Bass players who love funky wah effects rely on the Cry Baby 105Q Bass Wah more than any other wah pedal on the market.
The reason is simple: It’s fine-tuned to the sweet spot of most bass guitars and doesn’t kill bottom end like electric guitar wahs often do. If you’re a bass player who loves pedals and doesn’t have a wah yet, you probably don’t have much room left on your pedalboard for adding one. Fortunately, Cry Baby now offers a mini version of the venerable 105Q that’s less than half the size but delivers identical performance.
FEATURES
The CBM105Q is just slightly larger than a small MXR-style (Phase 90 or DynaComp) pedal, so it takes up a minimal amount of space on a pedalboard. All the features are exactly the same as those found on its big brother, including externally mounted Volume knob/Boost switch and Q controls for providing up to 20dB of boost and adjusting the width of the effect’s frequency range, respectively. Operation is automatic and footswitch free. To engage the effect you just sweep the toe downwards. The effect is also bypassed automatically after you remove your foot from the rocker pedal. The Cry Baby Mini Bass Wah operates with a single nine-volt battery or a standard nine-volt DC center negative adapter.
PERFORMANCE
Whether you play four-, five-, or six-string bass or baritone or downtuned guitars, the Cry Baby CBM105Q Mini Bass Wah delivers expressive, vocal-like wah effects that never sacrifice crucial bottom end frequencies. The Volume/Boost control can restore levels lost when using fuzz or distortion, or it can provide a significant boost for solos. The Q control can make the frequency range narrower, which emphasizes highs, or wider to produce a dramatic wah effect that sweeps the low end as well.
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STREET PRICE: $119.99 MANUFACTURER: Dunlop Manufacturing, jimdunlop.com
THE BOTTOM LINE: Although the CBM105Q is much smaller than the standard version, it’s just as easy to use—some players may actually find the smaller profile easier and more accurate to manipulate.
Chris is the co-author of Eruption - Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. He is a 40-year music industry veteran who started at Boardwalk Entertainment (Joan Jett, Night Ranger) and Roland US before becoming a guitar journalist in 1991. He has interviewed more than 600 artists, written more than 1,400 product reviews and contributed to Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll and Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories.
