Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95 Settings Guide
The original production wah. Slightly nasal, vocal character is the sound of 50 years of rock, blues, and metal guitar — from Hendrix to Hammett.
The best Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95 settings start with: Pedal Position at 5/10, Sweep Speed at 3/10, Chain Position at 1/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues: Pedal Position 4/10, Sweep Speed 2/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Pedal Position | 5/10 | Heel (Bass) → Toe (Treble) |
| Sweep Speed | 3/10 | Slow/Held → Fast |
| Chain Position | 1/10 | Before Fuzz → After Fuzz |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Slow, deliberate heel-to-mid sweeps. Spend time in the lower vocal range (heel-side). Find a frequency that "speaks" and hold it for entire phrases — the wah as a filter, not just an effect.
Quick rhythmic "chicka-wah" strokes, accent on the upbeat. Stay in the upper range — toe-side of centre. Sync the rock to the groove, not the notes. Keep strokes shallow for crisp definition.
Hendrix-style mid-range dwelling. Sweep from heel to about 60% toe, then hold on the vowel sound for phrase endings. Let the note sustain through the wah position rather than sweeping constantly.
Fast, wide sweeps ending in the toe position for bright attack on note onset. Used as a dynamic accent rather than a sustained effect. Kirk Hammett approach: sweep in on the attack, hold at toe during the sustained note.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
Hendrix treated the wah as a frequency filter, not a sweep effect — he held the pedal mid-position to colour single notes and whole phrases. The wah was before the Fuzz Face for a brighter interaction. Slow, deliberate movement; often stationary for bars at a time.
Slash uses the wah expressively on solo entries — a sweeping cry from heel to toe at the start of a lead phrase. Also uses it parked at partial position for a filtered rhythm texture on songs like "Night Train". His wah is after the amp gain chain.
SRV used the wah rhythmically and vocally on songs like "Say What!". More heel-weighted than most — he favoured the thicker, lower vocal range of the sweep. Slow, deliberate motion that mirrors the blues phrasing.
Cream-era Clapton made the wah famous on "White Room" — very slow, sustained sweeps through the full range. The wah was used before the Marshall at full chat, giving a bright interaction with the amp's natural breakup. Slow enough that the wah sounds vocal rather than rhythmic.
Hammett favours fast, toe-heavy sweeps for metal's sharp attack. He typically sweeps in on the onset of a solo note and holds near the toe position for sustained notes. The wah before an already-high-gain amp adds a bright nasal peak that cuts through heavy rhythm guitar.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The GCB95's sweet spot is at 70–80% toe — fully cocked toe is extremely bright and nasal; backing off slightly gives a more musical peak.
- Placing wah BEFORE fuzz (traditional Hendrix setup) gives a brighter, more cutting effect. Placing it AFTER fuzz produces a thicker, vowel-like sweep — very different character.
- The inductor determines the wah's character more than anything else. The stock Fasel inductor (red dot) is the vintage-voiced option; replacing it with a yellow Fasel or Halo inductor changes the sweep range significantly.
- Park the pedal at the heel-down position as a low-pass filter for a warm, bass-heavy rhythm tone — useful even when you're not sweeping.
- The rocker spring tension can be adjusted via an internal screw. Stiffer spring = more deliberate, controlled movement; looser = faster playing but less tactile feedback.
- True-bypass switch mod: the stock GCB95 uses a non-true-bypass switch that adds a slight tonal change when engaged. The Dunlop 535Q uses true bypass — worth considering if signal purity matters.
- Try the wah in your effects loop (amp send/return) rather than the front end. Loop placement removes the wah's effect on amp gain and gives a cleaner, less aggressive sweep — useful for cleaner tones.
FAQ
Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95 — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95: Pedal Position at 5/10, Sweep Speed at 3/10, Chain Position at 1/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues: Pedal Position 4/10, Sweep Speed 2/10. Slow, deliberate heel-to-mid sweeps. Spend time in the lower vocal range (heel-side). Find a frequency that "speaks" and hold it for entire phrases — the wah as a filter, not just an effect.
For Funk: Pedal Position 7/10, Sweep Speed 8/10. Quick rhythmic "chicka-wah" strokes, accent on the upbeat. Stay in the upper range — toe-side of centre. Sync the rock to the groove, not the notes. Keep strokes shallow for crisp definition.
Pedal Position: The rocker sweeps a bandpass filter from low-mid to upper-mid frequencies. The heel position applies a low-pass filter (dark, muffled); the toe position opens a bright peak around 2kHz. (Heel (Bass) to Toe (Treble)). Sweep Speed: How quickly you rock the pedal. Blues players hold positions; funk players use quick rhythmic strokes; metal players use fast full sweeps. (Slow/Held to Fast). Chain Position: Position in the signal chain dramatically changes the character. Before fuzz/OD: brighter, more cutting. After fuzz: thicker vowel sound with more sustain. (Before Fuzz to After Fuzz)
The GCB95's sweet spot is at 70–80% toe — fully cocked toe is extremely bright and nasal; backing off slightly gives a more musical peak. Placing wah BEFORE fuzz (traditional Hendrix setup) gives a brighter, more cutting effect. Placing it AFTER fuzz produces a thicker, vowel-like sweep — very different character. The inductor determines the wah's character more than anything else. The stock Fasel inductor (red dot) is the vintage-voiced option; replacing it with a yellow Fasel or Halo inductor changes the sweep range significantly. Park the pedal at the heel-down position as a low-pass filter for a warm, bass-heavy rhythm tone — useful even when you're not sweeping. The rocker spring tension can be adjusted via an internal screw. Stiffer spring = more deliberate, controlled movement; looser = faster playing but less tactile feedback. True-bypass switch mod: the stock GCB95 uses a non-true-bypass switch that adds a slight tonal change when engaged. The Dunlop 535Q uses true bypass — worth considering if signal purity matters. Try the wah in your effects loop (amp send/return) rather than the front end. Loop placement removes the wah's effect on amp gain and gives a cleaner, less aggressive sweep — useful for cleaner tones.
Jimi Hendrix settings: Pedal Position 4/10, Sweep Speed 2/10. Hendrix treated the wah as a frequency filter, not a sweep effect — he held the pedal mid-position to colour single notes and whole phrases. The wah was before the Fuzz Face for a brighter interaction. Slow, deliberate movement; often stationary for bars at a time.