[QUESTION] What is the difference between an *original* crybaby pedal and one that is just a crybaby?

Original can mean a few different things, so it could potentially be a devious marketing trick. But not here.

For example with the original fuzz face pedals, they were only made for a short while and in limited numbers. Some years later another company had acquired the rights to the name. A few people bought the new pedals and decided they didn't sound exactly like the old pedals - which they wouldn't because technology has moved on and different, often better components have become available. But the makers recognised the level of demand for the old sound, went back to the original designer, and found a way to make them sound like they did back when Jimi had one.

With wah pedals, there was no such concept before the arrival of the crybaby. It was the very first - the original - from which all future wah pedals were begat. Jimi imagined a sound in his head, described it to his technical people, who then built something capable of doing what he wanted. Thus was born the crybaby. WAH! WAH!

But it is also the case that the word original can be used to signal some limitations. Those pedals NOT marked as original might include some additional modern features, like a switch to adjust something, or a capability to double up as a volume/swell pedal - or pretty much anything that makes it different from what Jimi had.

I don't have it now, but my old Roland GP100 processor contained several distinctively voiced wah options. This track I recorded a while back includes three different wah settings, whereas with an original crybaby you will always have pretty much just the one sound available.

/r/Guitar Thread