Malekko Heavy Industry Downer

The Malekko Heavy Industry Downer is a compact multi-effect pedal that combines four functions in one box: wavefolding or saturation, a pitch shift down one octave, and both high-pass and low-pass filters. Malekko lists it as a "wavefolder, overdrive, octaver, filter" pedal with a hybrid circuit, and the whole thing is controlled by six knobs¹. It sits in the octave and pitch family, but the wavefolder and filter sections push it well beyond a straightforward octave-down pedal.

The idea is experimentation. Rather than giving you one effect, the Downer lets you stack a tape-style or extreme-harmonic distortion with a sub-octave range and then sculpt the result with two filters, all before the signal leaves the pedal¹². A prototype was shown at NAMM 2018, and the pedal was announced and made available to order that March for $189³⁴.

What the Downer does

The pedal's effect combines wavefolding or saturation with pitch shifting down to one octave below your playing, and two filters shape the output⁵. Delicious Audio broke down the two drive flavors at launch: saturation is the more subtle of the first two effects, while wavefolding takes things further³.

For a player, that means the Downer covers ground from warm, tape-like grit to aggressive, harmonically loaded fuzz-synth territory. MusicRadar's headline take on the pedal was that it "will turn your guitar into a raging fuzz synth"⁴. The octave section adds a full octave below the input signal, and the high-pass and low-pass filters let you cut lows or highs to fit the result into a mix, or to push it toward synth-like formant shapes².

Controls and expression

The six knobs divide the work between drive, octave and tone shaping. Pedal of the Day described the layout and what each control does²:

The Wavefolder and Saturation settings are two distinct distortions, each with its own output level range, and the Preamp knob drives whichever one you choose¹².

Beyond the knobs, there is an Expression/CV input jack for hands-free control over any or all of the parameters on board². Malekko's own product page puts it as the ability to assign an expression pedal to your own combinations and settings within the pedal's features, which makes the Downer a good candidate for an expression pedal on a live board¹.

Powering it

The Downer runs on 9V DC with a center-negative plug and draws 50mA¹. It also supports an internal battery, so it can be powered either by a standard adapter or on its own³. The 50mA draw is modest, so it shares easily with other pedals on a typical 9V power supply.

Where it came from

Malekko Heavy Industry launched the Downer in March 2018 alongside the Thicken, another new pedal from the maker; gearnews.com reported the pair as two new pedals that invite experimentation⁵. A prototype of the Downer had been seen at NAMM 2018 before the production version arrived³. MusicRadar reported the pedal as available to order for $189 on March 16, 2018⁴, and Delicious Audio gave the same $189 retail price that May³.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the Downer in May 2018 and was clear about who it is for²:

The pedal also made an impression beyond individual reviews: it was selected by Dennis Kayzer for Delicious Audio's Best Stompboxes of 2018⁶. The consistent thread in the coverage is that the Downer rewards players who want to twist knobs and explore, rather than those looking for one predictable sound.

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