The Dunlop LN95 Cry Baby Leo Nocentelli Wah is a signature wah pedal from Dunlop, built around the Cry Baby circuit and voiced for the playing of funk guitarist Leo Nocentelli. Dunlop announced it in February 2022 as a wah honoring "funk guitar legend Leo Nocentelli with his own Cry Baby Wah"12. Where a stock Cry Baby covers a broader sweep, the LN95 is tuned with a lowered frequency range that serves up, in the words of its product description, "the warm vocalic wah tones that Leo has conjured up his entire career"3.
It is an analog pedal in the classic Cry Baby form: a treadle you rock back and forth with your foot, switching on and off by pressing the toe down. Dunlop's own description of what it does is simple: "Rock your foot back and forth on the pedal to hear the vocal, expressive tones that the Cry Baby Wah is famous for"2.
What it does to your sound
A wah pedal is a bandpass filter whose center frequency moves as you rock the treadle: heel down, the sweep sits low and dark; toe down, it climbs high and honking. The LN95's sweep is set lower than a standard Cry Baby's. Dunlop's manual puts the heel-down frequency at 290 Hz to 310 Hz2, and the pedal's whole range is described as lowered, which pushes the effect toward the rounder, more vowel-like end of the wah spectrum rather than the sharp, biting top end.
Other measured specs from the manual round out the picture: maximum gain of 16.5 dB and a maximum input level of 8 dBV2. The 16.5 dB of gain means the wah boosts as well as filters, part of why Cry Baby-style pedals can push an amp when engaged.
Controls, switching and connections
The LN95 keeps the classic Cry Baby control layout, which is to say a simple one.
- Treadle: rock it back and forth to sweep the filter2
- On/off: push the toe down until you feel a click to turn the pedal on or off2
- INSTRUMENT jack: run a cable from your guitar to this input2
- AMPLIFIER jack: run a cable from here to your amplifier's input2
Everything is done with the foot, which is the point of the design: both hands stay on the guitar while the wah does its work.
Power
The LN95 runs on 9 volts DC and draws 900 μA, a figure so low that a single battery lasts a long time2. Power options, per the manual2:
- One 9-volt battery, fitted through a compartment on the bottom of the pedal
- The Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter
- A Dunlop Brick Series power supply
RockBoard's product listing gives the same power figures as 9V DC, center negative, with a current draw of 0.9 mA3, which matches the manual's 900 μA. Center negative is the standard polarity for most modern pedalboard supplies, so the LN95 fits a typical board without adapters.
How it differs from other Cry Babies
The Cry Baby family is large, and the LN95 sits in it as one of the artist-voiced models. The core differences from the standard GCB95 Original Cry Baby are the sweep and the finish231.
| LN95 Leo Nocentelli | Standard Cry Baby line | |
|---|---|---|
| Sweep | Revoiced, lowered frequency range13 | Standard Cry Baby sweep |
| Voicing | Warm, vocalic funk wah tones3 | General-purpose wah |
| Finish | Deep purple, gold and green with a custom fleur-de-lis tread3 | Standard finishes |
| Bypass | Hardwire2 | Hardwire, as on the 95Q2 |
Gearnews described the pedal at launch as "a revoiced wah for funk tones aplenty," noting that "this wah also has a revoiced wah sweep"1. The finish is part of the signature identity: the pedal is "dressed in deep purple, flashy gold, and cash-money green with a custom fleur-de-lis tread," a Mardi Gras look that nods to Nocentelli's New Orleans roots3.
Other signature Cry Babies, such as the Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby4 or the 95Q with its adjustable features4, take different approaches: the 95Q adds controls for sweep and boost, while artist models like the LN95 and the Cantrell revoice the circuit to one player's taste and leave the controls alone.
Leo Nocentelli and the Cry Baby
Leo Nocentelli is the guitarist behind the funk grooves of The Meters, and his association with the wah is what this pedal celebrates. As RockBoard's product page puts it, "He used the iconic Cry Baby Wah to sling slick, syrupy grooves on classics such as 'I Just Kissed My Baby'"3. The LN95 is Dunlop's attempt to put that relationship into a production pedal: same treadle, same hardwire-bypass Cry Baby chassis, but tuned to the lower, warmer range Nocentelli's playing is known for.
At the time of the February 2022 announcement, Gearnews listed the recommended retail price as TBC, so no confirmed US list price appears in the launch coverage1.
Videos
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Questions
Does the Dunlop LN95 take a battery?
Yes. The LN95 is powered by one 9-volt battery, accessible through a door on the bottom of the pedal. It can also run on the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter or a Dunlop Brick Series power supply instead of the battery.
Is the LN95 Leo Nocentelli wah true bypass?
No. Dunlop lists the LN95's bypass as hardwire bypass, which is the switching arrangement used across the standard Cry Baby line rather than true bypass. When the pedal is off, the signal still passes through part of the circuit.
What is the center frequency of the LN95?
Dunlop's manual gives the heel-down frequency range as 290 Hz to 310 Hz. The pedal is voiced with a lowered frequency range overall, which is what gives it the warm, vocal wah character associated with Leo Nocentelli's playing.
How do you turn the LN95 on and off?
Push the toe of the pedal down until you feel a click to switch the wah on, and press it again the same way to switch it off. There is no separate side switch; the treadle itself engages the effect.
What power adapter does the LN95 use?
Dunlop specifies the ECB003 9-volt adapter or one of its Brick Series power supplies. The pedal runs on 9 volts DC and draws about 900 microamps, so it is also easy to run from a typical 9V pedalboard supply.
How is the LN95 different from a standard Cry Baby?
The LN95 is a signature model with a revoiced wah sweep and a lowered frequency range compared with a standard Cry Baby such as the GCB95, tuned for warm, vocal funk wah tones. It also has a distinctive Mardi Gras finish in purple, gold and green with a custom fleur-de-lis tread.
Sources (4)
- Dunlop Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby Wah: A revoiced wah for funk tones aplenty!, gearnews.com, 2022-02-03
- LN95.pdf, Jim Dunlop, 2022
- LN95 Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby Mardi Gras Wah by Dunlop, RockBoard (PedalPedia), 2026
- JC95B.pdf, Jim Dunlop, 2019
Leo Nocentelli
