“Like nothing from the modern era”: Mick Ronson’s Cry Baby wah tone transformed rock music with David Bowie – now he’s been honored with a signature wah, inspired by his original Italian pedal

NAMM 2025: Dunlop has honored Mick Ronson by releasing a signature Cry Baby wah pedal, which is based on the vintage Italian unit that the David Bowie-collaborator used to develop his transformative fixed-wah tone.

The Mick Ronson Cry Baby Wah was reportedly developed after Dunlop inspected the guitar icon’s original wah, as heard all over Ronson’s contributions to Bowie’s discography, most notably during the Ziggy Stardust era.

That unit has since passed into the possession of producer Bob Rock. Indeed, it was Rock who loaned it to Dunlop during the development of this new signature model and who was on hand to test the various prototypes that were developed along the way. Having continued to use his Ronson's wah on sessions with numerous other artists throughout the years, he was suitably familiar with its nuance.

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“You place the wah, and leave it there, and that's the tone,” Rock says of Ronson’s wah. “It's all over every record he ever made, and I’ve used it on every record since I got it. Dunlop’s engineers spent the time and sent me the prototypes, and we nailed that sound.”

Dunlop also notes that it is built from vintage components that “imbue it with a truly singular sound”.

Led by its source material, Dunlop managed to use matched specs and developed a custom inductor to help recreate Ronson’s original tone, which as mentioned, can be harnessed by setting and leaving the wah in a fixed position.

The custom inductor in particular was crucial in emulating the original wah’s tone as it said to replicate the higher frequency response and subtler peak of the original model, leading to a distinct “musically smooth” tone.

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The fast initial sweep of the potentiometer also offers “an instant reactivity that’s like nothing from the modern era” and a tightened inductor tolerance looks to ensure the closest possible representation of the source material.

“Capping it all off, we’ve adorned the Mick Ronson Cry Baby Wah with a special finish inspired by his work,” concludes Dunlop. “Dig into the signature tones of one of the greatest to ever pick up the guitar.”

The Mick Ronson Cry Baby Wah will be available this April for $250.

Head over to Dunlop for more.