and a Dimarzio PAF, I have a Roland cube 60, and I use a BOSS DS1 with the crybaby. The pedal sounds very very good on the high end (it squeezes your sound to the highest frequency possible!) and sounds real low on the low end...so low you couldn't actually hear the sound of your guitar. This combination of Super high and low frequencies gives this pedal a good and complete "WAH" sound. This pedal sounds cooler when playing the wahka-wahka sound (muting the strings). I suggest you play lotsa hendrix and clapton with this baby!

The pedal uses a 100k potentiometer to generate the wah sound. unfortunately potentiometers wear out in time. you'll have to replace it and it wil cost you. Unlike digital expresion pedals, there are no moving parts. you gotta be a bit careful with this pedal coz of its potentiometer. although it has a sturdy case and it's kinda heavy so i think dropping it once or twice won't be a problem (don't try it though!).

I'm from the Philippines and we don't have a fuckin' jim dunlop store here. damn.

the sound that you get from this thing is great especially when playing the "wahka-wahka" sound (mute the strings with your left hand and strum like hell!). play it with distortion and you still get that crying sound that everybody looks for in a wah. It's pretty reliable but i just don't like that it uses a potentiometer. that's what you get when using analog. Bottom line: great sound, just take care of it.

You step on the toe, you turn it on. Notice I said STEP on it; it won't work if you're sitting down. Loses a couple of points because of this (but really, if you're playing a rock song with a bunch of wah, are you usually sitting down? Maybe if you're wheelchair bound).

This is where this effect goes wrong for me. The tone is harsh and tinny at the high setting, and goes pretty quickly to low and sludgy at the low setting. There's really not too much midrange to this pedal. I play a Squier Strat with Texas Special pickups through this, a Danelectro FabTone, an Arion Stereo Chorus, and a Peavey Rage 158 (which I don't think exists anymore, and for good reason). I've played the same pedal setup with other amps, including a Fender Roc-Pro, and had the same tonal problems with it. I read an article somewhere that a number of artists have had pressure pads put on the footrest, so that it turns on whenever they're standing on it, and this seems to me like the better deal.
By the way, for my two cents on the distortion/wah placement thing--my distortion WILL NOT WORK set before the wah. I don't know if this is a problem with the wah or the distortion, but it's going to be a factor when I shop for the next wah.
I will give it credit, however--for about three days, when the battery is fresh, it works like a charm. Beautiful sound, except for those really extreme high-low tones. I will try this with an AC Adapter before I chuck it out.

You can't break this thing if you jump on it to turn it on. And believe me, I've tried. I've gigged with it a couple of times before and it's never been a problem.

Never dealt with them, although I should try to get an upgrade (the thing still has the rubber-feet battery installation, and the circuitry is dirty with some gooey substance that was in there when I got it for greasing the mechanism--next time I get a pedal, I'm going to wipe it down on the inside).

I play blues, rock, prog, alternative, jazz--everything except country. I've been playing four years (three with this thing), and although I don't like the sound that much, I've never had a single problem with this pedal beyond that. If it were taken, I'd probably check out some of Dunlop's higher-end models (the 535Q comes highly recommended in a couple other reviews). If you're just starting out this is a good pedal to try; I've since learned some things and don't like it as much. The moral of the story is to shop around. My mother bought me this one after I told her I wanted it, but I didn't check it out first. Well, I was fifteen at the time, so I wasn't exactly wise in the ways of wah. If you play mostly clean funk, this is a definite match for you. If you're searching for some rockier wah sounds (i.e. Hendrix, Hammett, etc.) try some other, higher-end models first.

I've found this wah to be very easy to use, apart from the switch, which needs to be pushed real hard to turn on/off. Some people complain that the wah is too insensitive to the amount of rocking you have to do with your foot. But what these people don't think about is that in the above circumstance you can get the wah to do more things you want.(In between frequencies you can get great Kirk Hammett meets Carlos Santana screeches)

I mainly play rock and very sporadicaly metal and blues (Sabbath, Metallica). My setup is very cheap but very effective - Ibanez Tube Screamer/Crybaby/Boss Equalizer to a Leem 40W amp. Using an M-100 LTD ESP guitar. I must say the wah sounds shit(trebly) sometimes, but my Equalizer pedal fixes this.( People must remember this is the classic wah, it's all up to you.) It's still the great classic of all time, you can hear Hendrix in your soul with this wah.

