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Opinions on Dunlop Crybaby

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(@apache)
Reputable Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 301
Topic starter  

I have a hankering for one of these, has any body got one or a comparable one?

I've been having a look at second hand one's on ebay, and a few are advertised as having dodgy pots when played on clean, and I was wondering how reliable they are?

Thanks


   
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(@trguitar)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 3709
 

I have two of them. First one I bought used in 1983 and the darn cheap thing broke after only twenty or so years of use. :P I bought a new one, last year I believe. They are mechanical and the pots will wear with time. You can replace them. I would have fixed the "vintage" one I own but the switch broke as well and the parts would have added up to over $50 so I just got a new one for $70. I don't use it alot, but I like the idea of the old school wah so that is why I chose a CryBaby.

You can see they have changed them a little over the years. The old one is on the left. You have to take the bottom off to access the battery and the AC adapter jack is like a head phone jack. The new one has a battery compartment and the AC adapter jack is the same as all modern pedals. I think if you buy new they are very reliable. Used, you don't know how much wear and tear it has taken. They are old school technology. Mechanical switch and a little toothed bar that meshes with a gear on the end of a big tone pot. The chassis is built like a tank and that seems to be the common link of old and new, along with the innards.

I like the old label better I think.

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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(@neztok)
Estimable Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 152
 

I got a 535q multi-wah Crybaby. I usually buy simple gear so I'm not entirely sure why I chose a Crybaby with more buttons. I like it, but I don't have anything to compare it to. Unlike TR I bought a Original Crybaby in 1997 and I broke it a week later - it just wasn't wahing enough :lol: It's not what I imagined in my head. And yeah, I hit it too hard and broke the switch. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the fault of Dunlop. I replaced it 11 years later with the 535q.


   
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(@greybeard)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5840
 

I have a Cry Baby, as yet unmodified.

The pot will start to grind as it gets dirty. Mostly a spray of switch cleaner will get rid of that. At worst you can replace it.

I'm considering changing the inductor, not because the stock one is bad, I just want to try maybe a Fasel out.

Being an older design, it is pretty easy to mod and there are several mods out there.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN


   
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(@slejhamer)
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Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3221
 

I owned a handful of wah pedals before I went with a multi-fx board: a Vox, a couple Crybabies, and something else I don't remember the brand. By far my favorite was the Dunlop Crybaby Classic with the Fasel inductor. True bypass, and a "sweet" tone - though some people complain it doesn't have enough bite and is perhaps a bit mellow compared to others. I thought it was great with clean and overdriven tones. No need to mod this one at all. Worth the price difference, though I did get a great deal on ebay...

"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."


   
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(@apache)
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Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 301
Topic starter  

Thanks everyone :D

TR - how dare it break after 20 years use! Obviously no quality control! :lol: :lol:

will keep stalking ebay :D


   
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(@almann1979)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1281
 

Aapache, i have 2 wah pedals. one is a cry baby, which i love, the other is on the floorboard of my boss me 50, which i have become used to as it is the one i use when gigging..

Even my ears recognise the difference between the two, and my cry baby is unmodified.

i am not saying they are great, just far better than the other one i own :D

I also live in lancashire, so if you want, and can make it over to mine, or to a gig one night, you can borrow my cry baby until you decide if it is what you want or not..

The only thing wrong with mine is that the clip that holds the battery cover in place has snapped, so i need to tape it in. It doesnt affect performance though.

"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)


   
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(@trguitar)
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Joined: 17 years ago
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That is really nice of you Almann. I knew you were class act.

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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 cnev
(@cnev)
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Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4459
 

Terry weren't you supposed to drive down and lend me a couple Les Pauls? HA :D

"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!


   
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(@trguitar)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 3709
 

Ummmmmm ........ next time I'm in Connecticut. (TR has never been to Connecticut)

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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 cnev
(@cnev)
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Look to the south east you can probably see it from your roof...

"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!


   
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(@apache)
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Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 301
Topic starter  

Aapache, i have 2 wah pedals. one is a cry baby, which i love, the other is on the floorboard of my boss me 50, which i have become used to as it is the one i use when gigging..

Even my ears recognise the difference between the two, and my cry baby is unmodified.

i am not saying they are great, just far better than the other one i own :D

I also live in lancashire, so if you want, and can make it over to mine, or to a gig one night, you can borrow my cry baby until you decide if it is what you want or not..

The only thing wrong with mine is that the clip that holds the battery cover in place has snapped, so i need to tape it in. It doesnt affect performance though.

Wow - thanks Almann that's really really generous of you! Although I did get one of ebay at the weekend, got a 2nd hand one for £32, which will hopefully arrive later this week, but thank you very much for your very kind offer :D

Which part of Lancashire are you in? I live in a place called Appley Bridge, which borders West Lancs, if you have any gigs round here you will have to let me know :D


   
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(@trguitar)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 3709
 

Look to the south east you can probably see it from your roof...
According to MapQuest you are 370 miles away Chris. :lol: From my roof I can see Canada though. :?

I know I've told this story before, but one of the docs at work has a brother that lives down your way. He wanted to overnight a package to the doc up here. The guy at the post office said "Wow! Thats in the middle of nowhere!" The docs brother said "No, that is Watertown. My brother is 60 miles north of there." :P

Oh, I live in the Thousand Islands Region af New York State. Very beautiful area and about to get more so as it "greens up".

Sorry Apache ... don't mean to hijack the Wah thread ....... just want you guys to know a little bit about where I am. :D I paddle my kayak through here. The St. Lawrence river connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the 10 biggest rivers in the world. Visitors here often mistake it for a lake. One being MeatLoaf when he was up here with TAPS hunting for ghosts. :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqEjxE36doQ&feature=player_embedded

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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(@almann1979)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1281
 

Glad you got one apache, i am sure you wont be disappointed. i wish the one on my floor board sounded like a cry baby.

i have to admit i havent heard of Appley Bridge - i live in Rossendale, between blackburn and burnley, and 1O minutes from bury on the A56. How far apart does that make us?

"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)


   
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(@apache)
Reputable Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 301
Topic starter  

Oh, I live in the Thousand Islands Region af New York State. Very beautiful area and about to get more so as it "greens up".

Wow TR - that looks a gorgeous place to live! I'd ermm never heard of the Thousand Islands region - it looks beautiful!


   
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