Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q Multi-Wah Chrome

The Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q Multi-Wah Chrome is a wah pedal made by Dunlop: a chrome-finished version of the 535Q Multi-Wah, the pedal Dunlop calls its flagship Cry Baby since its release¹. Where a standard Cry Baby gives one fixed wah sweep, the 535Q opens up the parameters that shape that sweep, so a player can set the frequency range, the width of the filter and the output level to suit their rig².

Dunlop describes the pedal plainly on its product page:

The three adjustable elements are a six-position Range Selector, a Variable Q control and a switchable boost, and the Chrome version carries the same feature set as the standard 535Q Multi-Wah in a chrome enclosure³.

What the 535Q Multi-Wah does

A wah pedal is a bandpass filter whose center frequency you sweep with your foot. On a fixed-voiced wah like the Cry Baby GCB95, that sweep is set at the factory. The 535Q instead gives the player control over the most important wah parameters, which Dunlop frames as a way to fine-tune your wah sound and make it your own².

Dunlop's own history of the pedal traces the idea to its first innovation, the Range Selector, which lets you select the pedal's frequency range, followed by the Variable Q control and a switchable boost that can add up to +18dB via the Volume control¹. The same three controls were later carried over into Dunlop's Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell Wah, which Dunlop describes as starting with the 535Q's Q control, 6-way range selector and adjustable kick-in boost⁶.

An independent reviewer at DIY Fever, comparing the 535Q against the cheaper 95Q, summed up the trade-off⁷:

That last point matters for players comparing wahs: the 535Q is a standard foot-on, foot-off pedal, not an auto-return or switchless design⁷⁸.

The controls: Range Selector, Variable Q and boost

The 535Q has three main controls, described in Dunlop's manual⁵:

The Variable Q control is the shape control. Dunlop's product page describes it as taking the 535Q's response from narrow and sharp to broad and subtle with the twist of a control³; Dunlop's buying guide puts the same idea as shaping the pedal's response from sharp to subtle⁹. In practical terms, a narrow, high-Q setting makes the wah peak pronounced and vocal, while a broader setting makes the effect subtler.

The boost is the level control. The manual gives a boost control range of 0.1 dB to 17 dB, with the VOLUME control setting gain up to 16dB⁵. The current product page states the switchable boost is adjustable up to +18dB and says it can create endless sustain on any note³. Dunlop's own documents disagree on the ceiling: the manual says 16dB, the product page says +18dB, and a 2017 Dunlop history article also says +18dB¹. In a Sweetwater demo video, Dunlop's Brian Quito described it as "16db of boost in this little fella"¹⁰.

Range selector frequencies

The Range Selector is a six-position control, and Dunlop says each position is based on the tonal characteristics of its most prized wah specimens³. Dunlop's buying guide characterizes the six ranges as running from bright and aggressive to dark and subtle⁹. The manual gives the sweep for five of the six positions⁵:

The 6th position is the darkest and lowest of the listed ranges, starting at 250 Hz, while the 2nd position reaches the highest listed top end at 1.9 kHz. For comparison, the smaller Cry Baby Mini 535Q uses its own range values, for example 320 Hz to 1650 Hz at position 2 and 420 Hz to 2100 Hz at position 4, so the two pedals' sweeps are not identical⁵¹¹.

Power and connections

The 535Q runs on DC 9 volts with a current draw of 2.5 mA⁵. Power options, per Dunlop³⁵:

• One 9-volt battery, accessed via the bottom of the pedal
• A Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter
• Dunlop's DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies, which are not included

Connections are a single INSTRUMENT jack in and a single AMPLIFIER jack out, with 1 MΩ input impedance and 1 kΩ output impedance⁵. The bypass is listed in the manual as True Hardwire⁵, the same switching Dunlop uses across the 535Q family, including the Mini 535Q and the Mini 535Q Auto-Return¹²¹³.

The chrome finish and the other 535Q versions

The 535Q family spans several versions, all from Dunlop³⁴:

The Chrome version is a finish variant of the standard 535Q rather than a different circuit: Dunlop lists it alongside the 535Q with the same six-position Range Selector, Variable Q control and switchable boost³. The price difference is entirely in the enclosure, at $66 more than the standard 535Q as listed in October 2026³⁴.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions