I had to wait two weeks for it, and in these days where every shop is expected to be a 24hr product dispenser, the experience was a combination of retro shopping and minor adversity leading to a modicum of personal growth.
The two weeks was because of the chrome, you can walk into a shop and have a black one any day of the week, but the chrome one has to ordered. And what a joy it is.
It’s a Dunlop 535Q Cry Baby, the replacement for my mid 90’s first-generation 535 that just ground to a scratchy halt in the studio a few weeks back. But, it’s way better.
I hate to say it after my old 535 has been at every gig and every recording I’ve done since I bought it, but the new version picks up the versatility of tonality and availability of boost of its ancestor and beats your guitar’s signal to death/afterlife/zombie existence/another plane of conciousness.
It does from the regular wah effects that you’ll know from Shaft or any guitar solo in a Motörhead song to the wacky accentuated spoken vowel sounds that you used to get from a 70’s Tycobrahe Wah or even voice box-esque sounds depending on what the settings are. I absolutely love it.
It’s expressive and fun, exactly what making music should be.
It’s hard to tell from that description…do you like it ?
It does look very, very nice.
…”the new version picks up the versatility of tonality and availability of boost of its ancestor and beats your guitar’s signal to death/afterlife/zombie existence/another plane of conciousness”.
Alright!!
And yeah, I think he likes it.
(Hope you’re going to ‘recycle’ the old one)
Aye, I think I’m pleased. It get fingermarks on it though, I can see me carrying a wee duster to keep it shiny.
Recycle? Nah, it shall be fixed and go into my quickie bag with a couple of leads and a distortion pedal. Sometimes I miss that simplicity, my pedalboard looks like an aircraft carrier with all the aircraft and crew on the deck.
You’ll be right for T in the park next year then Pete ;). You watchin maiden tonight in Glasgow?. Looking forward to seeing them in Manchester next week. Just got all of Testaments cd’s how i missed out on them i’ll never know. On initial listening i like them better than Metallica.
I don’t think they’d let Pete play T in Park seeing as his stuff is actually pretty decent. Horrible ned-fest that it is.
We got asked to play it many, many moons ago but we declined as we all thought Tennents was piss!
Testament? Now there’s another chunk of youth for me to revisit.
My old wah is curently in Edinburgh being fixed…
Testament, saw them a couple of times, some of the thrash bands outside the Big Four were great. Saw a lot of folk at Maiden wearing Exodus t-shirts, I wonder if they’re still going and have been touring?
If I was doing a fstival it would be the one Radio Clyde used to do in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow, all the up and coming metallers of the day (early 80’s) were there.
Jeez where does time go to.
Your wah will be at the end of my street then (assuming you took it to Strung Out). Was planning to pop over tomorrow so I might have a wee shot of it if it’s done.
You may be interested to learn that I’m biting the bullet and buying a Laser Comp next week. The comment on the Wild Country version being a Squire obviously got to me!
It’s ridiculous just HOW excited a 43 year old man can get over a kilo of fabric.
Great eh?
Aye, it went to Strung Out. You’ll know it’s mine by the numerous scrapes and remains of some white paint around the range selector for flicking between my toe settings with my toe at gigs.
My Les Paul Custom is in the shop getting a new nut and fret dress as well, a year in the case and some of the frest are popping out. It was refretted poorly a few years back elsewhere in Glasgow and I am not amused, then or now.
The girls at Strung Out do amazing fret work so it’ll be good to get it back and actually play it again.
Laser Comp you say? I’ve said this many times, it’s purchasing joy, freedom, adventure and possibilities.
Magic.
Here, in a few weeks I’ll be a 43 year old man still getting excited about the same thing.
Aye re-fretting’s major surgery for the old guitars and you’ve got to be careful who you give the job to. That Custom will be worth a few bob by now as well. One of the girls over there did a great job reglue-ing a beautiful Martin for me so I guess they’re well up to it. I’ve got a 66 strat and a 74 LP Standard that’ve needed a re-fret for years now but I’m plain terrified it’ll kill off the tone. Jimmy Moon had an awesome reputation but I don’t know if he still bothers with that stuff these days.
I always thought the Customs were too showy until I picked one up dirt cheap with the intention of re-selling. I made the mistake of playing it for half an hour and that was that. They’re awesome machines and I’m glad you’re going to be strapping yours back on soon.
Now that the tents in the bag it’s going to be a new sleeping bag and mat. Just warning you that there’s more questions on the way!
Once again, thanks for the info and the confidence to buy something I haven’t used (like the Nuun tablets I ordered today).
Cheers.
I love my Custom, it’s a ’76 with a maple neck and has an odd tone to it, bright and dark at the same time, sounds huge.
It’s got the narrow nut width Gibson used on and off, about 40mm I think, and that’s part of the problem, the repairman put a trimmed down out-of-a-packet precut Gibson nut on it. String spacing is too wide, all wrong and I push both E strings off the edge of the fretboard. Does my head in.
It’s wired different as well, it’s the 3-pickup version, and the middle position is the middle and neck pickups together instead of the bridge and middle, so in the middle position with the middle pickup lowered into the body it sounds like a telecaster with the tone backed off, well something with p90’s at least :o)
Jimmy Moon did some nice work on an SG years back and Jimmy Egypt did a brilliant refret of a different ’69 SG Custom I got cheap as it had been painted with Dulux white gloss…
It’s now in nitro natural and I played it my wedding, Duane Eddy’s Rebel Rouser it was as the misses-to-be marched out to get stuck with me on a cold day in Glen Coe.
You should be sorted with the tent, a few practise pitches to get used to it, to get a tight pitch and it’s a breeze when you’re out there.
Bag and mat are the next two big areas to get it wrong or right and to save weight, so ask away.
I’ve got test kit here plus I’ve got trade shows coming up so I’ll have new info over the next few weeks too.
It’s always a gamble trying new stuff, Nuun’s great and so’s that new Zero stuff. I really noticed a difference when I started using Nuun, especially the morning after a big day on the hill, less aches and definitely better hydrated.
I’ll tell you what, talking about this stuff, I am gasping to get my feet on a hill.
Just had a look at your old wah. Looks like it’s been on the road for 30 years – well done!
Just needs a new pot (on order) and the general opinion of tonehounds, boffins and geeks is that it’s one of the best sounding Crybabys ever made (better than the 535Q apparently).
Anyway, I was told in certain terms that on NO account should you ever sell it – so there you go.
It has been about that pedal, when it wasn’t on my big pedal board it went in a bag with a distortion pedal for jam nights or filling in with other bands. I’ve just never been without it.
I really miss it too, the 535Q is brilliant, but the old timer on the second-from-the-left setting is perfect for me and it’s going back on the board as soon as it’s back.
Yow don’t what you have until it’s gone…
Just had Calum from Strung Out on the phone, “That’s your wah back, and you’re right, it’s the best sounding wah I’ve heard”.
It’ll never leave the house again.