The Dunlop CBJ95 Cry Baby Junior Wah is an analog wah pedal from Dunlop, built to solve a problem every pedalboard player knows: a full-size Cry Baby is long, and its side-mounted jacks eat row space. The Junior keeps the Cry Baby treadle and voice but shrinks the housing and moves the jacks to the front, so it drops into the routing spaces of popular boards123. It was developed in collaboration with Pedaltrain, whose Metro series boards it was designed to fit4.
You rock your foot on the treadle to sweep the wah, click the switch under your toe to turn it on and off, and pick one of three voices with a switch on the side of the pedal53. It lists at $1293.
Three voices: the H, M and L switch
On the side of the pedal is a three-position switch that selects one of three Cry Baby wah voices covering the full frequency spectrum2. The manual notes the switch orientation: H sits toward the heel of the pedal, L toward the toe5. MusicRadar's review found the switch "quite dramatically alter[s] the sweep"4.
| Position | What Dunlop says | What reviewers found |
|---|---|---|
| H | The aggressive modern sound of the GCB9552 | Wide frequency range with more top-end at toe-down, familiar to anyone who has played a GCB95 or similar23 |
| M | The midrange growl of vintage wah pedals234 | More in keeping with a vintage wah sound, focused on the midrange with noticeably less treble bite23 |
| L | A sound that's dark and rich234 | Coverage slightly lower down the frequency range, digs deeper and puts a little talk in the wah, with an expressive vocal quality23 |
Guitar World's reviewer, Trevor Curwen, described the H setting as offering "the sound of a modern Cry Baby such as the GCB95," while the L setting "delivers a darker experience with coverage slightly lower down the frequency range, with an expressive vocal quality"3.
Controls and setup
Setup is the standard Cry Baby routine: run a shielded instrument cable from your guitar to the CBJ95's INSTRUMENT jack, and another from its AMPLIFIER jack into your amplifier input5. Rocking your foot back and forth on the pedal changes the effect on your instrument's tone instantaneously5.
- Bypass footswitch (toe down): turns the wah on and off in the regular Cry Baby fashion, with an LED showing when it is engaged4
- Voice switch (side): three positions, H, M and L5
- Torque clutch (under the rocker at the heel): adjusts the resistance of the rocker. Turn clockwise to increase resistance, counterclockwise to decrease it. A wrench is included4
Power: 9V, 3mA
The Junior runs on 9V DC, center negative, drawing only 3mA2. The manual states it is powered by one 9-volt battery, accessed via the bottom of the pedal, and also lists the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter, or the DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies5. At 3mA it is a light load for any isolated supply or daisy chain.
The battery is reached through the bottom of the pedal5, so if the Junior is mounted to a board, plan for access when it is time to swap the battery, or run it from a power supply.
Built with Pedaltrain for pedalboards
The Junior exists because of a collaboration. MusicRadar's review explains the background: "But in collaboration with Pedaltrain, the stompbox giant has found a third way, the Cry Baby Junior"4. The 8-inch housing length lines up with the routing spaces on boards such as Pedaltrain's, and the front-mounted jacks keep cabling clean21. Premier Guitar's buying guide likewise highlights "front-mounted jacks and an 8" housing for clean configurations on the world's most popular boards"1.
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Circuit type | Analog2 |
| Bypass | True Hardwire5 |
| Input impedance | 800 kΩ5 |
| Output impedance | <10 kΩ5 |
| Max input level | -8.0 dBV5 |
| Max output level | +10 dBV5 |
| Maximum gain (toe down) | +19.0 dB5 |
| Maximum gain (heel down) | +19.5 dB5 |
| Noise floor (toe down) | -89 dBV A-weighted5 |
| Noise floor (heel down) | -98 dBV A-weighted5 |
| Current draw | 3mA2 |
| Voltage | 9V DC, center negative2 |
What reviewers said
MusicRadar's review found that "sound-wise, this is classic throaty Cry Baby with little difference from a full size pedal through the treadle travel," and concluded that "the Cry Baby Junior delivers three great-tasting flavours of wah in a pedalboard-friendly format"4.
Guitar World's reviewer Trevor Curwen gave the overall verdict: "All the functionality of a well-sorted Cry Baby in a very practical footprint for pedalboards"3.
How it compares with other compact Cry Babys
Dunlop's smaller wahs cover a range of footprints. The Junior's pitch is a full treadle in a board-friendly 8-inch housing with three voices. If space is tighter still, MusicRadar's review notes that "the Mini 535Q is smaller still if space is an issue"4; the Cry Baby Mini 535Q and CBM95 Cry Baby Mini Wah shrink the pedal further at the cost of treadle length. The H voice on the Junior matches the sound of the modern GCB95, so players who already know that pedal can expect a familiar sweep in the smaller format53.
Videos
Premier Guitar
The Bass Channel
ReviewTube99
Questions
How big is the Cry Baby Junior compared to a regular Cry Baby?
The Junior has an 8-inch housing length, shorter than a full-size Cry Baby, and its front-mounted jacks keep cabling tidy. Dunlop developed it with Pedaltrain so the housing lines up with the routing spaces on boards such as the Pedaltrain Metro series, letting it sit in rows where a standard Cry Baby would not fit.
Is the Cry Baby Junior true bypass?
Yes. The CBJ95 manual lists its bypass as True Hardwire, so the signal passes without the wah circuit when the pedal is off. You switch it on and off by clicking the footswitch under your toe, in the regular Cry Baby fashion, and an LED shows when the wah is engaged.
Does the CBJ95 have an LED?
Yes. An LED shows when the wah is engaged. You turn the effect on and off by clicking the switch under your toe as on a regular Cry Baby, and the light confirms the state, which is useful on a crowded board where the rocker position is not obvious at a glance.
Can the Cry Baby Junior run on a battery?
Yes. The manual states the pedal is powered by one 9-volt battery, accessed via the bottom of the pedal. It can also run on the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter, or the DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies. Current draw is only 3mA.
What is the difference between the Cry Baby Junior and the Mini 535Q?
Both are compact Dunlop wahs, but the Junior is an 8-inch pedal with front-mounted jacks and a three-position voice switch, while the Mini 535Q is smaller still. MusicRadar's review notes the Mini 535Q is the option if space is an issue; the Junior trades some size for a full treadle and board-friendly dimensions.
Sources (5)
- Six Wah Pedals for All Sizes, Prices, and Styles, Premier Guitar, 2025-01-21
- CBJ95 Cry Baby Junior Wah by Dunlop, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Dunlop CBJ95 Cry Baby Junior Wah review, Guitar World, 2021-07-07
- Dunlop CBJ95 Cry Baby Junior and DVP5 Volume (X) review, MusicRadar, 2021-07-28
- CBJ95.pdf, Jim Dunlop, 2020
