Jerry Cantrell

Jerry Cantrell is the lead guitarist and main compositional force of Alice in Chains, and his sound has been tied to the wah pedal since the band's earliest days. Dunlop says his "melancholy wah-drenched melodies in modern classics like Man in the Box and The Rooster left an indelible mark on a generation of guitarists"¹. A Premier Guitar reviewer put it in context: "His slower metal style was often accompanied by odd time signatures and innovative use of the wah pedal"². He has cited his major influences as Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, and country music².

For players, Cantrell's gear story splits into three parts: the original wah and talk box sounds on Alice in Chains' breakthrough material, the touring rigs he has used since, and the long-running line of signature Dunlop Cry Baby wahs built to his specifications, which now stretches across several special editions tied to his albums.

Wah and talk box on "Man in the Box"

"Man in the Box", Alice in Chains' breakthrough 1991 hit, uses two filter effects. As Dan Epstein writes at Stompbox Book, "Jerry Cantrell used a wah pedal for the guitar solo of Alice In Chains' breakthrough 1991 hit, but he also employed a Heil Talk Box to 'sing' harmonies with frontman Layne Staley on the song's wordless refrain"⁶.

The talk box is a different animal from a wah. Dunlop's page for the Heil Talk Box says it "lets you recreate the 'talking guitar' sounds popularized by Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Slash, Alice In Chains, Aerosmith, and many others"⁹. General Guitar Gadgets describes the traditional guitar talk box as the unit "as used by Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), and many, many others"¹⁰. Where a wah sweeps a frequency peak under your foot, a talk box routes the amplified signal up a tube to your mouth, and the shape of your mouth forms the words.

So on "Man in the Box" the solo is wah work, while the vocal-like answering phrases on the refrain come from the Heil Talk Box. Cantrell's original Dunlop Crybaby, the pedal used on the song, was still in his rig years later: Premier Guitar's 2009 rig rundown describes "his original Dunlop Crybaby wah used on the epic 'Man in the Box'"³. Gearnews credits Cantrell with "some monster wah-based riffs" in Alice in Chains¹¹.

The Black Gives Way to Blue tour rig

When Alice in Chains toured behind Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009, Premier Guitar caught up with Cantrell on location at the Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI³. The rundown describes his live rig for that tour: "he's using Bogner and Dave Friedman Marsha heads, G&L Rampages, Gibson Les Pauls and of course some effects including his original Dunlop Crybaby wah used on the epic 'Man in the Box'"³.

The guitars and amps on that tour:

• Amps: Bogner heads and Dave Friedman Marsha heads³
• Guitars: G&L Rampages and Gibson Les Pauls³
• Effects: his original Dunlop Crybaby wah³

The Marsha connection has lasted. GuitarPCB notes "the MARSHA amps used by the likes of Jerry Cantrell, Steve Stevens and many others"¹², and its Marsha Tone pedal documentation repeats the association¹³.

The 2024 solo touring rig

By 2024, on his solo touring rig, Cantrell had moved most of his effects off the floor and into racks. Premier Guitar's 2024 rundown reports that "Save for his signature MXR Jerry Cantrell Firefly Talk Box and his Dunlop Jerry Cantrell Firefly Cry Baby Wah which stay at his feet, Cantrell keeps his pedals in a rack configuration"⁷. The rack list from that rundown:

• MXR Smart Gates (a handful) and MXR Timmy
• Strymon Ola, MXR Six Band EQ and Ten Band EQ, Barber Electronics Direct Drive
• Boss DD-500, MXR EVH Flanger, Boss CE-5
• MXR Poly Blue Octave, Ibanez TS808HW, MXR Reverb
• Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler and MXR Talk Box⁷

The amplification in 2024 is also racked: "Cantrell tours with this rack amplifier setup, which features a Fryette Two/Ninety/Two Stereo Power Amp, a Fryette LX II Stereo Power Amp, and a Bogner Fish All Tube Preamp"⁷. Rocktron also notes that Cantrell's rig includes two Rocktron RSP Intelliverbs, used for reverbs, delays and effects¹⁴.

The Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby signature wahs

Cantrell's signature Cry Baby has a long history. MusicRadar published a first look at "the new Jerry Cantrell signature Crybaby wah pedal (JC95 to its friends) from Dunlop" on 10 February 2010¹⁵, and a later reviewer noted that "his signature Cry Baby has been around for almost a decade now"¹⁶.

The premise of the line, in Dunlop's words, is that "Jerry favored wah-wahs with a wider, darker response, and Dunlop has painstakingly replicated that moody sound to create his signature pedal"¹. The base pedal is described as having "a dark, punchy voice and a wide sweep with a control on the side for fine-tuning the toe-down frequency"¹, a description Premier Guitar's buying guide repeats⁴. The independent Guitar FX Layouts analysis adds that the JC-95 comes "with its antique, oxidized 'road worn' brass casting and custom Alice in Chains tread, this is one pedal that looks as great as it sounds"⁵, matching Dunlop's own description of the enclosure¹.

Controls and power

Every manual in the line, from the JC95B through the Firefly to the I Want Blood edition, describes the same layout:

Power is the same across the line: "The Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby® Wah is powered by one 9-volt battery (accessed via underside of pedal), the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter, or an MXR® Brick™ Series power supply"⁸. The earlier JC95B manual gives the same options, with the battery installed by removing the bottom plate, and lists the DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick supplies¹⁸.

The editions side by side

The Firefly

Guitar World reported that "Jerry Cantrell and Jim Dunlop have teamed up for a new take on his signature JC95 wah pedal, dubbed the Firefly Cry Baby wah"²⁰, and that "the Firefly is the latest in a raft of signature guitar gear that has been masterfully timed to hit the market throughout the Brighten campaign"²⁰. Guitar.com called it "a refreshed take on his signature wah pedal"²⁴, noting that "His latest solo album, Brighten, inspires the new appearance"²⁴.

The tread artwork is the distinguishing feature. Guitar.com reports that "the tread boldly shows both the artist's initials and the bee artwork used on the cover of the 2021 album, while the bottom of the pedal showcases lyrics to the self-titled track"²⁴. Guitar World adds that "The Firefly features firefly artwork and a 'JC Cantrell' logo on the tread, both of which glow in the dark, as do the front badge and bottom plate text"²⁰. Under the finish, it is the same circuit family: "As with all the JC95 wahs, the Firefly is voiced to nail Cantrell's trademark wah tones and features a side-mounted knob for dialling in the toe-down frequency"²⁰.

The I Want Blood edition

The newest edition ties to Cantrell's solo record I Want Blood. Dunlop says it "channels the raw intensity of the prolific artist's latest solo record, I Want Blood"²², and Premier Guitar's announcement lists its highlights: a bold black-and-red finish with custom-molded tread from the album's cover art, the full "I Want Blood" track lyrics on the bottom plate, a custom voicing "for a tight, punchy heel-down tone," and the rugged side-control fine-tune knob²³. Premier Guitar gives its availability as "$249.99 street/$357.13 MSRP"²³.

The Rainier Fog treadle

The Rainier Fog edition's treadle artwork comes from Cantrell's own body art. Dunlop says "the custom treadle design is based on Jerry's own tribal orca tattoo, created by Coast Salish artist Joe Wilson"²⁵. Guitar.com reported that the signature wah was rebranded to celebrate both Brighten and Alice In Chains' 2018 album Rainier Fog²⁴.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's review of the signature wah concluded that "Jerry Cantrell's signature wah is a proper Crybaby, and then some..."²⁶. Premier Guitar's review of the JC95 described how the pedal came about: "Recently, Cantrell got together with the folks at Dunlop to develop the JC95 Signature Wah, which is designed to his unique specifications and comes in an attractive, copper-colored casing full of rugged components"². Guitar.com's Richard Purvis reviewed the JC95B as "a restyled wah for Jerry Cantrell of Seattle grunge-metal sloggers Alice In Chains"¹⁶.

The independent Guitar FX Layouts write-up summarized the voicing as "custom-voiced for a tight, punchy heel-down tone, with a wider, darker response favored by Cantrell"⁵, which matches the maker's own account of the design brief¹.

For a player chasing Cantrell's sound, the through-line is simple: one wah voicing, replicated across every edition, with the side Fine Tune knob as the single tweak. What changes between editions is the finish, the tread artwork and the album tie-in, from the road worn brass and Alice in Chains tread of the original JC95 to the glowing firefly and bee of the Brighten years and the black-and-red I Want Blood edition.

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