535Q Crybaby Review

The 535Q offers versatility never heard before. This pedal allows the player to customize and shape the sound of the wah. By a simple turn of the "Q" dial, you can shape your wah from a narrow, sharp wah to a broad, subtle wah.

Ease of Use:	9.6
Sound:	9.1
Reliability:	9.2
Impression:	9.5
Overall rating:	9.4
Users rating:	8.8
Comments:	36

overall: 10

Featured review by: unregistered, on april 29, 2005

Price paid: $ 288.35

Purchased from: Long And McQuade

Ease of Use: Ok I have the CryBaby 535Q Wah Wah but it is not an option up on those things. Anyway it is absolutly awesome I mean come on if Jeff Beck uses it, it's gotta be half decent. I love the sound I get out it and is awesome when using it with the MT-2. // 10

Sound: I'm using it with my 1962 Gretsch Malcolm Young model to a Marshall 50DFX amp and the sound is incredable. I especially love the gain booston this bad boy and the 5 differentlevels of wah controll. It's especially awesome for Sweet Child O Mine solo, Fade To Balck solo, Battery solo and One solo. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I can depend on this bad boy for sure and would never use a backup for this sucker. // 10

Impression: I play classic rock and metal and it is perfect for that type of music but also has the versatiltiy to do some Eagles Joe Walsh stuf as well it's a kick ass wah. // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: angus69, on april 28, 2006

Ease of Use: 3 knobs - volume boost, the Q (sweep/bandpass), and the 6-way range selector (emphasizes lows, mids, or highs). You can plug it in, click it on, and play, but that's not really going to do much. Folks say it's 'set it and forget it,' but then you're forgetting about the tonal possibilities of the pedal. It can do a heck of a lot if you take the time to tweak it. You can get heavy metal-ish, guttural wahs and nice reggae/funk sounds that resemble an envelope filter. The settings in the manual are helpful, before I didn't realize the volume knob made a noticeable effect on the tone. Mine's an old model, 18v with the knobs on the bottom. Pain in the rear to get to but Dunlop seems to have rectified that with the newer models. // 8

Sound: Epiphone-dunl. C.B, Ibanez Tubescreamer, Vox 15w. It's true bypass as far as I can tell, when the batteries die and you engage the effect, it's a mute switch, but it still passes signal. The sound quality is great and much more recognizable once you spend some time with it and tailor it to your rig. You can get anywhere from a bluesy wailing rock wah to metal and funk. Everything in one box, though not at the same settings. The volume boost is a great help, it lets you sing above everything else in the mix, as well as get a little bit more distortion. You can also dial in some nice feedback if you let it sit on the higher frequencies. No noise. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It's heavy. Like a gold brick. You could knock someone out with this thing. I would use it without a backup but there's one thing I wouldn't use it with live, batteries. I've had the batteries die just inexplicably, you're supposed to unhook the input signal to stop a slow drain, and I do, but whenever I need the durn thing it turns into a 10 lb mute switch. Get a power supply! // 9

Impression: I play rock and metal stuff. This wah is perfect beacuse it has the Fasel inductor. The inductor gives it a nice tone with loads of distortion. I have been playing for about 2 years now. If this were stolen or lost, I would definately purchase another one of these! I love the sweep and how good it sounds, the boost is also extremely useful for leads. I compared this to other wah pedals (Dimebag wah, Tremonti power wah, Classic Crybaby) and the only one that compared was the Dime one. It was $100 more and this wah had all the same features! This wah inspires me to new levels of playing all the time. That's all for my review, I totally recommend this pedal for any level of musician. // 9

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 03, 2008

Price paid: $ 107

Purchased from: music123.com

Ease of Use: I purchased this unit new in mid 2005 from Music123.com. It came shipped in a nice box with a manual the pedal and some books to show off other of their products. The manual is short, shows all the features and a few sound settings you can use. It has enough information to get you started. The pedal itself is simple, it has 4 knobs, input/ output, power connector and the battery compartment. It is very easy to use and find a sound. I rate this a 10, nothing complicated about this unit. // 10

