Mark Smith

Sometimes, simple things are just that: simple. And sometimes there is a complexity within simple things that really makes you think. The Omicron Series pedals from Malekko Heavy Industry fall into the category of simple things filled with complexity in sound. Once you plug them in, you’ll be surprised how much good can come out of a little metal box.

Bite-Sized Package
Measuring a compact 1.5” x 3.6” x 1.2”, the Omicron series are quite simple in feature and design. While each pedal has its own character in sound and internal configuration, they share the same cast metal housing and two knobs at the top. They all have the same input, output, and power jacks, which are located on the sides and offset from each other so you can get the pedals quite close if you set them up side by side. The jacks have plastic bodies with metal nuts and function solidly, however they aren’t all metal (a trade-off for cost). These units are all true-bypass (other than the Chicklet Reverb), so you don’t need to worry about losing your tone through them, and they all require the standard 9V DC negative tip power supply. Due to the small size of these pedals, there isn’t room for a battery, so you will need a power supply to operate them.

Don’t let the size of these fool you, these little guys prove that big sound can come from small packages. Collectively speaking, this series of effects really hits the nail on the head for capturing warm, silky analog sound. Let’s take a closer look (and listen) at each pedal.

All clips recorded with Fender American Deluxe Strat, Fender Deville 4x10, Sennheiser e609, Apogee Duet, and Logic Pro.

	Download Example

Fuzz
Malekko really knows how to make a great fuzz pedal, and this Germanium diode-based circuit is packed full of great sounds. The two face knobs are simple—Volume and Drive—but within the pedal is a switch that gives you three different voicings. The top position is brightest, and lends itself well to octave fuzz sounds, the middle is stronger in the midrange and bottom which creates a nice classic cutting sound, and the low position is a more modern approach with scooped mids with a huge bottom end. This unit is full of glorious wooly splat and buzz, and you can get some nice modulating-type overtones when you really push the drive and hit the double stops.

Buy if...
you want a straight forward, superb sounding Germanium diode-based fuzz that has plenty of options for tailoring the frequency content
Skip if...
you want the Malekko B:Assmaster.
Rating...

Street $130 - Malekko Heavy Industry - malekkoheavyindustry.com