The Dunlop Cry Baby is a popular wah-wah pedal, manufactured by Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc. The name Cry Baby was from the original pedal from which it was copied, the Thomas Organ/Vox Cry Baby wah-wah, first manufactured in 1966. Thomas Organ/Vox failed to register the name as a trademark, leaving it open for Dunlop. More recently, Dunlop manufactured the Vox pedals under licence, although this is no longer the case. The said wah-wah effect was originally intended to imitate the supposed crying tone that a muted trumpet produced, but became an expressive tool in its own way. It is used when a guitarist is soloing, or to create a "wacka-wacka" funk styled rhythm. The original pedals were popularized by guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and David Gilmour, although many artists have developed signature sounds with them since.

Models

With the exception of the GCB95F and most of the artist signature models, many of the newer Cry Baby models use a single-pole switch instead of true-bypass; using single-pole switching instead of true-bypass adds significant impedance, which can affect the tone. In addition to the floor pedal models, Dunlop also offers Cry Baby module DCR2SR, where the circuitry and tone controls are housed in a single rack unit; a floor rocker pedal only acts as a controller for the module. Up to six controller pedals can be connected to a single module, if multiple pedals need to be spread out on a larger stage.