Dunlop Crybaby CB535Q Offers Variable 'Q' Control
 March 11, 1998
After years of continuous design improvements to the world's most popular Wah pedal, Jim Dunlop has developed what critics are calling "The finest Wah Pedal in the world."
Dunlop's newest innovation is the variable 'Q' adjustment. This significant design innovation allows the player to effectively change the dynamics of the wah by controlling the resonance of the pedal. With the 'Q' control, the pedal can produce a broad range of dynamic response from an extremely sharp peak response to a shallow, more musical, broad bandpass sound.
The Crybaby CB535Q also features a frequency range selector switch which works hand-in-hand with the 'Q' adjustment to allow the artist to finely tune and optimize the harmonic overtones of the guitar. The selector ranges are divided into six discrete steps that cover over a one-octave resonance range within the full pedal movement. The six selector settings completely cover the odd harmonics spectrum for optimum resonance of the guitar's fundamental range.
In response to feedback from Dunlop's endorsing artists and professional players everywhere, the new Crybaby contains a high reliability, double-pole double-throw bypass switch, which gives the pedal a true hard wire bypass mode. in addition, the popular adjustable boost from the Crybaby 535 series has been improved to double the headroom and increase boost dynamic range capability to +20 dB of boost.
The Crybaby CB535Q contains every possible performance upgrade to increase reliability and serviceability on the road. "While we were developing this pedal," Dunlop engineer Sam McRae remembers, "we took into account fifteen years of road stories to try to make this our most bullet-proof pedal yet."
The CB535Q rotary range selector switch is a rugged all metal construction, with silver contacts on a double-sided, green fiberglass, ground plane PC board. All circuit boards feature plated through component holes, double-sided solder mask with component silkscreen. All resistors are 2% metal film, which are free of the thermal noise and drift inherent in carbon resistors. Signal capacitors are non-microphonic, selfhealing stacked metalized film with low dissipation and low lead inductance. The capacitors are smaller than the historical parts to minimize failure due to shock and vibration. "This insures low noise and reliable performance, states Sam McRae. "And serviceability on the road is much easier because all interconnects are connectors that do not require solder."
The inductor is a high 'Q', precision wound device virtually free of microphonics. "We designed this inductor to replicate the very best wahs that we have sampled and documented," says company Director of Marketing Jimmy Dunlop. "This new design is far more impervious to stray electromagnetic interference than any previous design. It is also now scaled from contamination and is shock resistant."
The potentiometer is a low wiper noise, high cycle device with a minimum life specification of 1,000,000+ cycles.
This new design exceeds all previous reliability specifications. it is scaled, dust resistant and has a custom taper manufactured to the original Crybaby specification. Built with a shorter rotation specification to cover the the full dynamic range, the new potentiometer has a lower wiper velocity for quieter and longer lasting performance.
The new Crybaby CB535Q contains the innovation and creative ideas of the world's finest guitar players in a rugged, classic effect. As with all Dunlop products, the new Crybaby CB535Q is backed by Dunlop's thirty-three year history of building the finest quality products for professional musicians. For more information, visit their web site at www.jimdunlop.com. | 
