Cry Baby

Cry Baby

81

Also known as: Crybaby, Cry Baby Wah

Unclaimed

Cry Baby is one of the most iconic effect pedal lines in the history of electric guitar. The original Cry Baby wah-wah pedal was developed in 1966 by the Thomas Organ Company, inspired by the expressive, crying tone of a muted trumpet. Engineers at Thomas Organ, including Brad Plunkett, discovered the wah effect while working on a transistorized tone circuit, and the sound was housed in a rocke...

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Cry Baby is one of the most iconic effect pedal lines in the history of electric guitar. The original Cry Baby wah-wah pedal was developed in 1966 by the Thomas Organ Company, inspired by the expressive, crying tone of a muted trumpet. Engineers at Thomas Organ, including Brad Plunkett, discovered the wah effect while working on a transistorized tone circuit, and the sound was housed in a rocker-style volume pedal enclosure. After Thomas Organ ceased operations in 1981, Dunlop Manufacturing acquired the original tooling, machinery, and trademark in 1982, and has produced the Cry Baby line ever since.

The flagship model is the GCB95 Cry Baby Standard Wah, which features a Fasel inductor, a Hot Potz potentiometer, and a heavy-duty die-cast housing. The lineup extends well beyond the standard model, encompassing the CBM95 Cry Baby Mini Wah, the 535Q Multi-Wah with adjustable Q and boost controls, the 105Q Bass Wah voiced specifically for bass guitar, and the 95Q switchless wah with auto-return. Cry Baby also offers an extensive roster of artist signature models, including editions associated with Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Kirk Hammett, Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Cantrell, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, John Petrucci, Justin Chancellor, and Tom Morello, among others.

The Cry Baby wah is widely regarded as the definitive wah pedal and has shaped the sound of genres from classic rock and blues to funk and metal. Its distinctive "wacka-wacka" sweep and vocal-like expressiveness have made it a staple on pedalboards worldwide, and the GCB95 remains one of the best-selling guitar effects pedals of all time.

Cry Baby has 15 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Wah Pedals. Their gear is featured by 190 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Metal, and Blues. Notable users include Slash, Dimebag Darrell, and Jerry Cantrell.

Artists Who Use Cry Baby

Slash uses 4 Cry Baby products

Slash

Guitarist · Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes

Dimebag Darrell uses 2 Cry Baby products

Dimebag Darrell

Guitarist · Pantera

Jerry Cantrell uses 2 Cry Baby products

Jerry Cantrell

Composer, Guitarist · Alice in Chains

Eric Clapton uses 2 Cry Baby products

Eric Clapton

Guitarist · Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes

Joe Satriani uses 2 Cry Baby products

Joe Satriani

Guitarist · Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes

Neal Schon uses 2 Cry Baby products

Neal Schon

Singer, Guitarist · Journey

Gary Holt uses 2 Cry Baby products

Gary Holt

Guitarist · Slayer

John Norum uses 2 Cry Baby products

John Norum

Guitarist · Europe

Dean Brown uses 2 Cry Baby products

Dean Brown

Billy Cobham’s Glass Menagerie

Kevin Parker uses 1 Cry Baby product

Kevin Parker

Guitarist, Bassist · Tame Impala

Josh Homme uses 1 Cry Baby product

Josh Homme

Guitarist · Kyuss

John Frusciante uses 1 Cry Baby product

John Frusciante

Guitarist · Red Hot Chili Peppers

John Mayer uses 1 Cry Baby product

John Mayer

Guitarist · John Mayer Trio

Kirk Hammett uses 1 Cry Baby product

Kirk Hammett

Guitarist · Metallica

Adam Jones uses 1 Cry Baby product

Adam Jones

Guitarist, Keyboardist · Tool

Eddie Van Halen uses 1 Cry Baby product

Eddie Van Halen

Guitarist · Van Halen

Tony Iommi uses 1 Cry Baby product

Tony Iommi

Guitarist, Keyboardist · Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes

Tom Morello uses 1 Cry Baby product

Tom Morello

Guitarist · Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes

Prince uses 1 Cry Baby product

Prince

Singer, Guitarist · Prince

Jim Root uses 1 Cry Baby product

Jim Root

Guitarist · Slipknot

Community setups featuring Cry Baby

Show yours
austinnoise

austinnoise

Gear IQ 418

dorgsan

dorgsan

Gear IQ 838

johhurt

johhurt

Gear IQ 245

saragrecea

saragrecea

Gear IQ 450

alessandrovai

alessandrovai

Gear IQ 613

thepancakeuni

thepancakeuni

Gear IQ 243

giles_hill

giles_hill

Gear IQ 212

leafless

leafless

Gear IQ 334

bernie_olszewski

bernie_olszewski

Gear IQ 61

martin_gotte

martin_gotte

Gear IQ 995

alessandrovai

alessandrovai

Gear IQ 613

quiquepriore

quiquepriore

Gear IQ 99

mandomvp

mandomvp

Gear IQ 188

cornfed94

cornfed94

Gear IQ 397

ryancas95

ryancas95

Gear IQ 294

joris_van_dorpe

joris_van_dorpe

Gear IQ 322

king_andrew

king_andrew

Gear IQ 3177

_paulpalmer_

_paulpalmer_

Gear IQ 351

saint1377

saint1377

Gear IQ 157

george_pantsios

george_pantsios

Gear IQ 370

Gear Guides featuring Cry Baby

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