In 1967, the Thomas Organ company introduced the "Cry Baby" wah pedal—a thinly-veiled copy of the Vox V845 wah pedal made famous by Jimi Hendrix. According to the original marketing materials, its vocal sweep "makes the grooviest sounds you've ever heard!" While many wah-wahs have come and gone, not many match up to the musical, rich tone of the original vintage units.
Manufactured in Italy by Jen Electronics, the Cry Baby Super (model 250.422) was the first Crybaby unit with a 9V adapter jack (1/8" plug, not your standard 1 Spot barrel). This model was manufactured from 1969 to 1979, and different color Fasel inductors deliver slightly different subtleties in sound. This 1970s Jen Cry Baby Super features a white Fasel, which is often described as a brighter, clearer, and more aggressive wah, most similar to the revered red Fasel but with its own flavor.
Around the edges, this Cry Baby Super shows plenty of paint chips, scuffs, and cosmetic signs of use (see photos). But it functions 100% as it should, and all of the circuitry, parts, and components appear to be original. The worst of the paint chipping is around the top edge of the treadle, and the cover plate on the bottom is fairly worn and pretty much unreadable. All of this is cosmetic, and in our opinion it all amounts to mojo. This is a well-loved 1970s wah pedal that produces authentic vintage sound, and it's still got so much left in the tank.
As soon as you plug in this Cry Baby Super, you'll understand why the Wah-Wah sound is so influential across such a variety of different musical genres. There is truly no sound quite like the vintage units, and these Italian-made Jens get the job done in style. Dig the vibey white rubber piping around the baseplate!