Dunlop Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell Wah

The Dunlop Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell Wah is a signature wah pedal from Dunlop, built around the circuit of the Cry Baby 535Q Multi-Wah and developed with Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. Dunlop calls it "the most versatile wah in our line up," designed for players who need options on stage¹.

It keeps the 535Q's Q control, six-way range selector and adjustable kick-in boost, then adds an extended sweep range, a fine tune knob, a toe-down frequency control, LEDs for wah and boost status, and an extra output for splitting your signal to a separate effects chain¹. The current version carries the product code DB01B and lists at $209.99².

A 535Q-based wah with a built-in boost

Dunlop built the From Hell starting from the 535Q, carrying over its Q control, six-way range selector and adjustable kick-in boost¹. The 535Q itself has been Dunlop's flagship Cry Baby pedal since its release, according to Dunlop's own history of the wah line⁴. What the Q control and range selector give you is control over the shape and position of the wah's frequency peak: the six-way selector shifts the range up or down rather than making it bigger or smaller, as Guitar.com's reviewer put it³.

On top of the 535Q foundation, the From Hell adds:

• An extended sweep range, reaching more lows and highs¹
• A fine tune knob for the sweep⁵
• A control to adjust the pedal's toe-down frequency¹
• A kick-button on the side of the pedal to engage a gain boost³
• LED indicators for wah on/off and boost on/off at the back of the pedal⁵
• Skateboard skid tape in place of the standard rubber tread, which Dunlop says keeps your foot from slipping on any spilled beverages¹

The boost is a switchable circuit, the same idea as on the 535Q, where Dunlop describes it as letting you "dial in the ultimate wah tone"⁶. On the From Hell it is engaged with the side kick-button, so you can hit it mid-solo without leaving the treadle³.

Guitar.com reviewed the DB01B alongside the Gary Clark Jr signature wah in December 2019 and scored it 9/10³. The review noted its buffered bypass, switchable wet/dry second output, and the LEDs for wah and boost³.

Kirk Hammett of Metallica, himself the subject of several signature Cry Babies, named the Dimebag wah as his favorite in 2023⁷:

Hammett also pointed to the pedal's switching options: "But he made a wah that has this pickup selector and you can toggle through all these things," adding, "It's the greatest idea and on top of that, there's a boost"⁷.

Power and connections

The pedal runs on a 9-volt battery or a Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter, and Dunlop also lists the DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies as options, none of which are included¹. Guitar.com's review confirms the 9-volt battery or mains supply arrangement³.

For connections, besides the standard output there is an extra output for splitting your signal to a separate FX chain, which Guitar.com describes as a switchable wet/dry second output¹³. That lets you send the wahed signal to one amp or chain and a dry signal to another.

Dunlop also sells parts for an Auto-Return version of the pedal under a separate listing, for players servicing or rebuilding one².

From the 535Q to Dimebag's signature wah

Dimebag Darrell was a long-time user of the 535Q, and Dunlop says work on this pedal began some 20 years before the current product page, starting from that customizable design¹. The original Dimebag Cry Baby Wah, designed in conjunction with Dimebag Darrell, shared the same feature set: extended sweep range with a fine tune knob, six-way range selector, kick-in volume boost and LED indicators at the back of the pedal⁵. Dunlop now lists that original as a legacy product that is no longer in production⁵.

The DB01B From Hell is the Dimebag Cry Baby From Hell, a signature wah designed in conjunction with Dimebag Darrell²⁵⁷. Dunlop says work on the pedal began some 20 years earlier, with Dime, a long-time user of the highly customizable Cry Baby 535Q, developing it with Dunlop starting from that model¹.

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