The Dunlop Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby Mardi Gras Wah, model number LN95, is a signature wah pedal from Dunlop built for Leo Nocentelli, the funk guitarist of The Meters. It is a standard Cry Baby-style treadle wah with one defining change: the frequency range is lowered, so the sweep sits in warmer, more vocal territory than a stock Cry Baby. Dunlop says it "serves up the warm vocalic wah tones that Leo has conjured up his entire career"12.
The pedal pays tribute to Nocentelli and to New Orleans, the city he was born and raised in, with a purple sparkle base, a gold treadle, and a custom fleur-de-lis green tread3. It is now a legacy product: Dunlop no longer makes it1.
A lowered sweep for warm, vocal wah
The core of the LN95 is its revoiced sweep. The frequencies run from 290 Hz to 310 Hz at the heel down position through to 1.4 kHz to 1.5 kHz at the toe32. Both ends sit lower than a typical Cry Baby voicing, which is what Dunlop means by a "lowered frequency range for warm, vocalic vibes"5. For a player, that means the wah quacks in a rounder, more vocal register rather than reaching into bright, piercing highs, a fit for funk rhythm work where the wah needs to sit inside the groove rather than cut over it.
The voicing is not arbitrary. Gearnews reported that it is "based on the Just Kissed My Baby wah tone that Nocentelli made famous with The Meters"3. Nocentelli used the Cry Baby Wah on that track and other Meters classics, and the LN95 is Dunlop's recreation of that sound2.
"With a lowered frequency range, it serves up the warm vocalic wah tones that Leo has conjured up his entire career."
Operation is the same as any Cry Baby: rock your foot back and forth on the treadle to sweep the filter and produce "the vocal, expressive tones that the Cry Baby Wah is famous for," as the manual puts it4. There are no knobs or switches to set; the voicing is fixed at the factory.
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Sweep, heel down | 290 Hz to 310 Hz3 |
| Sweep, toe down | 1.4 kHz to 1.5 kHz3 |
| Max gain | 16.5 dB4 |
| Max input level | 8 dBV4 |
| Input impedance | 800 kΩ4 |
| Output impedance | 10 kΩ4 |
| Bypass | Hardwire4 |
| Power supply | 9 volts DC4 |
| Current draw | 900 μA4 |
Setup is simple: run an instrument cable from your guitar to the LN95's INSTRUMENT jack, then another from the AMPLIFIER jack into your amplifier's input4. Power comes from a 9-volt battery, accessible through the bottom of the pedal, or from the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter4. At 900 μA the draw is low enough that a battery lasts a long time and the pedal is easy to run from most pedalboard power supplies.
The LN95 uses hardwire bypass, not true bypass4. Players who leave a wah on their board full time sometimes add a buffer or a bypass looper, but that is a matter of preference, not a requirement.
Where it came from
Dunlop announced the Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby in February 2022, honoring the Meters guitarist with his own signature model3. Premier Guitar covered the launch and reported it was available for $199.99 from retailers worldwide5. Gearnews noted at announcement that the recommended retail price was still to be confirmed3; the $199.99 figure from Premier Guitar is the dated list price.
The pedal joined a long line of artist-voiced Cry Babies, each with its own take on the sweep. How the LN95's lowered range compares with other signature models in Dunlop's lineup:
| Signature Cry Baby | Voicing |
|---|---|
| Leo Nocentelli LN95 | Lowered frequency range, warm vocalic tones2 |
| Dimebag | Extended sweep for more lows and highs6 |
| Gary Clark Jr. GCJ95 | Lower frequency range with a tighter sweep7 |
| Jerry Cantrell | Dark, punchy voice with a wide sweep, plus a side control for fine-tuning the toe-down8 |
The LN95 and the Gary Clark Jr. model are the closest cousins: both are voiced around a lower frequency center, which Dunlop's own buying guide describes as giving a "smooth, warm sound"72. The Dimebag wah goes the other direction, extending the sweep at both ends for more lows and more highs6, and the Jerry Cantrell model pairs a dark voice with a wide sweep and an adjustable toe-down setting8. A player who wants the warmest, most vocal of these voicings is looking at the Nocentelli or the Gary Clark Jr.; a player who wants range and adjustability is looking at the Dimebag or Cantrell models.
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Questions
Is the Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby discontinued?
Yes. Dunlop lists the Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby Mardi Gras Wah as a legacy product that is no longer in production. It was announced in February 2022 at a list price of $199.99, and remaining stock may still be found at retailers, but Dunlop is not making more of them.
What wah did Leo Nocentelli use on Just Kissed My Baby?
Leo Nocentelli used the Cry Baby Wah on The Meters classics such as "I Just Kissed My Baby." The LN95's voicing is based on the wah tone he made famous on that track, with a lowered frequency range that keeps the sweep warm and vocal rather than bright and piercing.
Is the LN95 true bypass?
No. The LN95 manual lists its bypass as hardwire, not true bypass. Hardwire bypass is the switching arrangement used across many Cry Baby wahs, and it means the pedal's circuit stays in the signal path differently than a true bypass design would.
What is the frequency range of the Leo Nocentelli wah?
The sweep runs from 290 Hz to 310 Hz at the heel down position through to 1.4 kHz to 1.5 kHz at the toe. That lowered range compared with a standard Cry Baby is what gives the pedal its warm, vocal character, sitting lower in the frequency spectrum than brighter wah voicings.
Sources (8)
- LEO NOCENTELLI CRY BABY® MARDI GRAS WAH, Jim Dunlop (jimdunlop.com)
- LN95 Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby Mardi Gras Wah by Dunlop, RockBoard (PedalPedia), 2026
- Dunlop Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby Wah: A revoiced wah for funk tones aplenty!, gearnews.com, 2022-02-03
- LN95.pdf, Jim Dunlop, 2022
- Dunlop & Leo Nocentelli Launch Cry Baby Mardi Gras Wah, Premier Guitar, 2022-02-07
- DIMEBAG CRY BABY® WAH, Dunlop (www.jimdunlop.com)
- RANGE OF EXPRESSION: FIND YOUR CRY BABY® WAH, Dunlop (lifestyle.jimdunlop.com), 2021-10-08
- JERRY CANTRELL CRY BABY® WAH, Dunlop (jimdunlop.com)
