Jim Dunlop Effect Pedal Throwdown, Round 2: Zakk Wylde Cry Baby Vs. Joe Bonamassa Cry Baby

GuitarWorld.com's latest readers poll—the first annual Jim Dunlop Effect Pedal Throwdown—has reached Round 2!

For the past month, we've been pitting Dunlop, MXR and Way Huge pedals against each other in a no-holds-barred shootout. Now the competition is guaranteed to get even tougher.

Therefore, we're pulling out all the stomps! Sixteen stompboxes will go head to head — or toe to toe, if you prefer — leading up to the king of Dunlop/MXR/Way Huge pedals.

You can check out the current bracket — with all 32 competing pedals that starting things off in Round 1 — in the Scribd.com window below (Be sure to click on the "full screen" button in the lower-right-hand corner to expand the bracket).

The bracket is updated after (almost) every matchup, and matchups will take place pretty much every day, excluding weekends. Each competing pedal will accompanied by a demo video created by the Jim Dunlop company, and you'll always find a photo gallery of the competing pedals at the bottom of each matchup.

Today's Matchup

In today's matchup, the Dunlop ZW95 Zakk Wylde Signature Cry Baby goes foot to foot against the Dunlop JB95 Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby. Start voting below!

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: Yesterday, the Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face (51.23 percent) just barely defeated the Dunlop Joe Bonamassa Fuzz Face (48.77 percent) to advance to the next round! To see all the matchups that have taken place so far, head HERE. Thanks for voting!

Meet the Combatants

Dunlop Zakk Wylde Signature Cry Baby Wah

Modern Cry Baby Master Zakk Wylde and Dunlop have joined forces to deliver the toughest, meanest wah pedal on the planet. Built from the ground up with great tone and rugged durability in mind, this pedal can stand up to the crushing stomp of metal's reigning king of lead guitar.

The Wylde Wah features a heavy-duty raw-metal casing and road worthy components to withstand years of ass-kicking abuse. With guts that have been finely tuned to Zakk's specs, this wah is specially voiced to deliver an extra thick and cutting tone.

Dunlop JB95 Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby

Whether he’s blazing through the blues on his own or rocking with Black Country Communion, Joe Bonamassa’s playing is fiery, deep, and powerful. And when he really wants to express himself in a solo, he steps on a Cry Baby wah. That’s why we at Dunlop worked with Joe to develop the Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby, specially engineered to fit in perfectly with Joe’s system, from the way it looks to the way it sounds.

On the outside, it sports a classy copper top with a smooth-finish black body. On the inside, it features large, vintage-style thru-hole components, a Halo inductor (for added harmonic content), an output buffer (to prevent impedance imbalance with vintage fuzz pedals), and a switch for true-bypass or non-true-bypass operation (Joe prefers non-True Bypass as it darkens the high end). With its huge vocal sweep range, this is one of the most expressive Cry Babys ever, and it’s Joe’s tool of choice to accentuate every soulful bend and bluesy wail. “The first pedal I ever purchased was a Cry Baby, 25 years ago,” he says. “I am so honored to have my name on this pedal and hope it brings you as much fun as it brings me every night on stage.”

Voting Closed!

The Dunlop Zakk Wylde Cry Baby (51.76 percent) just barely defeated the Dunlop Joe Bonamassa Fuzz Face (48.24 percent) to advance to the next round! To see all the current matchup and the matchups that have taken place so far, head HERE. Thanks for voting!

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Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.