Sound: I've played the unit extensively, I am currently running it through a Fender Standard Stratocaster (MIA) and a Line 6 PODXT. The pedal is VERY noisy in the toe position(especially if you turn on the DB boost on) if you use any distortion effect(even with a shielded/star grounded guitar with an humbucker). I shielded the pedal thinking it would do nothing (the pedal itself is made of cast iron), I was very wrong, there is no noise at all (the only noise is when using single coil pickups on a high gain setting that has noise without the wah on). I am very pleased with the sound on this unit. You can get lots of different sounds with all the settings. The only thing I don't like is the range is not as big as I would want it to be, but it is acceptable. I rate this 7 because of the noise problem when non modified. // 7

Reliability & Durability: It is very solid, cast iron. I'm not scared of pounding on it. In the 3 years I have had it, and I use it a few hours each day I have had 0 problems. The only 2 things here that I will mention is 1: the battery compartment, it is very cheap; the PCB is visible inside the compartment (I use a power plug so I don't worry about it). 2: dust and debris can get in the pedal very easy since there is a huge hole where the potentiometer is and the PCB is not protected in any way. I give it a 8 for the above mentioned reasons. // 8

Impression: I play psychedelic rock, progressive rock, blues. I have been playing for about 10 years. I own too much stuff to list. Would buy another one for sure if it got lost (even though it's more expensive know then it was 3 years ago)! My favorite features are the various settings on it and it's low price. Oh yes, I compared it to many other products, it seemed the best bang for the buck at the time. Wish it had a bigger range. Giving it a 9, it's well worth the purchase. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: wylde_overdrive, on december 28, 2005

Price paid: $ 171.1851

Purchased from: Steves Music Ottawa

Ease of Use: It is very easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. No matter what setting your on, it's good for something. It is a very customizable wah. The manual is great. It tells you what each little dial is for and it even gives you some samples of cool wah sounds. // 10

Sound: I'm using this wah with a Squier stratocaster, Peavey Rage 158 and a Zoom 505II. This pedal is not noisy at all. Even with the boost all the way up it is very quiet. The effects always sound awsome with this thing. I don't try to get the sound of my favourite artists, I make my own sounds, although I'm sure you could get those sounds with some tweaking of the Q-dial. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I can depend on this thing through anything! The thing is built like a tank! I will always use this thing without a backup because it's so freakin strong! // 10

Impression: I play rock and metal and this wah suits me perfectly. I have been playing for just over a year, and the wah satisfys my wah-ing needs! If this wah were stolen or lost I would buy another. I love the versatility of this wah. I hate that I had to wait to get it haha! My favourite feature is the kick-in boost. It's great for solo's. I compared this to many, many wah pedals, Including the Dimebag one. It was the only pedal on par with the 535Q. Although the dime one cost $100 more! I chose this wah because of it's sound and affordability. I am completely pleased with this pedal. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: guitarfreak414, on may 17, 2005

Ease of Use: // 10

Sound: I use this with my Roland Cube 30 and a Ibanez RG320, and I get very good sound from this pedal. It is very versatile, you can get a wah sounds from Hendrix or Hammett, or anything else. There is no feedback except when I have all the knobs turned up with the boost on, but the pedal is only a foot and a half away from my amp and I think that may be what causes it. // 8

Reliability & Durability: // 10

Impression: For the music I play, which is primarily Metallica, this pedal is perfect. And when I want to play other styles like Hendrix or Guns N' Roses it will work great for those too. Overall, it is a very versatile Wah-Wah Pedal and very easy to use, and you can get great sound from it. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: Sham-Rock, on october 18, 2007

Price paid: $ 151.2

Purchased from: Danny Hughes Music

Ease of Use: This is a very easy unit to get a good sound from from a nice money for nothing tone to a great treble filled lead tone. The manual was great it was full of info on getting the best sound when using it in a chain of effects and came with a couple of pages filled with the setting to get the same tones as Tom Morello and Jimmt Page. // 10

