Dunlop JC95 Jerry Cantrell Signature Cry Baby Wah Pedal

The Dunlop JC95 Jerry Cantrell Signature Cry Baby Wah Pedal is a wah pedal from Dunlop, developed with Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell as a signature version of the Cry Baby. MusicRadar announced it in February 2010 as "the new Jerry Cantrell signature Crybaby wah pedal (JC95 to its friends) from Dunlop"¹. Premier Guitar's buying guide describes its character plainly: "This Cry Baby signature model complements Jerry Cantrell's sound with a dark, punchy voice, a wide sweep, and a control" on the side².

The fine-tune control on the side

The JC95's distinguishing feature is a knob mounted on the side of the pedal housing rather than on top. MusicRadar's first look noted that "the JC95 features a side control knob for fine-tuning the toe-down sound"¹, and the Guitar FX Layouts technical analysis described it as "a rugged side-control knob lets you fine tune the toe-down frequency"⁶.

In practice, the toe-down position is where the wah sits when you press the rocker pedal fully forward. The side knob shifts the tone of that position: Dunlop's manual for the JC95B lists the FINE TUNE knob as the control that "adjusts tone of toe-down rocker position"⁴, and Dunlop's own wah buying guide says the pedal carries "a side-control to fine-tune the toe-down frequency for a darker sound"⁷. Guitar.com's review sums the control up as a "Toe-down frequency knob"⁵. For a player, that means the top of the sweep can be darkened or opened up to sit right with a given amp and gain setting, without changing how the pedal rocks.

Jerry Cantrell's signature model

Cantrell worked with Dunlop on the pedal to his own specifications. Premier Guitar's review explains that "Recently, Cantrell got together with the folks at Dunlop to develop the JC95 Signature Wah, which is designed to his uni"que preferences³. The Guitar FX Layouts analysis puts the voicing in context: "Jerry favored wah-wahs with a wider, darker response, and Dunlop has painstakingly replicated that moody sound to create his signature pedal"⁶.

Dunlop's buying guide describes the same design as "custom-voiced for a tight, punchy heel-down tone"⁷. That combination, tight and punchy with the heel down and a wider, darker response at the toe, is what separates it from a standard Cry Baby.

How it compares to a standard Cry Baby

Premier Guitar's reviewer, a long-time standard Cry Baby user, came away convinced by the voicing³:

The same review states: "The JC95's range is slightly darker and drastically wider than other wah pedals"³. Against the Dunlop Cry Baby Standard, which carries the baseline Cry Baby voicing, the JC95 trades some of the familiar brightness for a darker, wider sweep shaped to Cantrell's use in Alice In Chains.

The JC95 and the JC95B

The pedal has appeared under two model numbers. The original JC95 is the version MusicRadar introduced in 2010¹ and the version Premier Guitar reviewed³. The JC95B is the current version covered by Dunlop's own manual, which titles it the "JERRY CANTRELL CRY BABY® WAH"⁴, and by Dunlop's buying guide⁴. Both carry the Cantrell voicing and the side-mounted fine-tune control for the toe-down frequency⁴⁷. Guitar.com's review of the Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby Wah, from May 2019, covers the JC95B-era pedal and lists it as made in USA⁵.

Dunlop has since built out the Cantrell line further, including the Dunlop JC95FFS Jerry Cantrell Firefly Cry Baby Wah and the Dunlop Jerry Cantrell I Want Blood Cry Baby Wah, alongside other artist signature wahs such as the Dunlop JP95 John Petrucci Signature Cry Baby Wah and the Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Cry Baby Wah Wah.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions