DUNLOP JOE BONAMASSA CRY BABY

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Distortion with a little voodoo magic

Express yourself, JoeBo style

DUNLOP JOE BONAMASSA

CRY BABY

£218

EC CUSTOM THE

MYSTICAL SUSTAINER

£149

THE

JB Cry Baby, unveiled

at the NAMM Show

in January, features a number of

tweaks designed around Joe’s

personal preferences. For starters,

the pedal has been designed with

an especially large vocal sweep.

Controlling the extended range

may take some getting used to,

but the tone has been balanced

perfectly, so you’ll soon find that

there’s oodles of expression and

control at your disposal.

The tone sings with plenty of

mid-heavy oomph to get you

noticed, but also has a snarling,

throaty side to it that supposedly

comes from the implementation

of a Halo inductor, a prized

component that was common

on early Vox wahs. Other than

the tone itself, this Cry Baby also

THIS

little handmade

noise box from

Israel aims to provide you with a

huge range of distortions, from a

soft and subtle crunch to high gain

rhythm and lead.

Low gain sounds are perfect

for smouldering lead runs and

crisp, crunchy chord work. If

you’re not interested in the

higher gain sounds you’ll only

be using a small portion of this

pedal’s potential. But if you are,

then hold on to your headstocks

because you’re in for a treat. From

thunderous waves of saturation to

liquid smooth sustain, this pedal

obliges and owes a lot of its mojo

to the controls. The level control

works almost like a boost, so you

get the exact volume increase

DUNLOP JOE BONAMASSA CRY BABY / EC CUSTOM THE MYSTICAL SUSTAINER

REVIEWS

features an output buffer, which

means it’ll work much better with

the kinds of vintage pedals that

Joe adores. The pickiest of tone-

hounds can often spend hours

debating the use of true or non-

true bypass, and the good news is

that Dunlop has seen fit to include

both, thanks to a switch hidden

beneath the base plate.

Dunlop has no less than

nine signature Cry Baby pedals

currently wailing away in its

catalogue. So is the JB any

different? We’re inclined to say

yes. Currently, it’s the only model

that sports the ever-desirable Halo

inductor, which combined with the

extended range and clever extras,

results in a superb blues and

rock-oriented wah.

Alun Lower

you’re after when you engage the

pedal. Switch between different

combinations of level and gain for

a feel of what this pedal can do.

The tone control works as

normal, but from here the

fine control lets you tweak the

frequencies even further. The

clever thing about this is that it

solves the problems that can arise

on other pedals from dialling in

too much of one area. Turn muddy

into thick or hiss into sizzle; it

really is up to you.

The Mystical Sustainer is a

clever little pedal that covers a lot

of ground. It’s great as a straight

boost/drive pedal, and high gain

tones this good are worth every

last penny. Exceptional.

Alun Lower

AT A GLANCE

TYPE: Distortion

CONTROLS: Level, gain, fine, tone

SOCKETS: Input, output, power

BYPASS: True bypass

POWER: PSU only (sold separately)

CONTACT: Sounds Great Music

01614 364799 www.ecpedals.com

AT A GLANCE

TYPE: Wah pedal

CONTROLS: Bypass selector switch

SOCKETS: Input, output, power

BYPASS: True or buffered selectable

POWER: Battery, PSU (sold separately)

CONTACT: Westside Distribution

01412 484812 www.jimdunlop.com

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