Sound: I use this effect on it's own so it's just guitar wah then amp I use it with both of my marshalls the AVT 275 and the mg-15cd and it sounds greatonly time it's noisey is if I enable the boost switch and even then I only notice the volume increase of the guitar, I was able to get the great tones of Hendrix, Page, Morello and many more great guitarists with this one wah. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I fell that I can really Depend on this unit for any situation. I would be confident doing gigs with this but only using a 9v adapter I think it's just a better option over the 9v batteries. Reliability & Durability are overall great. // 9

Impression: I play all different styles of music from metal to clean stuff and I find it great for everything I have put it upto so far. I have no regrets about buying this product, and if it was stolen I would buy another one in a heartbeat. I love everyting about it wouldn't change a thing, I played with it for about 30 minutes in the shop and from that I decided it wa the wah pedal for me, My favorite Feature would have to be the 15db boost which is great for soloing. I tried a couple of different wahs before this including the JH-1 a Boss wah which I can't remember the name of and a Bad horsie and this one just fitted my style better than the other mainly because it is versatile. The only thing I wish it had would be a sort of simulated talk wah effect. // 9

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: aeliustehman, on july 01, 2008

Price paid: $ 129

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This pedal is very easy to use, with very well explained controls. It's mainly good sound all around as it's a very versatile pedal with 6 wah ranges, a boost button, and two control knobs (volume and variable Q). I can't say much about the manual, there is one though (I lost mine). My unit has not been upgraded and I do not know the firmware revision number. // 10

Sound: I'm using an Ibanez Iceman ICT700, Morley little alligator and Peavey Valveking 212 with this pedal. It's not noisy on any of the settings. It has 6 wah ranges, and they always sound great, along with two knobs and even a boost button and nothings wrong with any of them. I can get the sound of Slash, Kirk Hammett, Jimmy Hendrix and such but mainly I think this pedal was made for the harder music out there. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I can depend on it, I've owned it for 2 months now and It hasn't conked out on me yet. The battery life is amazing, I'm pretty sure I haven't actually changed the battery after having this thing for two months, and I use it all the time. Never use anything at a gig without a backup, although this thing seems pretty reliable. // 9

Impression: I play hard rock, heavy metal, thrash metal and so forth and this pedal is a nice match. I've been playing a year and I own and Ibanez Iceman ICT700, Peavey valveking 212 and Morley little alligator. I tried this product out in the store and the guys were very helpful. If it was stolen I would definitely try to get it back.The thing I love about it really is that it's quite versatile and the wah ranges. I don't hate anything, the boost button is also my favorite feature, it's insane. I compared it with the Slash wah, 95Q, and ZW-45 and I chose this one just because I liked it more and it doesn't lack anything. // 10

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: frazzledazzle, on january 29, 2007

Price paid: $ 142.2

Purchased from: Long and Mcquade

Ease of Use: This wah sounds great. I've owned an Original Crybaby and a Zakk Wylde Wah before I bought this. While I did not like the tone of the Original Wah, and while I absolutly hated the ZW Wah, this wah sounds far beter in my opinion. The versatility is key. With a boost button, wah range selector, Q knob, and volume control, you can achieve many different tones out of the one pedal. Included with the wah is a booklet showing how to dial up the tone of your favourite wah guitarists including Tom Morello and Jimi Hendrix to name a few. // 9

Sound: I use this pedal with a Fender Fat Strat and a Traynor YCV 50blue. With the Fasel this pedal sounds great. The sound is great on a clean or dirty channel, and the boost is great for solos. Metal to blues, this pedal is great for the sounds I want out of it. // 9

Reliability & Durability: On my wah, I have a small problem with the wah range selector knob. If it is knocked while using the wah, the wah may short out. I have not gotten it fixed yet due to lack of cash, but I assume it is a one off problem not to be associated with all 535Qs. Besides that, it is a durable pedal. However, as with most pedals, this one should be used with an adapter instead of a battery. Never gig with just a battery in your wah. // 7

Impression: My overall impression of this pedal is great. I play every style of music. This versatile wah can handle them all. If I lost this pedal I would buy it again. The only thing I wish this wah had was the torque adjustment for the rocker that the Zakk Wylde wah had. // 9

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: J.MitMetallica, on august 18, 2007

Price paid: $ 217.77

Purchased from: ebay store

Ease of Use: The whole point is for you to play with the knobs, so I wont say it's easy to get a good sound, because you have to play with the knobs, but once you learn what they do you can practically get any wah sound you want. Very versatile, has a hi-to-lo emphasis dial, a sweep range knob, and a decibel addition knob, for use with the "extra distortion" button located on the back, handy for kicking into action during a solo. The manual is very helpful to start you off, offering the settings for famous wah sounds. You can't really be disappointed by what it can't do, because there isn't very much. // 9

Sound: Using with either an Ibanez Radius or a Vintage V6, and a Vox AD50VT, and is really gets going with both, and with the strat (V6) you can replicate 'those strat wah sounds' very well. Not noisy unless you put the gain boost on, which then is inevitable. I believe it's true bypass, so no tone sucking, and the effect comes through clearly most of the time, although with older strings it starts to fade, but your tone would anyway. Yes, can get the sounds of my 'favourite artists', Joe Satriani (Who has a few of these, although most of them are modded. It's supposed to be his 'signature' wah, at least he's in the advert pics for it), and basically all those "gwah" type wah sounds, often found in John Petrucci solos. Can range to Clapton and Hendrix well also, not quite Clyde McCoy, but nearly. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Like someone else said, you could class this as an offensive weapon, it literally feels like a brick, even the metal has a brick like texture. I doubt it would break if I dropped it. I have a GCB-95 anyway, but I would probably not gig with a backup, it's so well built. I would use a power supply however. // 10

Impression: I love this wah, I don't think I'll need another one ever. I have been playing 6 years, and always wanted a good wah sound, and this provides almost everything I wanted. I would get this again if it were stolen or lost. I think what I like about it most is that it does so much. It's flaunted as a wah pedal, but it really should be classed in a different section, like MFX, because of the versatility, maybe multi-wah or something. I had a Vox V847 before, and it was very cool, but not as great as this. Only one sound! Mine does sqeak a lot when you wah, but that's just cos it needs oiling! // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: jo3myster, on july 03, 2007

Price paid: $ 130

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This pedal is quite easy to use after you use it for a little while. All you have to turn it on, is to push down kinda hard with your foot(Obviously)until you here a click or feel sort of a vibration through your foot. Then you just have to push forward with your toes, and back with your heel. See I didn't read the instruction manual until after I figured it out but I'm still doing it right. But basically the manual will tell you the same thing but longer. You can also select the wah range selector, and the variable Q selector, volume, and volume boost. I honestly don't even know if you can get upgrades for this pedal but if there is I probably am not going to get it. // 10

Sound: As of right now I've got an Ibanez RGex41 and a Line 6 Spider III 15w Practice amp, and the pedal sounds pretty sweet with them, like when I'm playing the sweet child o' mine solo from Guns N' Roses or like Jimi Hendrix it sounds pretty sweet. Even though you can get a Slash wah or a Hendrix wah, get this one because you can play with the Q-Variable, the volume, and the Wah range selector. The effect it's self is really very loud with the volume booster on. But I did have a problem with my first one because the little bar on the inside that like make the pedal go up and down it's supposed to have white stuff on it so it doesn't make noise and it didn't have any on it so I had to exchange it. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is really quite durable because it's got a metal frame and it's kinda just a solid thick pedal to begin with. And I have been using it for about three weeks now and it hasn't like stopped working or like acted funny on me yet so I'm hoping it doesn't do anything in the near future. But I recommend using the ac adapter because the batteries are quite the little bastards to deal with because they die in like no time and all the money you'll spend on them will be way more than the price of an adapter. And there is No Doubt in my mind that I would gig without a backup, because this pedal I put all my trust into yeah! // 10

Impression: My overall impression of the Dunlop 35Q Crybaby Wah pedal is well, I like it not much more to say then that, but if it did break or somthing I most likely wouldn't buy this pedal again or at least not right away because for $70.00 more I could get the DigiTech Whammy pedal, just becuase I want that more but I would probably buy it later on in my life. This pedal most defiantly fits the types of music I play because well I play almost everything, Other than country. I have been playing for about a year now, yeah I know not a long time. But I play like 3 hours out of every day so I am ok. You may think well he's only been playing for like a year why would I trust his opinion on a $130.00 pedal well just get the pedal and find out OK! // 10

Comments

[EricSewellAUS]

this wah, you could use on several rock and metal songs... but get the dimebag wah... made for metal.

[Warm_Tube_Guy]

I have purchased this pedal and really like the unique sounds that you can create out of it. It doesn't come with a power adapter so if you don't want to go through batteries like crazy I would reccomend buying the adapter. Other than that this wah pedal has very good tone to it, and is built very strong.

[Trip272]

WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week! Since then I have never bought another dunlop product and I advise you to look around for a better wah wah. i would try musiciansfriend or your local music store. Honestly! save your self the trouble! Its not worth your hard earned dough!

[Strat_Monkey]

^^Dude, my Crybaby GCB 95 is like, 10 years old, and I'm the third owner. The only repair it's had done to it is a replacement pot, which I did three days ago. Unreliable Dunlops? Give me a break.

[Roc8995]

Trip272 wrote:

WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week!

Warning! Don't listen to people who formulate an opinion based on one faulty unit!
I've had mine for three years with no problems. It sounds great. It does eat batteries though, get a power supply.

[jake176]

i have the original and it sounds great.

[Rivers]

Hey I got mine at Long and McQuade too....anyhow one of the great aspects of this pedal is the little manual that comes with it that shows how to get different people's sound.....i did a lot of searching before i bought this wah and trust me, you wont be dissapointed

[595Metallica595]

trip, im using an educated guess right now, mabe if you didnt get really pissed of at your dad, and killed your pedal, nothing may have happened, (that happened to me once with my tubescreamer ts7) or you thought you were like gona "rock on" and jump on it. or you broke up with your girlfriend, or you just wanted to make a comment to make no one get the pedal. im pretty sure its one of those

[justinp93]

heh, its good, but i need help playing wahs, for example the opening riff of voodoo child. thx.

got it for 80$ canadian at cosmo music at the sale.

[Mahoru]

Very good choice. I use it for everything, but especially for j-rock, like Dir en Grey or X- Japan, and it sounds like no other.

[NiK-117]

i have the gcb-95 and i love the tone, can u still get the tone of the GCB, if you wanted to, usin the dials n such

[PyroPlegic]

what about that new "slasl" wah?when's someone gonna review that?

[PyroPlegic]

i meant "slash" wah.

[hhamdy283]

WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week!

This is a common problem. A lot of people get adapters and do not look at the polarity. If the adapter's polarity is different to the one on the pedal's, then your pedal will burn out within a week. The Cry Baby uses a DC 9 volt. The adapter should have this symbol on it: +-C--. Positive-C-Negative.

[Bwandon:)]

my good friend gave this wah to me (kinda borrowing) but yeah its amazing hah

[gyzer_8970]

does this have the Fasel? (sorry if this is a n00by question)

[Shinook]

some one must have the slash pedal out there...review it!!! Too many people just slagging or praisng stuff that they have never personally tried!!

[the spiker]

Great pedal you can't go wrong. Very sturdy, can take a stompin.

Sound is great, I can play just like Jimmy Page

[HeartInACage]

Yeah mine was broken when i bought it, and i brought it back and they "fixed" it, and then it broke within 2 weeks. The q knob is completely gone, but i luckily have a 2 year accident plan. But regardless of my bad luck, its a great pedal that shouldnt be rated on the fact that I happen to be given one shoddy pedal, and neither should the other dude.