This is one of the many redeeming virtues of this wah. I've actually dropped it twice on a concrete floor plus many times on my floor. It still works as good as the day I bought it. I think you can bench-press with this thing. Would definitely gig without a backup.

Have never dealt with them, cause this wah is so reliable

This wah is the classic. If you are into the Hendrix/Hammett style of wah this is your pedal! Built like a rock, Great emotional sound (that sound that makes you want to cry and tears you up inside). It can get a bit trebly though sometimes, but this adds to the great sound. No intimidating knobs or stuff like that, straight forward. If this wah was stolen, I'd get the FBI and CIA to hunt the guy down, beat him up, and give me my wah back. I'd definitely buy the exact same wah again if it broke, even if I had all the money i could dream of. Stick with this wah, everybody!

Extremely easy.

Good sound quality, except some slight hiss.

Seems sturdy.

No need for customer support yet.

I'm playing disco and funk, and it suits my needs perfectly. The pedal is very rugged, and has nothing useless. Simple and good sounding, legendary stuff. Recommended.

You push the pedal up and down to get the sound. Once you full around with it for a while, you'll get the hang of it.

Sounds pretty good. You can't hear the wah efffect as much wah effect if you have distortion though. My setting goes Ibanez RG-170 ---->Crybaby Wah-----> Ibanez amp. It doesn't add any extra noise when you turn it on, but makes a lot of feedback when the toe side is down. I play a lot of Kirk Hammett's solos, this wah is ok for it, but it doesn't have good variation in tone.

I rely on it. I've had it for about 2 weeks and haven't had any problems. I haven't giged with it yet.

Haven't dealt with them.

Overall this is a good wah pedal for classic rock sounds. If you're trying to play something heavy with distortion, try another pedal like the Crybab 535Q. I think the Q switch would give you more variation in the wah sound. Overall, this isn't a bad pedal.

Push down on, push down off. Sounds like someone with a degree in some fancy university NASA thing invented this...

Right now I'm using this pedal with a Peavey WolfGang Special and a Peavey Special 212 amp...yes I heard most of you sigh when I said the amp. It does suck...the amp I mean. The pedal is very nice. I actually find that it seems to make solo passages sound alot smoother that just using normal distortion. As far as it making you sound like everyone else I'd have to say it's all in how you use it. I don't think that when I use it I sound like everyone else. It comes from your technique, your fingers. Could be a smidge deeper of an effect though. And when you use it on a clean channel the trebble will just about make you pass out. To shrill so you just have to get the hang of only opening it up as far as you need to instead of just whamin' it back and forth. I find that mine has a nice transition from mud to treble...smooth...makes tapping sequences sound almost like you're using a flanger if you do it slowly enough.

No problems here and I bought it used too. Something can always go wrong though.

Never talked to Jim myself acutally...

I tried out a bunch along with this one in the store I bought it from. I was happiest with it over the others obviously or I wouldn't have bought it. I like the way it sounds and the way it plays. I imagine it'll be the wah I keep for life. Nice sound, smooth and gives you a nice range of style when you use it. Does 60's and 70's and does newer well too. You can go from Hendrix to Van Halen to Metallica by changing your amp settings and your technique. I recommend this Wah highly.

you just press down how hard is that?

using it with a dod fx-51 juice box to a pro-tone fender strat

backup- yes better safe then sorry but I would have another crybaby

I am a blues player and this pedal fits nice it also sounds great when I play hendrix.

Jeez... I know 4 year olds that can use this. It you can't, you should seek professional help. No Knobs. Step on it... rock it... Easy.

Sounds good. I tried it with a nice guitar and a junky piece of crap and it sounded great with both of them. People say it makes everyone sound the same... but I don't agree.

If you have trouble using this pedal, you're a frickin' idiot.

Sounds awesome.

I've had mine forever and it still kicks ass.

Anyone who says this is difficult to use (like hard to press or whatever) must be retarded. This pedal is sweet, and that's all there is to it.

I knocked 1 point off 'cuz it's a little bit hard to click "on". Especially if you're sitting down. If you're sitting down, it's impossible.

