The original Cry Baby BB535 came out in 1994 and changed what a wah pedal was allowed to be. Not a tone-in, tone-out rocker. A tool with a frequency selector, a switchable boost, and a custom-wound inductor tuned at exactly 535 millihenries for a sound Dunlop called "warm and vocal" — and pros called "the one I have three spares of for the road." Dunlop just brought it back.
The Cry Baby BB535 Wah Reissue is built from the 1999 version, the six-position model that expanded the original four frequency options to six by pulling two more voices from Dunlop's vintage collection. They found the best-sounding unit in their own archive, rebuilt it circuit by circuit, and even tracked down the original inductor supplier and asked them to start manufacturing that component again. The reissue adds one modern convenience: on/off LEDs for both the wah and boost circuits, so you know what's active on a dark stage without guessing.
What You Actually Get
The BB535 name came from the inductor. 535 millihenries is the sweet spot Dunlop landed on after road-testing with the early '90s hard rock acts who were dragging the wah pedal back into the mainstream. Those bands wanted two things: quieter operation and a throatier voice that didn't swallow their guitar's natural character. The high-impedance input buffer — borrowed from the Jimi Hendrix Cry Baby — handles the signal retention side. The military-grade inductor handles the warmth.
The switchable boost is based on the MXR Micro Amp circuit, which adds character beyond just volume. You can match your guitar's output to the wah more precisely, or use it as a lead boost with a personality, not just a level bump. Six frequency positions cover a range from aggressive, sharp bite to deep, loose growl. That's wider than most wahs ship with in their entire catalogue, never mind a single pedal.
Why It Went Away and Why It Matters That It's Back
The original BB535 was discontinued after the '90s, but it never really left. Working guitarists scoured eBay and kept repair logs. The fact that Dunlop had to track down the original inductor supplier and essentially restart that supply chain says everything about the gap between what the reissue market usually offers and what this particular pedal actually requires. This isn't a cosmetic revival with modern substitutions. It's a functional rebuild of the specific circuit that made the original worth hunting.
For context: the BB535 was the first commercially available modded wah. Every subsequent Cry Baby variant with multiple voices, boost circuits, or frequency adjustment traces a line back to this pedal. Reissuing it isn't nostalgia marketing. It's restoring a foundational piece of the pedalboard evolution that sounds like what boutique builders have been chasing since the '90s anyway. If you've been on a waiting list for a boutique wah with a custom inductor and a boost stage, Dunlop just made the argument for reconsidering.
No price or street date announced yet from Dunlop. Given the supply chain involved — they restarted a component manufacturer — availability will be the story worth watching. For now the spec sheet is the news.
More gear at Mike McCready's case for digital — which is basically the opposite argument and still worth reading.