Wah Wah questions

[suave eddie]

I have an old Dunlop Cry Baby GCB-95 from the mid '80s. I haven't used it in many years. One of the new songs we're working on needs a Wah, so I dusted it off and have been using it the last few weeks in rehearsal. The pot is scratchy and I initially thought it was just dirty, but tonight it was making some other more bizarre noises. It probably needs to be rebuilt. We have a gig coming up on the 5th and I am pretty busy between now and then so I don't think I have time to deal with having it repaired--and I'm not even sure if it is worth it. I liked the pedal when it worked properly--I have no issues with the build and the sounds it produces, and I'm thinking about just replacing it with an equivalent.
Musicians Friend has a Dunlop with the same model number as mine--GCB-95 and they call it "Original". How close it this actually to the my '80s model?
I looked online at our local Big Box music store, Long & McQuade. They offer two versions--a GCB95N which they call "Original" for the same price as Musicians Friend, and they also have a GCB95F--they are calling it a Crybaby Classic with Fasel Inductor, for $40 more..

Here is their ad copy: ..........."But those Sunshine-y and Foxey tones could not have existed without the Italian-made Fasel inductors that were in the first wah pedals including the original Crybaby. These inductors were the key to the pedals tone, but have been unavailable for years. Not anymore. Your Crybaby Classic with Fasel Inside will faithfully recreate the vocal sweep and lush harmonics from those timeless recordings."

Is this just snake oil, or does this Fasel inductor actually make a difference worth $40 more? Does the GVB95N pretty much reproduce what I have now? I don't want to spend too much since I probably will not use it all that much. I will be down in Washington this weekend and will probably drop in on Guitar Center, but their website does not even indicate that they carry Dunlop pedals at all.

[suave eddie]

Thanks Tim for taking time to respond.
Here's a video from the Dunlop site:
http://www.jimdunlop.com/blog/know-your-cry-baby/

And some of their notes on the Fasel option:
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/gcb95f ... by-classic

The video information is a bit confusing as the guy states that the new production "Original" model is a faithful recreation of the original '60s Cry Baby with upgraded components for durability. He doesn't even get into a discussion regarding the Fasel in the "F" model, other than to say it provides a different "sonic option".

I think the "Original" would probably serve my purposes--it's probably close enough to what I'm used to.


Here's an interesting link regarding "upgrading" a Cry Baby with the Fasel inductor:
http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/WahMod2.htm

" If you do this mod, don't expect a huge change in the sound - it's more of a subtle change. It's a relatively cheap mod to do as the Fasel inductor only costs $18 or so. The point of this article is not to recommend/discourage the use of a Fasel inductor - the inductors in wahs are a highly subjective topic and are subject to personal taste. The bottom line is that there are a lot more factors to consider besides just the inductor when modding a wah pedal. I have some real good sounding wahs that use the stock inductor and this is because the inductor's main purpose in a wah pedal is to make it a resonant circuit. I think too much weight is given to the actual inductor used, and in my experience you can use just about any 300-600mH inductor by tweaking the resistor in parallel with it to get a good sound. A lot of this is just hype created because of the good sound of the old Clyde McCoy wahs and some of the original 70s Fasel equipped wahs. There is some merit to this, but you have to look at all of the parts of the circuit as a whole - it's a combination of factors, not just one single component. That's what makes those old wahs sound the way that they do. "

[Salmon]

Might be an aside from the topic's focus but another thing about Wah pedals is that the amp plays a part in the character of the Wah effect. People seem to focus on the pedal and ignore the amp. If you loved something from years ago, not only do you need to consider whether the pedal is still made exactly the same way but the amp would matter as well when aiming to recreate the same setup.

I tried replacing a scratchy pot and never could get the original Wah back. Maybe you can order the direct replacement from the manufacturer but going at it through an electronics warehouse didn't work out. YMMV.

[blargfromouterspace]

Eddie - I spent a long, long time in the shop comparing Crybaby's when I bought mine, and the two I spent the most time with were the Cry-baby Classic and Original. I ended up going with the Classic with the Fasel Inductor because it sounded better to me but they're pretty damn close.

[suave eddie]

Thanks everyone. I think the cheaper "original" model will suffice for my purposes. I don't think my bandmates will know the difference, and I'm sure the audience members won't hear it either on the occasional time I step on it. I'll probably sell the old one as-is and let someone else mod it to their hearts content.

[suave eddie]

So I dropped into the Guitar Center in Lynnwood during my trip down to Washington. I hadn't been in a Guitar Center for a long time and was prepared for the worst after all the horror stories on various other forums.

Had a positive experience all around. The pedal I wanted was $10 cheaper than the website had it for (also $10 cheaper than my local Long&McQuade) plus it came with a $10 gift card for future purchases which I immediately used to buy some new patch cables. The staff did not seem like morons and the 14-15 year old kid trying out the guitar and amp was not blasting out loud obnoxious noises, but rather was working on the solos from the Beatles GET BACK and SOMETHING (in the way she moves).

The 'Original' Crybaby I purchased seems to be just fine--it goes "wah-wah" when I rock the pedal and sounds like my old one. They finally designed a battery compartment so you no longer need to remove the rubber feet just to change the battery. They've also added a power supply jack.