Dunlop EVH95 Eddie Van Halen Signature Cry Baby Wah Review
If you’ve spent any time chasing the brown sound — running a Charvel So-Cal or an EVH Striped Series through a Marshall Super Lead or a Friedman BE-100 — you already know that Eddie Van Halen’s wah tone is one of the most recognizable and deceptively difficult sounds to replicate in rock history. The cascading sweep on “Eruption,” the vocal-almost-human vowel movement on “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” and that percussive, almost synth-like funkiness across the first two Van Halen records all owe a massive debt to Eddie’s modified Cry Baby. Dunlop’s EVH95 is their attempt to bottle that specific voice, and after spending several months running it through its paces with a variety of rigs, I can tell you it gets a lot more right than wrong.
Build Quality and First Impressions
Out of the box, the EVH95 immediately communicates that this isn’t a standard GCB95 with a paint job slapped on it. The housing is finished in a black and yellow graphic scheme that nods directly to the Frankenstein aesthetic Eddie built his iconic guitars around — the same visual language you see on the EVH Wolfgang Special and the Striped Series 5150. It’s eye-catching on a pedalboard without being obnoxious. For more, see our Ultimate Guitar Pedals Guide. For more, see our Guitar Pedalboard Guide. For more, see our Complete History of Rock Music.
The chassis itself is cast aluminum, which is standard for the Cry Baby line, but the treadle action is noticeably stiffer and more precise than what you get with a budget GCB95 or even a stock Vox V847. The rocker pedal has a satisfying amount of resistance — it doesn’t flop around, and you won’t accidentally engage or disengage it mid-phrase. The true hardwire bypass is a critical inclusion here. No tone-sucking buffer sitting in your signal chain when the wah is disengaged. Running this in front of a Marshall JCM800 2203 or a Mesa Boogie Mark V, you’ll appreciate that your clean signal stays intact.
The input and output jacks are solid and side-mounted, the 9V power input is standard Boss-style center-negative, and the battery compartment is accessible without tools — small things, but things that matter when you’re gigging. Build quality overall sits comfortably above the standard Cry Baby range and closer to Dunlop’s 535Q or Super Cry Baby territory.
Specs Worth Knowing
- Fasel Inductor: The EVH95 uses a red Fasel inductor, the same component found in vintage-era Cry Baby units from the late 1960s and early 1970s. This is not a cost-cutting yellow Fasel or a generic alternative — this is the component responsible for the warmer, more vocal-heavy sweep character.
- Sweep Range: The frequency sweep is voiced specifically to cover the range Eddie used in the studio and live, emphasizing upper-mid presence without the shrieking high-end ice-pick that plagues cheaper wahs.
- True Hardwire Bypass
- Variable Boost: There’s an internal +6dB boost that can be engaged via a trim pot inside the unit — useful for pushing the front end of a Friedman Dirty Shirley or a Marshall DSL40CR harder when you want the wah to sing.
- Power: 9V battery or standard 9V adapter (center-negative)
- Street Price: Approximately $179–$199 USD
How It Actually Sounds
Let’s be direct: this wah is voiced aggressively for high-gain, single-coil-adjacent tones. I ran it with a Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HH loaded with Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz set, through a Marshall JMP Super Lead 100W reissue, and the EVH95 immediately delivered that nasal, cutting mid-forward sweep that you hear on Van Halen’s debut record. The red Fasel inductor is doing real work here — there’s a thickness to the vowel movement that you simply don’t get from the standard GCB95 or the Vox V847A.
The low-end doesn’t get muddy or flabby when you rock the pedal back toward heel position, which is a legitimate problem on cheaper units. Running it in front of a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier with the gain cranked, the bottom end stayed controlled and defined — the wah filtered rather than bloated. Through a Boss DS-1 or a Line 6 HX Stomp going into a clean amp, the character still translates well, though it obviously shines brightest in front of a cranked tube head.
Playing EVH-style legato runs through the sweep — the kind of fluid hammer-on phrasing Eddie used over the intro to “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” — the wah responds quickly enough to track your picking dynamics without sounding mechanical. Funk rhythm work with a Kramer Pacer Classic and a single-coil bridge pickup produced that tight, snappy envelope that makes a wah feel musical rather than just a novelty effect.
