The Sloika MkII is an analog distortion pedal from Malekko Heavy Industries, designed by Todd Wolfgram. Pedal of the Day's reviewer Mike B called it "an Analog Multi-Band Distortion pedal," and the maker's listing on RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as an "OVERDRIVE BOOSTER," placing it in the territory between overdrive and full distortion12.
What multi-band distortion means
Most distortion pedals run the signal through one clipping stage. The Sloika's approach is different: as Mike B put it in his Pedal of the Day review, "Multi-Band means that there are multiple bands of distortion simulating different gain stages of different amplifiers, a..."1. In practice, that means the pedal stacks several distortion bands the way the gain stages of an amp stack, rather than clipping everything at once.
The maker also highlights how the pedal responds to what you feed it: "Very sensitive to input levels, SLOIKA allows you to control the amount of distortion from your guitar"2. Backing off the guitar's volume knob cleans the pedal up, which is a familiar behavior from amp-style gain stages.
The controls: Drive, Saturate and Volume
The Sloika MkII keeps its panel to three knobs1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Works together with Saturate to blend tones and shape the distortion; its range runs from a lightly crunched boost to full heavy distortion1 |
| Saturate | Works together with Drive to blend tones1 |
| Volume | Sets the overall volume1 |
The Drive and Saturate controls are the pair that matter here. As the review puts it, "The Drive and Saturate controls are the ones working together here," with Volume handling output level1. The Drive control's range is broad: Mike B described it going "from a slightly-crunched boost of your signal to a full-on, balls-to-the-w..."1, so at the low end the pedal can serve as a boost, which lines up with the maker's own "OVERDRIVE BOOSTER" description2.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's review, published on 9 November 2014, was positive on two fronts: versatility and transparency1.
"I really can't recall a distortion pedal I have played that was so versatile, and had such a nice range of tones, but co..."
"The overall sound of this pedal is surprisingly un-coloring, too, allowing your guitar and amp's true sound to continue ..."
That combination, a pedal that gets chunky and heavy while leaving the guitar and amp's own character intact, is what the review singles out as the Sloika's strength1.
Videos
Malekko HeavyIndustry
Dennis Kayzer
Remnufacture
Questions
Who designed the Malekko Sloika MkII?
The Sloika MkII was designed by Todd Wolfgram and is made by Malekko Heavy Industries. Pedal of the Day's review of the pedal credits Wolfgram as the designer, and the pedal is sometimes listed under the Wolftone name, reflecting that design lineage.
Is the Malekko Sloika MkII analog or digital?
The Sloika MkII is an analog pedal. Both the maker's product listing on RockBoard's PedalPedia, which gives the circuit type as analog, and Pedal of the Day's 2014 review, which calls it an Analog Multi-Band Distortion pedal, describe it that way.
What does the Saturate knob do on the Sloika?
Saturate does not work alone: it works together with the Drive control to blend tones. Pedal of the Day describes the two as the controls that work in conjunction, shaping the pedal's distortion character, while Volume sets the overall output level.
Can the Sloika MkII work as a clean boost?
At the low end of its Drive control, yes. Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the Drive range broad enough to go from a slightly crunched boost of the signal all the way up to full-on heavy distortion, so rolling Drive back puts the pedal in boost territory.
What does multi-band distortion mean?
On the Sloika, multi-band means the pedal uses multiple bands of distortion that simulate the different gain stages of different amplifiers working in conjunction, rather than a single clipping stage. Pedal of the Day's review explains the concept this way in describing the pedal's design.
Sources (2)
- Malekko Heavy Industries Sloika MKII Analog Distortion, Pedal of the Day, 2014-11-09
- Sloika MkII by Malekko, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
