Dunlop Cry Baby DareDevil Fuzz Wah

The Dunlop Cry Baby DareDevil Fuzz Wah (model DD95FW) is a wah pedal with a fuzz circuit built into the same housing. Dunlop describes it as combining "the bright, aggressive vocality of a modded Cry Baby Wah with a custom fuzz circuit that's downright gnarly"¹². It came out of a collaboration with Daredevil Pedals, the Chicago pedal shop run by builder Johnny Wator, and each unit is hand built with through-hole components and true bypass switching¹.

The idea behind the pedal is simple: instead of plugging a fuzz pedal into a wah, you get both circuits designed to work together in one box. Premier Guitar's reviewer tested that premise directly, trying to link a separate wah with a Fuzzrite clone, and found the results "a much less cohesive and less pleasing take on the sound Wator concocted here"³. The pedal was announced in May 2023 and available for pre-order then, with shipping beginning June 1⁴.

A modded Cry Baby wah with a built-in fuzz

The wah side is a modded Cry Baby circuit. Wator deliberately made the tone sweep of the rocker shorter and narrower, a quality he admires in Cry Babys from the mid to late 1970s³. In Premier Guitar's review, the wah on its own showed "pronounced midrange-y leanings, which can drive the fuzz to manic heights," and the reviewer noted the filtering curve can make the pedal "feel less subtle and sound a little more nasal," though with "abundant shadings in the middle and higher ranges of the sweep"³.

The fuzz side is a custom vintage fuzz circuit. Premier Guitar's reviewer identified it as "a deadly take on a silicon Fuzzrite," and wrote that "it's the way it can scythe through a mix that make it feel like the ultimate '60s fuzz"³. With the fuzz volume at maximum, the same reviewer found the pedal "blistering hot and very, very loud," useful for toying with feedback³.

The housing is distinctive: a vintage crinkle finish base, a polished aluminum rocker top, and a custom design tread¹. Daredevil's own listing adds that the pedal carries custom artwork by Casey Sass⁸.

The controls: fuzz switch and internal trim pots

There is only one external control: a heavy-duty baseball bat switch on the side of the pedal that toggles the fuzz on and off¹. Dunlop's manual calls it the WAH/FUZZ WAH switch: flip it to WAH to use the wah by itself, or to FUZZ WAH to engage the fuzz⁷.

To reach the internal knobs, you remove the bottom plate⁷. Dunlop's pitch for this arrangement is lead tone: "For instant lead tone, boost both the output and gain, in one step, you're ready to rip"¹. Premier Guitar's reviewer was less enthusiastic about the placement, writing that "it's too bad that the two controls are internally mounted given the profound way that they can shape the pedal's tone and functionality"³.

Power and connections

The DareDevil runs on one 9-volt battery, accessed through the underside of the pedal¹. For adapter power, it takes the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter, or Dunlop's DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies¹⁷. RockBoard's listing gives the power spec as 9V DC, center negative, with a current draw of 1 mA², while Dunlop's manual lists the draw as under 1 mA in both wah-only and fuzz-wah modes⁷.

In Premier Guitar's demo video, John Bohlinger noted the practical upside of that low draw: "you can run these things on a nine volt for like a year"⁹.

Designed by Johnny Wator of Daredevil Pedals

The pedal's origin lies with Johnny Wator, Daredevil Pedals' proprietor and builder, and his love for classic vintage circuits¹. According to Guitar.com, Wator spent several years working on the circuit before presenting it to Dunlop for its lineup¹⁰, and Daredevil's own page describes the release as the result of almost 3 years of collaboration with Dunlop⁸. Before that, Wator had been building these as one-offs on the side for friends and fellow musicians⁸.

At the launch, Wator framed the pedal's intent plainly:

One point worth knowing: although the design is Wator's, the production pedals are built by Dunlop, not at Daredevil's Chicago shop⁸. Daredevil notes that it occasionally has units on hand for purchase on its own site, signed and dated by Wator⁸.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar's full review concluded that the pedal is "a cool, idiosyncratic, if slightly aggressive, wah paired with a deadly take on a silicon Fuzzrite," and that it is not a mere branding exercise³. The same review found the fuzz tones in the toe-down range "white hot and focused"³.

In Premier Guitar's demo video, Bohlinger described the wah as having "a very Clyde McCoy kind of vibe" and said that "even if it didn't have the fuzz this is a great standalone wah by itself." On the fuzz: "once you flip that thing on it is an instant Stooges raw power, just a gnarly tone however with a lot of versatility"⁹.

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Premier Guitar later included the pedal in a 2025 wah buying guide, again noting its "bright, aggressive vocality of a modded Cry Baby Wah with a custom fuzz circuit that's downright gnarly," at a listed $229.99⁶.

Availability

Daredevil Pedals' listing for the pedal shows it sold out, at $229.00⁸. Premier Guitar's product page lists it at $229⁵, while its 2025 buying guide gave $229.99⁶. Dunlop's own product page for the pedal remains live¹.

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