Switchless Wah - Dunlop vs. Morley vs. Jerry Cantrell

[Anxiety Serum]

Anyone got any advice or experience comparing Morley vs. Dunlop switchless or comparing sound to the Cantrell Wah?

So I have a Jerry Cantrell WAH, not working right now. Love the dark tone, but hitting the switch/button is a pain. Thinking of trying a Dunlop Cry Baby 95Q (switchless) or a Morley? Worried the sound won't be as cool and dark as the Cantrell, also concerned about any noise issues from the switchless if there are any or not. Like is it fully bypassed when foot is off, color tone any?



UPDATE a few days later:

So I just got the 95Q. First impressions. Much better functionality than a switch Wah with no tone suck that my ear could hear after A/Bing with pedal in and out of the signal chain.

Tone is not as dark as the Cantrell, but its still good if I avoid full toe-down. I need to to roll the Q knob all the way counter clockwise and it still is a bit bright for my tastes at when the toe is fully down on the pedal. I think I remember reading that Jerry had them voice his pedal so that the top end never got as high as the normal Dunlop Wah, even when fully compressed. And even on his pedal I rolled back the top end half way. I like it warm and dark.

If you are not familiar with the Q knob this is from the manual:

Rotate the VARIABLE Q knob clockwise for a narrower frequency range to emphasize higher end harmonics or counterclockwise for a wider frequency range that emphasizes lower end harmonics.

 

[romanianreaper]

My Bad Horsey when I had it was switchless and as you mentioned, was off when you let go of it. Was really convenient for solos and didnt have to think too hard.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

Anyone got any advice or experience comparing Morley vs. Dunlop switchless or comparing sound to the Cantrell Wah?

So I have a Jerry Cantrell WAH, not working right now. Love the dark tone, but hitting the switch/button is a pain. Thinking of trying a Dunlop Cry Baby 95Q (switchless) or a Morley? Worried the sound won't be as cool and dark as the Cantrell, also concerned about any noise issues from the switchless if there are any or not. Like is it fully bypassed when foot is off, color tone any?

Can you go somewhere near you to try them out? Fwiw I really like my Cantrell Wah a lot. I've had the 95, 535Q, VOX 847, and Cantrell wahs. For classic wah tones the 535 on the Hendrix wah setting and VOX are by far my two favorites. The Cantrell wah to me sounds somewhere between the Hendrix wah, and the Bass wah setting on the 535. It really excels at modern heavy rock and metal, but can cover some darker vintage tones.

 

[NorCal_Val]

My Bad Horsey when I had it was switchless and as you mentioned, was off when you let go of it. Was really convenient for solos and didnt have to think too hard.

Same.
The Bad Horsie, my version is from the first run in the mid-90s, has a certain “thing” to the eq that works great into a lot of distortion. I don’t like it for bluesier applications/single coils.
That switchless feature is great.

 

[stephen sawall]

The Dunlop pedals are going to get you closer to the JC wah.

 

[Anxiety Serum]

I ordered the Dunlop 95Q. Don't have any stores with those in stock near me to try, but found a Guitar Center coupon in the mail today, so figured I order and return if it doesn't work for me. Like Stephen said, the Dunlop will probably get me closest, I just hope the switchless works nicely.

 

[stephen sawall]

The 95q is a very nice wah. It the one I would get if looking for switchless.

Only switchless I have is a Crybaby Bass Wah 105q. It's pretty unique voice. Pretty different from the other Dunlop.

 

[DanTravis62]

If you like the dunlop sound, get the 95q

Morleys are awesome, but it is a different sound

 

[JackBootedThug]

I have the 95q and I love it. I gave my fancy caa one to my bro after getting the 95. I realized that I despise wahs with switches. I’m also a Morley fanboi and my last Morley was a bad horsie 2… I’m not a vai fan per se but that’s a fine wah….and fuck switches…. If you are into the cocked wah thing your sol…..

 

[GreatRedDragon]

I have the 95q and I love it. I gave my fancy caa one to my bro after getting the 95. I realized that I despise wahs with switches. I’m also a Morley fanboi and my last Morley was a bad horsie 2… I’m not a vai fan per se but that’s a fine wah….and fuck switches…. If you are into the cocked wah thing your sol…..

I have Morley's 20/20 Wah Lock, it's the best of both worlds. Switchless wah action with a fixed wah on a footswitch.

 

[skoora]

Same.
The Bad Horsie, my version is from the first run in the mid-90s, has a certain “thing” to the eq that works great into a lot of distortion. I don’t like it for bluesier applications/single coils.
That switchless feature is great.

I had one around that time and it was really good into a driven amp. Used it a lot with the 5150 I had.

 

[Anxiety Serum]

If you like the dunlop sound, get the 95q

Morleys are awesome, but it is a different sound

Any drawback to be aware of with a switchless vs. the ones with a Switch. I mean I guess I'll find out when it arrives, but just wondering if there is anything to look out for.

 

[SFW]

I ran the Morley Bad Horsie for years. Now using the Dunlop switch less. The Dunlop has some knobs on the side to tailor the sweep. It’s a really good wah.

 

[Bash_Man]

I had the 95Q. Regret selling it but at the time I switched all effects to my Fractal Fx8. Still planning to getting another one to build an analog rig.

My only "issue" with the 95Q at the time was I felt the buffer could be better. It did "suck" some high end, but not too much. But definitely audible if you using a True bypass switch pedal, you'll hear the difference.

Other than that. It was great sounding wah with lots of options to tweak.

Good luck

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

Another alternative if you really like the sound of the Cantrell…

I put it in the loop of a mini single loop pedal (right beneath the wah). The wah itself is always on, I hit the looper switch to engage/disengage. I love this setup.

 

[Anxiety Serum]

Another alternative if you really like the sound of the Cantrell…

I put it in the loop of a mini single loop pedal (right beneath the wah). The wah itself is always on, I hit the looper switch to engage/disengage. I love this setup.

View attachment 403958

Interesting. I'll keep that in mind if the 95Q doesn't meet my needs

 

[Kelly]

I had the 95Q. Regret selling it but at the time I switched all effects to my Fractal Fx8. Still planning to getting another one to build an analog rig.

My only "issue" with the 95Q at the time was I felt the buffer could be better. It did "suck" some high end, but not too much. But definitely audible if you using a True bypass switch pedal, you'll hear the difference.

Other than that. It was great sounding wah with lots of options to tweak.

Good luck

I have the 95q, didn't find any tone suck. I do run a very short first cable, though.

 

[Anxiety Serum]

I have the 95q, didn't find any tone suck. I do run a very short first cable, though.

Where in chain do you run it? I always liked my Cantrell Wah as first pedal out of the FX loop of my Diezel VH2

 

[Bash_Man]

I have the 95q, didn't find any tone suck. I do run a very short first cable, though.

Is yours a newer year design ? Mine was an older version. One of the first ones that was released. Maybe they upgraded the buffer circuit.

 

[D-Rock]

Pick up a crybaby 105Q bass wah if you want a dark throaty tone similar to the JC wah.
The bass wah is all I use for guitar now. I also own an original copper JC wah and a 95Q but I prefer the 105Q bass wah. It's also switchless (auto return)