When I was 18 I sold my Cry Baby in gleaming, un-gigged condition for a pitifully low amount to a friend who played in a classic rock covers band. How much? Well, there is, coincidentally, a 20% discount on the Dunlop Original Cry Baby over at Guitar Center right now – and this was a lot less than that.
‘What do I care?’ I thought, ‘I’ve got a budget early-’00s DigiTech multi-effects – and now I can finally do literally everything.’ There was a square USB connection, it included (the no-doubt industry standard) ‘Pro Tracks’ recording software. It was the future!
Problematically, it turned out that my DigiTech was actually not the future. Activating the built-in wah only succeeded on every fifth try, the amp models seemed to have the sample-rate of a Nintendo Gameboy – and menu-diving with an eight-digit LCD screen was a torturous logic puzzle.
Meanwhile, my friend seemed very happy with his new Cry Baby – and, at that price, he damn well should have been. A few months later, I saw his band perform and when they launched into Voodoo Child, a white-hot fire raged inside of me.
That Cry Baby became the one that got away (and that DigiTech the source of an ongoing multi-fx and gear menu phobia). Talking about it helps, but sadly not everybody in my life is willing to acknowledge my very real pain.
Instead, in what is definitely not a burgeoning midlife crisis, I will now probably throw some money at it. Specifically, $79.99, which is enough to get me another gleaming, un-gigged Cry Baby in Guitar Center’s Cyber Monday sale – and is as low a price as I’ve seen in recent years.
Indeed, it’s also had the same discount at Amazon – and CamelCamelCamel tells me the average price charged by Jeff Bezos and friends since 2010 is $95.90 – so this is a convincingly good a window to cure my very real pain.
After that, I’m probably going to need further material compensation to put me back on the up and up – and, fortunately, there are loads of bona fide classic MXR and Jim Dunlop pedal deals to be had in the same sale.
In particular, this looks like a brilliant time to grab an MXR Phase 90, Distortion +, or Dyna Comp, all of which are available for the same price – $79.99 – and should also help me to process my very real pain in the future.
I think the MXR Duke of Tone (down $30 to $119.99 at Guitar Center) – its collaboration with Analog Man and King of Tone pedal genius Mike Piera – would also be useful, in this respect.
I’ve since lost track of my friend with the Cry Baby, but it might finally be time to move on. At least now, I think I can finally say – with the benefit of 20 years of reflection – that I hope his stupid covers band broke-up.