Ibanez->Ibanez DE-7->Dunlop Crybaby->DOD VGS-50->Matrix 50 watt amp. Not noisy, only a little bit when it's clicked "on". I've heard 2 totally different stories. Some people say it's crappy when it's before the distortion & some people say it has to be before the distortion. I can bust out some R.A.T.M. on it.

I'll put it this way: If an elephant stepped on it, it would sound the same as it were brand new.

No problems

Good

Easy. push on the treble really hard to turn it on. tap your feet to the beat.standin up on in a seat you make a crying fleet of notes.

YOU MUST LEARN THIS:

distortion must come from between the guitar and the baby or its sh*tish. Between the amp and the baby and its not smooth and has alot of feedback

its a tank. play catch or baseball with it.

N/A

funky

The only reason this didn't get a 10 is that I took off two points for the following:
1) You have to push the little button damn hard and it sometimes can be frustrating to get the thing to turn on.
2) What they don't tell you, and what many people don't know, is that you can't plug it in pre-distortion or you get virtually no wah-sound.
Other than that, just rock your foot back and forth to get Gary Hoey, Jimi Hendrix, and all those other guitar gods sound "wow wah" sound.

Right now I have a bass amplifier (an old Roland) <- Crybaby <- Metal Zone MT-2 <- Ibanez Talman. All my equipment sucks, yes, but I've tried the Crybaby without distortion, with my friend's amp, and my friend's guitar. He has an old Peavey amp, and a Washburn something or other. I'm not really sure. In any case, I didn't notice any noise from it, but I do have a few complaints. First of all, since you have to push the thing forward to turn it on, you always get the treble end of the wah first. I don't know if all wah pedals do this or just this one but I don't really like that "feature." Second, the treble end will shatter your ear drums if your amp is cranked. Third, you can't "fade" from open to closed, it kind of goes: open, open, open, half-open, closed. In other words, it's not very sensitive to movement. I'm sure with some kind of treble equalizer you could fix this, but you shouldn't have to. In any case, it IS a wah pedal and does work (sort of).

Well, if I ever did a gig and if I needed wah that desperately, I would bring it without a backup. I used the same 9-volt battery for a few weeks before it quit on me. As far as dependability, I've had it around six months. It's been dropped, stomped on, shaken up, and I haven't noticed anything different. The thing must be made of cast iron. It's heavy enough to be.

Haven't dealt with customer support; haven't needed it fixed.

I believe I've said all I need to say. If it were stolen, I'd track down the man who stole it and thank him. Okay, probably not. But I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, that's for sure.

Very simple to use, it's either on or off. Only problem: no indicator light to tell if it's on or off, and with heavy distortion, it's real subtle and hard to tell if it's on.

I use a Fend. mex Strat, big muff pi and a few random effects into a Peavey Classic Thirty. A little noisy, though I've heard worse. The sound is more old-school than newer wah's.

Mine broke after 2.5 years: the pot needed replacing, which would cost the same to fix as replace. It had this "shush" sound as I rocked it. For this reason alone, I wouldn't buy this pedal if I were you.

Past warranty when it broke, so customer support doesn't matter

If it were still working, I'd love it. But it sucks now. Don't buy this pedal.

Its a wah pedal, pretty simple to use, however, getting a good *sound* out of it is up to you. I find it a little more difficult to use than say a Morley Wah, but I like the sound of it better.
Manual is short, I don't need it really.

Im running a PRS standard 24 through a TS-5 tubescreamer, then the Crybaby, into a Fender Princeton '65. I didn't find any noise or distortion at all..the Wah effect is a little less bold than some others but very nice. Good Jimmi sound, good for most things. It isn't as good as a morley with distortion..but It is more than acceptable. Just don't put it after the distortion.

This thing is very very sturdy. It does not slide on the ground at all and I don't think I could break it if I tried.

Never dealt With them, haven't had to, I suppose this is a good thing.

This is a classic Wah pedal that sounds great. I wasn't sure If I really wanted a Wah pedal when I got it, but now that I have it is indispensable. Once you get used to using it its easy to get a cool wah tone out of it. I would definately buy it again if it we're stolen or lost. I'm glad i have this pedal to help me play what I like. However, if you've got the dough, 160 will buy you a Budda Wah, I've heard some great stuff about those.

It might not be so hard to turn on and off if I stood, but I don't. But otherwise it's simple.

I use a PC-88 keyboard with the left side through the Crybaby then a Phaser. The right side is dry to the Roland KC-500. it's great for getting cutting backup clavi sounds, but it just can't seem to get the subtly of the backup keys on Herbie Hancock's 1973 hit "Chameleon" (but I don't play that part anyways). Also, it's made for guitars; I guess that's why the low end of the keyboard is so soft compair to the ear splitting wavering high notes that are out of reach for guitars. I like noise, this can give off a little if overdriven.

I don't have enough money to back it up, why would I? the AC adapter doesn't work. Advice for every person everywhere: always have 9v batteries on hand.

yeah, funky, but it's good to have a dry line to bypass it 'cuz it might throw off a little noise.

Press down you get wah...simple as that!

My setup is Ibanez RG470-->Crybaby-->Zoom 505-->DOD Grunge-->Fender Automatic GT 25W. This pedal is great! It works ok with heavy distortion like my grunge, but it sounds great when theres a light distortion through it, more like a overdrive. Its not THAT noisy just a little. its a strong sound. im giving it a 9 because i know there is a lot more better wah pedals than this but for this price range its the best. with this wah i was looking for a tom morelo sound like on bulls on parade or something and i got it...exactly. If ur looking for a wah that works good in solos, this isnt it. Im not the kind of guy that plays solos thats why i like this pedal. I play Rage Against the Machine, KoRn, Deftones, Nirvana...ect. This pedal is great! Everyone should have it but i prefer to wait till christmas season for a sale at ur local guitar shop like me because i got mine for more than half off.

Since this thing is really heavy..i think if you dropped it down the stairs it would break. Its reliable but not like DOD or BOSS pedals. If i gigged i wouldn't have a backup.

Never dealt with them

Great wah! It fits into any kind of genre of music like funk(not me), Metal, HEY, it could even flow in jazz(yuck). This pedal could be for anyone and if it were stolen or broken i would buy another. The only thing that i dont like is that you have to press like half way down to start to get wah but then after that its really sensitive.

Getting a good sound out of this is a little tricky. Sure anyone can rock it in tempo for the usual wah sound, but it takes practice to learn to manipulate this baby.

Using a customized Ibanez EX170, with 3 Dimarzio's (x2n/fs-1/super2). Only noisy with high-gain and your pickups off. Very strong wah tone, but I modified mine by setting the pot for full trebele. If you want to know how to do this mail me. It goes Geetar>Crybaby>Ibanez Delay>Peavey Special 212. Can get certain Hammett sounds. He uses a rackmounted wah with it's own eq so his changes song to song.

It's a crybaby enough said.

Never had to see above.

Use it for alot of stuff. Mainly solo's, but it can do so cool stuff for rhythm. You just have to practice with it alot. Been playing a good while, and really did this pedal. Best wah out there except for $700 rackmount gear. Would definetly get a life sentence and another pedal if it were stolen.

Very simple to figure out. Sometimes when you're in a hurry to change effects it's a kinda hard to press it down hard enough to turn it on and off, but nothing major. It kind of a nuisance changing the battery.

I use a Gibson SG and an Ibanez Talman. The wah is hooked up in the effects loop of my multi effects pedal (Ibanez PUE5) so that I can just leave the crybaby on at all times and don't have to press it down really hard to turn it on and off all the time (it gets to be a pain after a while). I use the crybaby moving it up and down while while playing all the strings muted in clean mode to get that funky sound, and when using distortion I like to leave it in one place and use it as a tone control to get different sounds. Using distortion, I also love playing a line repeatedly with it down and gradually moving it up (adding treble) and then turning it off, using only distortion, which creates a powerful intro into songs.

This thing just won't break. I'm sure you could bust it up if you really to, but under normal use, it's indestructable. You can drop it, kick it, jump on it...it won't break.

I never had to talk with the people who make this fine pedal, but I think they'd be helpful.

I don't use it for every song and I wouldn't say that I'd panic if I got to a gig and realized I forgot it, but it is an extremely fun pedal to play around and experiment with. If you have the money, I think everyone should own a wah pedal, even if they don't use it very much because it makes playing so much fun and this wah pedal is probably the cheapest good/useful/nonworthless wah pedal available.

