Dunlop Cry Baby bass wah

Catwoman · #1 06-22-2011, 09:43 AM

I purchased this particular wah brand new last year from Guitar Center (first mistake) and it worked great up until oooooh... About 4 months after I got it. It started cutting in and out. I can't play a full show with it. I've never dropped it or anything so I don't understand what the problem is. I'm sending it in to the Dunlop to have them fix it but I want to know if anyone else has used this pedal and what your thoughts are..??

AlvarHanso · #2 06-22-2011, 09:57 AM

I've had one for about a year, and experienced some problems, that I believe were due to placement in the chain, after that, the issues seemed to go away. Whenever I have cutout problems, it's always my battery, and when the battery is losing power, the effect becomes less wah, and much more distortion or fuzz, which is cool sometimes (especially when I'm using it for overdrive with my Moog MuRF), but it hasn't been an issue in months. There was about a 3 week period where I took it out of my chain, but found it working soon after, and have kept it in since with no problems.

Catwoman · #3 06-22-2011, 10:18 AM

Yeah.. When I put a fresh battery in it seems to ok for the first 10 minutes or so but then it just stops working or cuts in and out... It's my first wah pedal so I'm not at all familiar with it's components... What is the chain that you're talking about?

BurnedEdge66 · #4 06-22-2011, 10:33 AM

A word of caution about this pedal.

I had one that died on me but I have a friend who was able to fix it. While we was poking around he noticed that the circuit board that the bypass switch is on is only held in by one screw in the corner. That means that whenever you're not standing on the pedal the force of the spring is always pushing on that board and will eventually bend it.

I don't use that wah anymore but when I did I would store it with a bottle cap under the back of the foot switch in order to extend it's life a bit.

AlvarHanso · #5 06-22-2011, 01:33 PM

I misspoke earlier, because I remembered that it was simply my placing the compressor before the wah, so I moved the wah to the front and the compressor behind everything else, and it worked for me. I did have an issue with a different pedal cutting in and out after battery replacement, and that was solved by getting a power supply, eliminating the power drain that left the pedal "on" but not doing what it was supposed to.

Catwoman · #6 06-23-2011, 09:18 AM

Hmmm... I'll look into both of those issues and see if one of them is the problem... Thanks!

slaphappychappy · #7 06-23-2011, 03:52 PM

I got a really cheap daphon wah on eBay. It is guitar and bass. It rocks. I'm impressed everytime I use it and it cost $24.95 with free shipping.

pablomago · #8 06-23-2011, 08:11 PM

The guy who replaced me in the band I used to play in, has one and hasn't had a problem. He uses a power supply rather then batteries, though.

gotmule? · #9 06-23-2011, 08:14 PM

I was thinking about getting this pedal, but I got the MXR Auto Wah instead. It sounds just like the Crybaby but seems much more durable and is much easier to use. If the Crybaby doesn't work out for you but you still want wah, I would definitely give it a look.

Floyd Eye · #10 06-23-2011, 09:27 PM

I have the Q 105. I've used it aggressively for many years with no issues.

FWIW, I have 7 or 8 pedals and I run my compressor ( TLC) last with the wah 2nd to last. It is much more responsive there.

rob_thebassman · #11 06-24-2011, 05:48 AM

I had the Q105 about 5 years ago and sold it. Wish I hadn't now and I'm actually thinking about buying another one

Catwoman · #12 06-24-2011, 07:10 AM

I'll be sending mine in next week. I'm hoping whatever is wrong with it will be an easy fix and won't cost me an arm and a leg. I love the sound I get out of it when it actually works so I really wanna stick with it. I'm also thinking that I just need to buy a power supply instead if using batteries. It drains batteries like nobodys business.

CHILDISHGAMBINO · #13 06-24-2011, 07:54 AM

Batteries are a huge waste of money and are terrible for the environment. There is no reason for pedals to be battery powered these days. Power supplies are cheap and plentiful. Hippie rant over. Good luck with your pedal.

jwr · #14 06-24-2011, 08:18 AM

I've never had a problem with mine yet. Had it for about 6 months. Great pedal. I of course have to use a power supply because it's a battery hog. Plus batteries suck. Duh.

casio · #15 06-24-2011, 09:26 AM

I've had mine for 4yrs. First pedal I got after a tuner!

It's the last pedal in my chain, about 6 pedals usually go before it, and I've never once had an issue using batteries, and I've had a power supply for the last couple years.
Dunno, as far as Im concerned, it won't be leaving my board any time soon, I always find great uses for it and never has it failed on me!

Riff Tamer · #16 06-24-2011, 06:42 PM

There is a small bypass switch on the the base of the pedal that is depressed when the heel of the treadle returns to it's heel down position. The small rubber button (located on the underside of the treadle heel) that pushes the switch down can wear out and not disengage the pedal completely, leaving it in an always on position.

I wrap a 1/4" rubber band (twice) around the heel of the treadle over top of the rubber "button". This effectively increases the height of the button allowing it to fully depress the bypass switch.

Dash Rantic · #17 06-24-2011, 08:16 PM

I've been through several 105Qs now, they seem to die after ~3 years :-\ Luckily can find lightly-used ones pretty cheap. I would switch to something else more reliable, but I just love their sound...

-Dash

phatbass · #18 06-24-2011, 08:25 PM

Have you tried it with a power supply?