Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

The ultimate wah-fuzz guitar tone. Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return) opens with one of the most recognizable wah licks ever recorded. The tone is built on a Cry Baby wah into a germanium Fuzz Face, slamming a cranked Marshall Plexi. The wah isn't just an effect here; it's an integral part of the voice of the guitar, used as a tonal filter that shapes every note. The Fuzz Face provides thick, singing sustain that cleans up dynamically when Hendrix rolls back his guitar volume.

Tom Morello's approach to guitar is unlike anyone else: he uses a simple rig — Les Paul, Marshall JCM800, Whammy pedal, and wah — but manipulates them in unconventional ways to create sounds that resemble turntables, synthesizers, and samples. On Killing in the Name, the core rhythm tone is a Les Paul through a cranked JCM800 for aggressive, tight palm-muted riffs. The Whammy and wah are used for the song's iconic solos and DJ-like scratching effects.

Randy Rhoads' tone on Crazy Train combines classical precision with heavy metal aggression. His Les Paul Custom through a cranked Marshall with an MXR Distortion+ produces a tight, articulate distortion with singing sustain. The iconic opening riff requires precise note separation and a tone with enough gain for sustain but enough clarity for the rapid alternate picking passages. Rhoads' classical training meant every note was deliberate, and his tone reflected that precision.

Joe Satriani's tone on Surfing with the Alien is a fluid, singing lead sound designed for legato playing and whammy bar acrobatics. The Ibanez JS guitar's high-output DiMarzio pickups drive a cranked Marshall into smooth saturation, while a wah pedal adds expression and a delay provides spacious depth. The tone has enough gain for effortless legato runs but enough clarity for each note to speak distinctly during rapid passages. This is the quintessential instrumental rock guitar tone.

Dimebag Darrell's tone on Walk is one of the tightest, most aggressive rhythm guitar sounds in metal history. His Dean ML through a solid-state Randall Century 200 produces a razor-sharp, scooped distortion with surgical precision. The solid-state Randall's tight, unforgiving response is the secret weapon: unlike tube amps that compress and round off transients, the Randall delivers every pick attack with brutal clarity. The tone is heavily scooped in the midrange, with boosted lows and highs creating the signature groove metal scoop.

Welcome to the Jungle features a more aggressive, higher-gain version of Slash's Les Paul through Marshall tone compared to Sweet Child O' Mine. The opening wah-filtered harmonics lead into a pummeling riff with thick distortion and tight low end. Slash used an Alesis Midiverb for the pitch-shifted intro effect.

Fade to Black begins with one of metal's most beautiful clean arpeggios before building to a wah-drenched lead solo. Hammett's ESP through a Mesa Boogie with a Cry Baby wah creates two distinct tones: the clean intro uses the neck pickup through a clean channel for crystalline arpeggios, while the solo engages the lead channel with a wah for Hammett's signature vocal phrasing.