Dunlop CBM535QAR Cry Baby Mini 535Q Auto-Return Wah

The Dunlop CBM535QAR Cry Baby Mini 535Q Auto-Return Wah is a compact wah pedal in the Cry Baby line. According to Dunlop, it "offers the dynamic versatility and space-saving footprint of the Cry Baby Mini 535Q Wah with the ultimate mod for convenient live performances: auto-return switching"¹. In other words, it takes the small-format Dunlop Cry Baby Mini 535Q and adds a mechanism that returns the treadle to the off position when you lift your foot, so the wah switches itself out of the signal path after each use.

What it does

As a wah, the pedal sweeps a filter across your guitar's frequencies as you rock the treadle, giving the familiar vocal "wah" character. The 535Q design adds a Q control, which Dunlop describes as a control that "shapes effect response from sharp to smooth"¹. That lets a player dial in how pronounced and peaky the filter sounds, from an aggressive, focused sweep to a gentler, more open one.

The auto-return switching is the feature that sets this model apart from the standard mini 535Q. On a conventional wah, you press the toe of the treadle down to switch the effect on and off. With auto-return, the pedal comes back to a resting position when you step off it, switching the wah out of the circuit automatically. Dunlop presents this as a convenience aimed at live performance, where a player may want the wah engaged only for short passages without thinking about the switch¹.

Where it sits in the Cry Baby range

Dunlop's Cry Baby line covers a wide range of wah designs, from the standard full-size Dunlop Cry Baby GCB-95 to signature models and compact formats. The CBM535QAR belongs to the mini family, alongside the Dunlop CBM95 Cry Baby Mini Wah and the Dunlop CBM105Q Cry Baby Mini Bass Wah for bass players. For a broader look at what the format offers, see the site's page on Wah-Wah Pedals.