[CoreysMonster]

EricSewellAUS wrote:
this wah, you could use on several rock and metal songs... but get the dimebag wah... made for metal.

you DO know the Dimebag wah is based on this one? He used a 535Q until he got his signature wah.

[taylorfrey66]

Whats the difference between 535 and 535Q?

[jammwill]

I get so tired of people who formulate an opinion on an entire brand based on one faulty unit. Get your head out of your butt - every once in awhile you'll get a lemon. It happens.

[frusciante_fan!]

this wah is awesome. i use it on a fender strat and it sounds fabulous. I love the Q dile for it lets u change the variety of your wah sound to suit anything.

[tsk84eva]

cool pedal. highly recommended

[metallfiendVT]

I love this pedal, it sounds amazing if you take the time to tweak the settings to your preference (this can take a while, but is worth it). I play it through a 100w kustom stack, and it helps you deliver those "face melting solos" and sweet sweet chord progressions.

This thing is also a durable mo fo! My mother, in a fit of uncontrollable rage threw it across my room, where it proceeded to bounce off of the wall, hit a chair, and come to rest on a hardwood floor. I died a little inside when this happened. But, when I plugged it back in, it worked like the day I bought it, not problems, no loose anything. Rugged $hit.

[Dark Aegis]

Trip272 wrote:
WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week!

Dude I own three dunlops and havent had a damn problem with any of them.

[w3ird_people]

i regret getting the gcb-95 when i could have saved a little more cash and bought a model with more tonal possibilities. that said, the one i have works well and gets decent battery life(as long as you pull the cables out when you're done).

[Agent_00Funk]

Trip272 wrote:

WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week! Since then I have never bought another dunlop product and I advise you to look around for a better wah wah. i would try musiciansfriend or your local music store. Honestly! save your self the trouble! Its not worth your hard earned dough!

Have had mine for 2 years. Thing is built like a damn tank. Great pedal.

[HazeD]

this sumbitch is solid.

i got it at guitar center about 3 months ago, and its awesome, the only thing that sucks is that if u dont unplug the guitar cable it eats the battery, but thats nothing a 9volt cant fix =). very good range on this pedal, very smooth.

dunlop is the best, accept no substitutes

[jo3myster]

Trip272 wrote:

WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week! Since then I have never bought another dunlop product and I advise you to look around for a better wah wah. i would try musiciansfriend or your local music store. Honestly! save your self the trouble! Its not worth your hard earned dough!

Hey Fuck You. Mine Didnt break yet so again **** you you dirty uncle ****er, Your a boner biting bitch uncle ****er

[Thud]

jo3myster wrote:
Hey Fuck You. Mine Didnt break yet so again **** you you dirty uncle ****er, Your a boner biting bitch uncle ****er

I think that it's funny you restorted to saying all of that to signal you were defended. I've been thinking about getting one of these. I havn't played one yet but, from what it sounds like you're getting more than you pay for.

[Thud]

Haha, offended*

[Prince Albert]

Trip272 wrote:

WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week! Since then I have never bought another dunlop product and I advise you to look around for a better wah wah. i would try musiciansfriend or your local music store. Honestly! save your self the trouble! Its not worth your hard earned dough!

Did you ever stop to think that maybe you just got a lemon? Seriously, u can't put down the entire Dunlop company because of one bad product.

[Weepin_Guitar]

help!!! my 535Q doesn't seem to work anymore, the last time I've used it was on a gig and it worked fine, today I used it again and it only works in bypass mode, but it doesn't say 'wah' anymore, it only makes weird noises. I've only used it with the optional adaptor and a 9V battery, and it's still in warranty. I have it about 7 months now. What should I do? does anyone else have this problem?

[aig91]

Just got one yesterday. I am very impressed with it's wide range.

[aeliustehman]

Trip272 wrote:

WARNING! do NOT buy this pedal!! I used to have one and it broke within a week! Since then I have never bought another dunlop product and I advise you to look around for a better wah wah. i would try musiciansfriend or your local music store. Honestly! save your self the trouble! Its not worth your hard earned dough!

Wow. Yes, things break . Ever considered you just got a bad one?