It's a Wah pedal. It's simple. You move your foot back and forth and it works. I bought mine used and the power-on action is a little stiff, which I think is a good thing, I can't see it accidentally being turned off while Im jamming on it.

Im using it with a Danelectro Nifty Fifty Amp, and a Mexican 4 year old Fender Strat, with Rosewood fretboard. My wah action was smooth throughout the whole travel. There is no discernable change in the first two inches of travel from up to down. The wah is standard fare. There is no distortion at the high or low levels. The high level wah sound is almost ear splitting.

I think I could definitely attribute the nuclear bomb analogy to the wah pedal. It's die cast medal with a fat rubber pad on top of it. I can't fathom HOW you could break your wah pedal aside from lighting it on fire and melting the electronics. If I ever was good enough to gig, I would get a Snarling Dogs Wah.

I haven't dealt with them, and I never will.

I play nothing, I am worthless at playing guitar. I bought the pedal for my future forays into Funk and Disco. I've been "playing" for 3 years. If it was stolen or lost, I wouldn't care. If it was stolen I would use the $40 I spent on it to pick up another one. If I lost it, I would be out of $ and screwed.

Oh come on! If you don't know how to use a wah, you most definatly can't play a guitar!

Tends to be a little on the treble side. The bass end lowers the volume of the effect, making it a semi volume pedal. Contrary to other's reviews my crybaby makes almost no noise at all. I use a Marshall VS30R with a Ibanez GRX40, and a Boss MT-2 metal zone. Kicks ass for doing Kirk Hammet's (Metallica) solos, like the solo from THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE.

Built like a tank and all that shit that everyone says.

I play metal, specifically Metallica and Motorhead. The Crybaby is great for that kind of thing even though its supposed to be a "vintage" effect.

On a side note, Dunlop has fixed the problem of having to unscrew the bottom panel to replace the battery. It has been replaced with a small plastic tab on the bottom.

Easy? To use, yes. To use well, I don't think so. It takes a lot of practice to get a great sounding sound with it. I got mine used, so I'm not the one to ask about the manual.

I play an Ibanez EX standard -> Big Muff pedal -> Dunlop Crybaby -> Rocktek Phaser -> DOD FX50-B Overdrive -> Rocktek Vibrato -> RMS Volume Pedal -> Crate GXT-410 amp. I used to use a Zoom 505 in there, minus the phaser, Muff and volume pedal and I think I lost some serious high frequency hearing. This setup produced nothing but feedback when I used the wah. Finally, I made a patch on the 505 that cut the highs and boosted the lows. I haven't experienced this since I got rid of the 505. I think it was just too much for it. I had a problem once where the pedal totally cut out when I kicked it on, but then I realized the adapter had come undone slightly. Oops. My bad. I think this can do a decent imitation of some Hendrix and Stevie, but, few can do justice to those guys.

Well, when the adapter isn't unplugged, it works pretty well. I haven't pushed it to the limit. I bought it slightly used. The sticker on the top is still legible and very stuck on. I'm pretty sure I could depend on it. If a car were to hit it, I think the pedal would be fine, though, you might wanna get a new car. Kids, don't try that at home.

??????

I like to try different stuff. I play the intro to Voodoo Chile on this. I've noticed that wah is making a slight comeback. It seemed people weren't using it as much, at least from what I'd been witnessing. I've enjoyed this pedal a lot, though I might shop around before buying another one, if this one were stolen. I've heard great things about the Morleys, but I don't think I could quite go with the switchless wahs. I like being able to get different sounds with the pedal on, but not rocking it. I played other crybabys. I checked out a fuzz-wah, but hated how you had to turn it over to adjust. Just get a separate distortion! For pizza's sake!

you push down the pedal and move it. you get "wah"

im playing it through a fender blues deluxe and a martin stinger w/ 2 single coils and 1 humbucker. it has excellent mid and treble sounds but in the bass it tends to get "fuzzy" this is a cool effect in itsself but also can be annoying

you can drop a nuclear bomb and it would be the only thing left

??????????????

great effect. especially for "hendrix" type of music, but very versatile