The Dunlop DB01B Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell is a wah pedal from Dunlop, a blacked-out take on the signature wah that Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell helped Dunlop devise. Dunlop's manual describes it as "the most versatile in our lineup," built around the vocal, expressive tones the Cry Baby wah is famous for, but with an extended sweep range, a six-way frequency selector, a switchable boost and a second output1.
Guitar.com's reviewer called it "a meaner alternative to the full camouflage version of this pedal that's been around since 2004," with a finish Dunlop calls "camo black"2. Where the original Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell Wah wears full camouflage, the DB01B keeps the same feature set in a darker shell.
What the Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell does
Like any Cry Baby wah, the DB01B is a treadle-operated filter: rocking the pedal sweeps a resonant peak across the frequency spectrum, producing the vocal "wah" effect. What separates the Dime model from a standard Cry Baby is how much of that sweep you can reshape. Dunlop's buying guide lists an extended sweep range, a 6-way frequency selector, a switchable boost and LEDs to indicate wah and boost status4, and Guitar World described it at its 2019 launch as "the most versatile wah in the Dunlop line up," designed for players who need options on stage5.
Internally, the pedal uses the red Fasel type inductor, the component long associated with vintage Cry Baby character2. The manual's measured specs include a maximum gain at the filter's center frequency of 15 dBV and a noise floor of -102 dGV (A-weighted)1.
The pedal carries Dimebag's own design fingerprints. In a 2023 Guitar.com piece, Kirk Hammett pointed to the range selector as the heart of the design16:
"But he made a wah that has this pickup selector and you can toggle through all these things."
Hammett went further in the same piece, calling it "the greatest wah that's ever been fucking made"6.
The controls: six-way range, Q and boost
The DB01B gives you far more shaping than a fixed Cry Baby. The main control set breaks down like this542:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Six-way range selector | Determines the frequency center of the wah; shifts the range up or down rather than making it bigger or smaller12 |
| Fine-tune mini rotary | Fine-tunes the selected range2 |
| Q control | Alters the "Q" shape of the sweep, changing how focused the sound is in the middle of the treadle's travel2 |
| Boost kick-button | A side-mounted kick-button that engages a gain boost2 |
| Boost gain control | Adjusts the boost's gain, from 0.1 to 17 dB12 |
| Bypass switch | Located under the toe of the treadle, as on a standard Cry Baby2 |
The six-way selector is the feature Dimebag himself pushed for, letting you move the wah's sweet spot to sit under high-gain rhythm work or screaming lead lines. Guitar.com's reviewer found the Q control especially useful, noting it changes "how focused the sound is in the middle part of the treadle's travel," in other words how boldly the mids leap out as you pass through the sweep2.
The boost is a separate gain stage you kick in with the side button, with its own gain trimmer and an LED to show when it is active, alongside a second LED for the wah itself2.
Power and connections
The DB01B runs on 9 volts DC1. Power options:
- One 9-volt battery, accessed through the bottom of the pedal1
- An AC adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003 or ECB003E1
- A Dunlop DC Brick power supply1
On the connections side, the pedal has two outputs. The second output is switchable between wet and dry: set to wet, it sends the treated signal to an effects loop or second amp for stereo operation; set to dry, it sends an untouched signal to a tuner so you can tune without the wah in the way24. Guitar.com's review lists this switchable wet/dry second output among the pedal's headline features2.
The DB01B uses buffered bypass, not true bypass12. If you run long cables or a large pedalboard, the buffer stays in the signal path even when the wah is off.
A black version of Dimebag Darrell's camo wah
The DB01B is the "camo black" variant of the Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell, the full-camouflage signature wah Dunlop has sold since 20042. Dimebag Darrell worked with Dunlop on the design, and the manual credits him directly: "he helped us devise this wah, the most versatile in our lineup"1.
The pedal was announced at Summer NAMM 2019 alongside a Gary Clark Jr signature Cry Baby and a set of Jimi Hendrix mini pedals5. At review time in the UK it carried a price of £184.992; Dunlop's current listing prices it at $209.993.
For players comparing Dime-themed wahs, Dunlop's range also includes the original camouflage Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell Wah, the Dimebag Cry Baby Wah and the DB-02 Dime Cry Baby Wah. The DB01B's closest sibling in feature terms is the Cry Baby 535Q family, which shares the multi-position range selector idea, though the Dime model adds the side boost and second output2.
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Questions
Is the Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell true bypass?
No. The DB01B uses buffered bypass, as listed in Dunlop's manual and confirmed in Guitar.com's review. When the wah is off, the signal still passes through the pedal's buffer rather than a direct hard-wire path, which keeps the tone consistent but means the pedal is always partly in the circuit.
Does the Dimebag wah have a Fasel inductor?
Yes. Guitar.com's review notes that the Dime uses the famous red Fasel type inductor, the same inductor family found in vintage-style Cry Baby wahs and associated with the vocal, expressive Cry Baby character. Dunlop also sells red Fasel inductors separately as replacement parts.
What does the second output on the Dimebag wah do?
The second output is switchable between wet and dry. Set it to wet and it sends the treated wah signal to a second amp or an effects loop for stereo operation. Set it to dry and it sends an untouched signal to a tuner, so you can tune silently while the wah stays in your chain.
Can the Dimebag Cry Baby run on a battery?
Yes. The DB01B runs on one 9-volt battery, accessed through the bottom of the pedal. It can also be powered by a 9V DC adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003 or ECB003E, or by a Dunlop DC Brick power supply, which is handy on a crowded pedalboard.
Sources (6)
- DB01B.pdf, Jim Dunlop, 2019
- Review: Dunlop GCJ95 Gary Clark Jr Cry Baby & DB01B Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell, Guitar.com, 2019-12-10
- DIMEBAG CRY BABY® FROM HELL WAH, Dunlop (jimdunlop.com)
- RANGE OF EXPRESSION: FIND YOUR CRY BABY® WAH, Dunlop (lifestyle.jimdunlop.com), 2021-10-08
- Summer NAMM 2019: Dunlop Introduces Four New Jimi Hendrix Mini Pedals, Dimebag Darrell and Gary Clark Jr. Wahs, Guitar World, 2019-07-19
- Kirk Hammett discusses his favourite wah pedal, Guitar.com, 2023-08-24
