School Me On Dunlop Crybaby Wahs (Or Other Wahs)

[colchar]

I am thinking of grabbing a wah pedal, not because I need one or anything, but just as a toy to play with. The vast majority of wahs in the local classifieds are Dunlop Crybaby wahs and, although I know everyone and their brother uses (or used) one, I don't know squat about them myself (I've never used a wah before) so I am looking for info from the experts here.

Are they all pretty much the same or are there certain models that should be avoided? Keep in mind that I am buying one purely for shits and giggles so I don't need the top of the line model or anything - but I don't want to grab a crappy model either (if there are crappy ones). What is a reasonable price for a used Crybaby?

Are there any other brands I should be considering?

Any, and all, info that anyone can give me on these is appreciated.

[mudfinger]

They are not pretty much all the same, but that perspective might be colored by my longstanding use of wahs for a variety of effects. The most useful pedal in my rig after the tuner.

The first wah I ever got was my payment for one of my first studio gigs. I mark that moment as the day I "turned pro".

Vintage Vox, it was, and I wore that bitch out.

After all these years, the one I find most useful for all the things I do is an Ernie Ball, but I notice that most guys don't get the results they're looking for with it, so that's not really a recommendation.

What do you wanna do with the wah? Funky rhythm parts, quasi-vocal effects, lead boost, all of the above....?

[colchar]

Originally Posted by mudfinger

What do you wanna do with the wah? Funky rhythm parts, quasi-vocal effects, lead boost, all of the above....?

Honestly Bro - to play around with it, learn what they are all about, and see if I can make use of it in my playing. Essentially, it will be a toy at first but an educational one as I was hoping to 'learn by doing'.

I only use one pedal at the moment but am thinking of putting together a pedal board (just distortion, OD, and fuzz) and figured a wah would also be something worth adding to that.

[mudfinger]

Snag one of those Dunlops and have some fun with it. If your taste wanders towards something else down the line, you should have no trouble selling the Dunlop.

[mdubya]

I have a Crybaby and a Vox 847, both early to mid 90's models. The Crybaby has a longer throw and a broader range from bass to treble. The Vox seems to have a much tighter curve and is more 'talky'. I also like that its range is more limited.

I am not sure if that makes sense, but that Vox does more of the Hendrix-y, Clapton in Cream type thing for me. The Crybaby reminded me more of a Guns and Roses/Slash type sound.

[colchar]

Originally Posted by mudfinger

Snag one of those Dunlops and have some fun with it. If your taste wanders towards something else down the line, you should have no trouble selling the Dunlop.

I contacted a couple of people who have them for sale earlier tonight but haven't received any replies as yet.

[Hector Arcadius]

My first ''serious'' wah to mess with and learn from it is the Dunlop 535Q. Lots of choices to help me shape my sound. Flexibility at this point, until you discover the things that you like / want and the things that you don't, is a major plus.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I've owned your standard-issue Dunlop, and a Morley CWA. The Dunlop had a warmer tone, but required amp tweaking to maintain the tone ... it saps the oomph from your tone.

The Morley was much better in that regard -- it didn't emasculate my tone -- but had a sharper, more brittle edge to it, and a much wider throw. Consequently, on medium+ gain settings, I had squeal on tap at the "icepick" frequency, and had to take care to not rock the pedal too far forward.

I'm not sure if Morley has addressed that issue, since I haven't owned or played a dedicated wah (of any brand) in over ten years. I've heard good things about their newer stuff, and there's a lot of affordable alternatives nowadays.

[harleytech51]

Dunlops are probably the "bench-mark" wah pedal and in my experience theyve always been a good reliable pedal..Bought my first one back in the day and actually had it on order before it was officially released..Good Dunlops Cry Bay's always sell well 2nd hand so if you dont like it you'll no doubt recover your money..Theres now an abundance of "signature" models as well, im now using the "Slash" model which has a few other features built in but these all come at a price....Best bet would be try a few and form an opinion from there...Good luck with it..

[Rock]

I'm super cheap, and since you said it's just a toy to mess around with, I'd just get the cheapest standard issue Crybaby you could get. If you like turning knobs and getting a wide range of sounds I think they sell Crybaby's that do that too.

[Backstage]

I am fine with the Crybaby and I like the pedal's way from "wah" to "woh" ... if you know what I am trying to say .
Hm, sometimes the mechanic isn't working well anymore on very used pedals and there is a lot creaking.

[SoWhat?]

I have a dunlop that I bought brand new. $100-$150, I can't remember. It has a scratchy, static tone when in use. I had one in the 80's that was the same way. A friend of mine has one he bought new, and it is dead silent. Guess I could have my pot cleaned, replacment is $50. Point being, if you get to try it first, get one that is quiet.

Also, add a Chorus pedal to your list.

.

[GitFiddle]

For experimentation just pick up a lower priced Dunlop Cry-baby and experiment. The RMC Teese wahs are very nice but a bit more expensive, but their site has a lot of good information about the wah itself.

RMC HISTORY

I have an old CryBaby from the early 70s, made by Thomas Organs. It still works and sounds great. For gigging I got me an RMC Wizard-Wah and love it.

Aside from the normal wah-wah sounds, you can cock the pedal at different static settings and get some amazing tones.

[mudfinger]

Originally Posted by SoWhat?

I have a dunlop that I bought brand new. $100-$150, I can't remember. It has a scratchy, static tone when in use. I had one in the 80's that was the same way. A friend of mine has one he bought new, and it is dead silent. Guess I could have my pot cleaned, replacment is $50. Point being, if you get to try it first, get one that is quiet.

Also, add a Chorus pedal to your list.

.

Ewwww.

[PraXis]

Depends how much you want to spend. If you get a Crybaby, get the 535Q so you can tweak it. Other than that you can't go wrong with a Morley or Fulltone (the Clyde is expensive though!).

I have a Weeping Demon because I love pairing it with ultra high gain, but it works on other settings too..just a matter of trying things out.

[Les Paulverizer]

I used to think that all Wah Wah's "were created equal" and that the only difference was in how strong/flimsy they were (Behringer being at the bottom of the pile, like all their stuff, and so on and so forth,...) 'cause I thought "once you have some crunch all it has to do is wah wah wah wah,..." but I was obviously wrong!

After having gone through a lot of 'em, and after having improved as a player, I've come to realize that there are H-U-G-E differences!

Some names are a guarantee and with anything Dunlop/MXR/Morley/Vox you can't go wrong.

I have an old 70's Cry Baby that Roger Meyer modified for me and when I compare it to some other pedals it's like comparing gold to manure; it sounds soooooo good it makes you play the thing soooooo much better and want to be soooooo accurate with it.

Also, a couple of weeks ago I heard a guy stepping on an EVH Signature wah; ok, the guy's a great player to start with, but that thing sounded monstrous!

Like I said, if I was in the market for a wah and not too fussed about it, anything in the Dunlop catalogue would serve the purpose absolutely fine, no question about it.

[mdubya]

I just checked and MF has the Crybaby for $69 and the Vox 847 for $89. Wow. That is cheaper than in the 90's! Get a couple at those prices.

I got one of those 1 million turn pots for mine way back when. Still going.

[colchar]

Thanks folks.

I still haven't heard from any of the sellers. If I don't I can check my gear store when I am dropping off my Strat in a couple of hours and I can check the local pawn shops this weekend too.

[Boppy]

Just to add to the Crybaby lore...

The newer GCB-95s (Revision H) already have the red Fasel inductor installed (!).

So, if it comes down to a Crybaby Classic or a GCB-95, be sure to check the fine print at the very bottom on the rear of the GCB-95.

[Lampens]

get the regular cry baby and mod it. Change a few resistors and the inductor. there are sites that show you how. i modded the shit out of mine. made it true bypass. Added a bright blue led so that i can see if it is on or not and changed a few resistors. have to change a resistor again. cause I overdid it though. To much woh right now lol.

[gibsonguitar1988]

Crybaby Classic. It's a no frills old school wah.

[marc1kim]

go for a brand new plain ol' Crybaby. IMO it sounds alot better than past units, with hardly any tone suck when off. guess they improved the buffers.

[Led Zep Fan]

This is the best wah I've ever owned.

Area 51 Online Store: Area 51 Wah Pedal - Custom

[snaredrum]

i use a Wilson wah nowadays, but the 535Q was the best of the others i've owned. it's tweakable enough that you never get bored of it.

[Mantis]

the dunlop cry baby was my first wah, may have even been my first pedal ever.
really cool, then they re issued the vox and i stuck with that.
there is also the fulltone clyde wah, but you may wanna go for a less expensive one first to get the feel of it.

[Zack]

do you want one just to play voodoo child intro?

[decoy205]

I always hated the switching where you have to press it down to turn it on. I would always leave it on live by accident. I also didnt like that there's no light when its on. So i bought the morley because the switch is on the side and i know when its on and off. Maybe i'm just awful at switching. haha.

[Beerdog80]

Originally Posted by mudfinger

Ewwww.

Exactly. A delay and reverb would work way better in front of well articulated tube amp.

[michaelinokc]

I'm running a Modtone Wah with true bypass and I've been very happy with it. They're also reasonably priced.

[kaleu]

I have a 30 year old crybaby I bought for $20 on ebay. It is dead simple, and sounds fine. I removed the rubber stopper on the "heel" end, to give it more sweep. Ive also just ordered a yellow fasel. even though it sounds great, they are soooo tempting to mess with!!