Where it’s slightly less convincing is in territory far removed from the EVH sonic palette. If you’re after the smooth, dark, jazz-inflected wah tones that Carlos Santana or Stevie Ray Vaughan used, the EVH95’s aggressive upper-mid emphasis is going to fight you. It also won’t nail the extreme filter sweeps you might want for Bootsy Collins-style bass wah work, though technically it can be used on bass — the low-end rolloff is more pronounced than a dedicated bass wah like the Dunlop 105Q.
Who Is This For?
The EVH95 is built for players who live in the hard rock and classic metal space. If your pedalboard already includes a Boss SD-1 or MXR EVH Phase 90 running into a Marshall, Friedman, or Orange Rockerverb, this wah fits naturally into that context. It’s the logical companion to an EVH Wolfgang USA or a Charvel Super Stock loaded with Floyd Rose and hot humbuckers.
Guitarists playing through LTD/ESP Eclipse models with active EMG 81/85 sets should note that the wah responds slightly differently with active pickups — the upper-mid bite can get very aggressive. It’s not unworkable, but you may find yourself using the internal boost trim pot to dial back rather than add gain in that context.
It’s also genuinely useful for Zakk Wylde-style pentatonic wah work, Dimebag Darrell-style squealy dive combinations, and anyone chasing 1980s lead tone across the board — think Jake E. Lee’s Bark at the Moon-era Ozzy material or Randy Rhoads’ fluid wah-assisted legato runs.
Honest Pros and Cons
Pros
- Red Fasel inductor delivers genuine vintage-adjacent warmth and vocal character
- True hardwire bypass — no tone suck, no compromise
- Treadle action is precise and consistent, superior to standard GCB95
- The internal +6dB boost is a legitimately useful feature for pushing amp front ends
- Frequency sweep voiced specifically for EVH-style playing — it does that job extremely well
- Solid build quality that will survive a working gigging schedule
- Looks great on a pedalboard without being cartoonish
Cons
- At $179–$199, it’s significantly more expensive than a standard GCB95 ($79) or a Vox V847 ($89) — the premium is real
- Highly specific voicing means it underperforms outside of hard rock and classic metal contexts
- No variable frequency control like the Dunlop 535Q ($199) offers — you get one voice, and that’s it
- Active pickup users may find the upper-mid response overly aggressive without careful trim pot adjustment
- No LED indicator on some versions — easy to accidentally leave engaged
How It Compares to the Competition
The Dunlop 535Q Multi-Wah costs roughly the same and gives you variable frequency control, a boost switch, and a wider sweep range — objectively more versatile on paper. But versatility isn’t always the point. The 535Q requires dialing in; the EVH95 is already dialed in for one specific, exceptional sound. If you know that’s the sound you want, the EVH95 is the faster, more focused tool.
The Vox V847A at $89 is the classic alternative, and it’s genuinely excellent for its price — but it lacks the red Fasel warmth, the true bypass, and the treadle precision of the EVH95. The gap in feel and tone quality between the two is audible and tactile.
The Jim Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q and the Cry Baby from Hell (Dimebag signature) are probably the two most direct competitors in Dunlop’s own lineup. The Dimebag version ($149) shares the aggressive voicing philosophy but is optimized differently for Dime’s squeal-and-dive approach rather than Eddie’s fluid sweep work.
Verdict
The Dunlop EVH95 is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focused intent is exactly what makes it work. If you’re running a high-gain rig built around EVH, Charvel, Kramer, Jackson, or LTD guitars and you want a wah that nails the brown sound without hours of tweaking, this pedal absolutely delivers. The red Fasel inductor, true bypass, and purpose-voiced frequency sweep combine to produce one of the most convincing hard rock wah tones you can buy without hunting down a vintage modified unit.
The $179–$199 price point is a legitimate ask, but you’re paying for a specific, well-executed sound and genuine build quality — not just a celebrity signature sticker. For the right player with the right rig, this is the correct tool. For everyone else, the 535Q’s flexibility probably serves you better dollar for dollar.
Rating: 8.5/10
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