The Dunlop JC-95 Cantrell Signature Wah is a wah pedal Dunlop built with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, designed to his specifications12. Cantrell favored wahs with a wider, darker response, and Dunlop replicated that voicing for the signature model2. Premier Guitar's reviewer found the result distinctive: "The JC95's filter is decidedly narrow, producing a pronounced wah"1.
The pedal comes in an antique, oxidized "road worn" brass casting with a custom Alice in Chains tread2, which Premier Guitar described as "an attractive, copper-colored casing full of rugged components"1. The original JC-95 is discontinued: Guitar.com called it "the discontinued original signature model" in 202232, and Dunlop has carried the voicing forward in later Cantrell editions such as the Firefly3.
What it does
The JC-95 is a standard Cry Baby-style wah: you rock the treadle with your foot and the pedal sweeps a bandpass filter across the frequency range, producing the wah effect. What sets it apart is the voicing. Where a stock Cry Baby sits, the JC-95 was custom-voiced for a tight, punchy heel-down tone with the wider, darker response Cantrell favored2. Dunlop's own buying guide says the design "retains low-end punch"6, which matters for the heavy rhythm work Cantrell is known for.
Premier Guitar's reviewer, a long-time standard Cry Baby user, found the voicing a wake-up call: "I've been using a standard Cry Baby for years, and I was really inspired by the JC95's voicing. It made me realize that my current wah pedal is far too timid for my sound"1.
The controls
The JC-95 keeps the Cry Baby formula simple: the treadle is the main control, and one side knob handles the fine tuning278.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Treadle | Rocks the wah filter across the frequency sweep |
| FINE TUNE knob (side-mounted) | Adjusts the tone of the toe-down rocker position4 |
Dunlop's manual describes the side control as a knob that "adjusts tone of toe-down rocker position"4, and press coverage from MusicRadar's first look onward describes it as a side control for fine-tuning the toe-down sound7. Guitar World's coverage of the later Firefly edition confirms the same side-mounted knob carried through the line for dialing in the toe-down frequency8.
Under the hood, the sweep pot is a 5k potentiometer used as a variable resistor, with the second lug on ground and the third lug disconnected; the builders' analysis found that third lug "does not affect the sweep or resistance in any way"2.
Power and connections
The pedal runs on a 9-volt battery you can access without removing the bottom plate, or on the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter14. Dunlop's manual lists the power supply as DC 9 volts with a current draw of just 1 mA4, light enough that a battery lasts a long time. Premier Guitar also notes you can run it off an optional AC adaptor or Dunlop's DCB10 Brick power supply1.
The JC-95 uses hardwired-bypass switching, not true bypass12. Players who want true bypass can convert it: Griffin Effects sells a true bypass kit rated at beginner difficulty that it says works with the JC-95, all revisions92.
The circuit it comes from
The JC-95 is based on the GCB-95 circuit, which the builders' technical analysis describes as "essentially the original thomas organ wah with an input buffer"2. That lineage ties it to the original Cry Baby GCB-95: all Dunlop wahs based on that circuit share the same wah pot connections and circuit topography, a two-transistor wah design with the input buffer as its first stage2.
In practice, the builders found the differences from a standard Cry Baby are small. One commenter asked, "Isn't it essentially a standard Crybaby with two or three component swaps and the pot?"2. The distinctive parts are the voicing components, the 5k sweep pot, and the cosmetics: the oxidized brass casting and the Alice in Chains tread2.
What builders said
The DIY community that traced and rebuilt the circuit came away impressed. One builder who used the layout reported: "Thanks for this layout it sounds amazing!!"2. Another noted the sweep pot wiring needed a correction but the pedal worked, and a builder added a switchable input cap borrowed from a modded Cry Baby layout, a modification rather than a stock feature2.
On the press side, MusicRadar's buying guide summed up the JC-95's appeal as "custom voiced with a darker/wider response" in a rugged casing with the side control knob and AIC tread5102, and Dunlop's own guide to choosing a Cry Baby points players who want that low-end punch toward the Cantrell voicing10.
Videos
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Music City CZ
Ron McCann
Questions
Is the Dunlop JC-95 Cantrell wah discontinued?
Yes. Guitar.com described the JC-95 in 2022 as the discontinued original signature model. Dunlop has continued the Cantrell line with later versions such as the Firefly, which Guitar World reported is voiced to nail Cantrell's trademark wah tones, so the circuit lives on in newer editions.
What does the side knob on the JC-95 do?
The side-mounted FINE TUNE knob adjusts the tone of the toe-down rocker position. Dunlop's manual calls it the control for the toe-down frequency, and reviewers describe it as a way to fine-tune the sound at the top of the sweep without opening the pedal.
Is the JC-95 based on the GCB-95 circuit?
Yes. Technical analysis of the layout found it follows the GCB-95 circuit, which is essentially the original Thomas Organ wah with an input buffer added. It is a two-transistor wah circuit with an input buffer first stage, and builders noted it is close to a standard Cry Baby with a few component swaps and a different pot.
Is the JC-95 true bypass?
No. Premier Guitar's review states it features hardwired-bypass switching, not true bypass. Griffin Effects sells a true bypass modification kit rated at beginner difficulty that it says works with the JC-95, all revisions, for players who want to convert it.
Does the JC-95 have a buffer?
Yes. The circuit includes an input buffer as its first stage, part of the GCB-95 design it is based on. That buffer is one reason the pedal uses hardwired-bypass switching rather than true bypass.
How much did the JC-95 Cantrell wah cost?
Premier Guitar's 2025 buying guide listed it at $199.99, and its 2026 review gave a street price of $159. The pedal is discontinued, so current pricing depends on the used market rather than a list price.
Sources (10)
- Dunlop JC95 Jerry Cantrell Signature Wah Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2010-07-20
- Guitar FX Layouts: Dunlop JC-95 Cantrell Signature Wah, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2017-03-03
- Dunlop drops a glow-in-the-dark wah pedal for Jerry Cantrell, Guitar.com, 2022-11-23
- JC95B.pdf, Jim Dunlop, 2019
- Six Wah Pedals for All Sizes, Prices, and Styles, Premier Guitar, 2025-01-21
- RANGE OF EXPRESSION: FIND YOUR CRY BABY® WAH, Dunlop (lifestyle.jimdunlop.com), 2021-10-08
- Jerry Cantrell Signature Crybaby Wah Pedal: First look, MusicRadar, 2010-02-10
- Jim Dunlop announces glow-in-the-dark Jerry Cantrell Firefly Cry Baby wah pedal, Guitar World, 2022-11-23
- JC95 Wah True Bypass Kit, Griffin Effects
- Best guitar effects pedals: The best FX pedals, MusicRadar, 2022-04-05
