Dunlop Cry Baby SW-95 Slash wah

THROUGHOUT THE EIGHTIES, most guitarists considered wah pedals a joke, the kind of thing you'd only use if you were recording a porno soundtrack or chase scene music for a budget action flick. Then Guns N' Roses scored a Number 1 hit with "Sweet Child O' Mine," which features a blistering wah guitar solo by Slash. Suddenly, hard rock and metal players began to take the humble wah-wah more seriously once again.

FEATURES
DUNLOP'S NEW CRY BABY SW-95 Slash wah tips the ol' top hat to Slash's role in the wah pedal revival. The Slash wah is no ordinary Cry Baby. It features a high-gain distortion circuit and a classic Fasel inductor, just like Slash's own custom-built wah pedal. It also has an easy-access top-loading battery compartment on top of the rocker pedal and a Slash-approved metallic-red paint job.

The Slash wah operates just like a traditional wah pedal-just click the effect on by pushing down on the toe of the rocker pedal (blue LEDs on both sides of the pedal will light up), and wah away to your heart's content. To kick in the distortion circuit, push in the red mushroom-shaped knob on the right side of the pedal near the heel. Red LED indicators will start to glow, and you can adjust gain and volume with the knobs on the right side of the pedal.

• PERFORMANCE
• THANKS TO THE FASEL inductor, the Slash wah delivers an expressive, vocalike midrange that's thick and creamy. The distortion circuit is placed in front of the wah, which delivers a wider range of wah tone than if it were placed after it. Note that the volume drops dramatically at the full "heel down" position with the distortion engaged-this phenomenon always occurs when you place a distortion in front of a wah and is not unique to the Slash pedal. Also, the distortion does not work separately; you can turn it on only when the wah is also on.

THE BOTTOM LINE
TONALLY, THIS IS ONE of the most expressive wahs around, with a midrange sweet spot that can really make your guitar talk. Hats off to Slash for designing a wah pedal that's as classic as his riffs.