NAMM 2024: Dunlop has added to the 20th-anniversary celebrations of its gear-powered relationship with Zakk Wylde by reissuing his Cry Baby wah pedal.
The celebrations have seen Dunlop revisit the stompboxes which the Ozzy guitarist cannot go without. As was the case with the Zakk Wylde Rotovibe that was announced last month, the aesthetic and tonal differences appear minimal, but classy. The same brushed steel finish remains, albeit with Wylde’s signature bullseye artwork now more prominent on its rubber top.
Dunlop describes the pedal – in line with its predecessors – as “built from the ground up with great tone and rugged durability in mind... [in order to] stand up to the crushing boot of metal's most relentless lead guitar player.”
Officially called the Wylde Audio Cry Baby wah, it follows in the wake of previous iterations by delivering a "thick, cutting kick to the pants" wah effect which has been fine-tuned to Wylde's specifications.
Unlike other signature Dunlop wahs, the Wylde edition is free from additional knobs and tone-tweaking capabilities, making it a no-nonsense, ‘stomp on it and crack on’ build.
Whether it does anything its older brothers do not is yet to be seen, but we suspect this is a simple case of bringing a well-received pedal back to market with a nice new finish, which is no bad thing.
Wah pedals have been a quintessential part of Zakk Wylde's guitar style and can be tracked right back to his first album with Ozzy, 1988's No Rest for the Wicked. They’ve remained on his pedalboard for his tours with Ozzy and Black Label Society since, and it also features in his current Pantera live rig.
Dunlop’s Wylde partying kicked off back in October when it unveiled five revamped Wylde Audio/MXR effects pedals, including his holy trinity of overdrive, phase and chorus stompboxes. That was followed by the aforementioned signature Rotovibe, which came with a premium price tag of $399.
The story isn’t much different here. The cost of having the signature, pants-kicking Cry Baby on your pedalboard weighs in at $285, while the standard Cry Baby currently goes for $99 and Dunlop’s array of other signature wahs – including Dimebag, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, and Van Halen models – cost $199.
The release marks the continuation of Wylde Audio, which the barbarian riff-monger launched in 2015. Producing guitars, amps, and, of course, pedals, it saw the guitarist furthering his heritage of successful signature gear with MXR and Dunlop.
Back in 2022, he even discussed the possibility of Wylde Audio making the next batch of Dimebag signature guitars. However, at the time of writing those aims have gained no further traction and the smart money is now on the Dean Zelinsky-backed Dimebag Guitarz.
Away from the bearded giant, Dunlop has been NAMM-tastically busy with a horde of other releases. From the "buttery goodness and thunder and lightning distortion" of its Way Huge Smalls Geisha Drive pedal to a reproduction of the guitar strap Jimi Hendrix wore for his flame-licked performance at the Monterey pop festival, there's been plenty to sink your teeth into.
For more information about the new wah, head to Jim Dunlop .
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