NativeAudio Kiaayo

The NativeAudio Kiaayo is an analog overdrive pedal with three knobs: Volume, Tone and Gain. NativeAudio, the company of founder Mike Trombley, describes it as an "amp-like overdrive with a streamlined interface," aimed at low-to-medium gain¹. Delicious Audio called it "a dynamic overdrive that sounds great no matter what settings are dialed in"².

The pedal's circuit uses dynamic asymmetrical clipping, which Premier Guitar described as "asymmetrical clipping tuned to provide a dynamic tube-like response"³. Delicious Audio characterized the result as "an amp-like overdrive that responds to the dynamics of your playing for sustained leads and articulate chording"².

The controls and the momentary footswitch

The Kiaayo keeps its interface to three knobs, a design NativeAudio bases on the idea that less is more³.

Delicious Audio described the three-knob layout as an adaptable-gain configuration, "designed to make the Kiaayo the overdrive solution for a diverse range of instruments and musical styles"². Premier Guitar also noted a distinctive pre-gain low-pass filter in the circuit³.

The footswitch is where the Kiaayo differs from a standard three-knob overdrive. NativeAudio calls it a smart switching system that engages the effect in either momentary or latching mode³²:

• Latch mode: press and release the switch quickly to toggle the effect on and off, like a conventional bypass footswitch¹.
• Momentary mode: with the effect off, hold the switch down to temporarily turn the overdrive on, and release the switch to turn it off again¹.

Momentary operation is useful for short bursts of gain, such as hitting a note or chord with overdrive for a phrase and dropping back to a clean sound as soon as you lift your foot. Delicious Audio highlighted "a footswitch that works both as an on/off or a momentary trigger" as one of the pedal's distinguishing features².

Power and connections

The Kiaayo runs on 9 to 18V DC through a 2.1mm center negative connector, drawing 22mA¹. Pedal of the Day pointed to the wider voltage range as a feature in itself: "The Kiaayo will run on power from 9V-18V as well, for adjustable headroom that enhances your overdriven capabilities"⁴. Running a pedal at a higher voltage within its rated range typically gives the circuit more headroom before clipping, which changes the character of the overdrive.

The instrument and power jacks are top-mounted, a layout Premier Guitar described as "designed to save and reduce pedalboard space"³. At 2.6" wide by 4.77" long, the enclosure is compact enough to sit in a tight row of pedals, and top jacks mean nothing plugs into the sides. Audio output is mono¹.

The bypass is buffered rather than true bypass¹. Pedal of the Day found that "top-mounted jacks and a buffered-bypass design ensure that the Kiaayo Overdrive will meld seamlessly with any rig or pedalboard"⁴. A buffered bypass keeps a buffer in the signal path when the pedal is off, which can help preserve high end over long cable runs, unlike true bypass switching.

History: NativeAudio's first gain pedal

NativeAudio unveiled the Kiaayo in 2021, and Delicious Audio reported that it "represents the builder's debut in the gain realm," making it the company's first gain pedal². Premier Guitar covered the pedal in June 2021, reporting a price of $189 USD and availability at participating NativeAudio dealers and directly at nativeaudio.com³.

The name carries personal meaning. Pedal of the Day explained the origin:

The enclosure artwork follows the same theme, showing "the wise and nurturing bear walking amongst the Glacier Mountain terrain of the Blackfeet Nation"⁴.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions