Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Klowra's 5th Budding Bloom Series pedal - the excellent Dive Drop-Shifter - looks to significantly outmuscle the DigiTech Drop
Key Points
Klowra Dive Polyphonic Drop-Shifter (Budding Bloom Series) is a polyphonic Drop-Shifter—8 ms ultra-fast tracking—Intervals: UNISON | 1–7 | 12 | 24 | DIVE, dual A/B presets, Glide (Attack/Release) and Dry > Wet Mix. It’s positioned against the DigiTech Drop and offers compact, granular drop-tuning control.
Footswitch modes: Latching, A/B, Momentary; power-up options select TIGHT or SUB and True/Buffered bypass (LEDs). Ports: CTRL/Remote In, TS In, TS Out, USB‑C; Power: 9V DC, 150mA.
44.1kHz, 24‑bit AD/DA, 32‑bit DSP; dimensions 51×92×38mm, weight 234g. MAP/RRP $105. As of 2026-07-13, the price was £105.
This is another killer pedal from the recent Budding Bloom Series, not quite as much fun for me as the Leap - but still very decent. In fact the only one I would kind of question in terms of its ultimate utility is the South Zoo - all the others really deliver the goods for their intended audiences.
The Leap outguns the EHX Pico POG, and this Dive outguns its nearest competitor - the Digitech Drop. The Dive is mostly labelled as a Polyphonic Pitch-Shifter - which most woudl take that to mean shifting up as well as down - like say the EHX Pitch Fork and the recent Boss XS-1. The Dive does not really compete with those at it only shifts in one direction - DOWN! It’s more accurately labelled as a Drop-Tuner or Drop-Shifter.
It’s most obvious competitor - and the pedal it’s looking to knock out of contention is DigiTech’s Drop. That pedal has a single rotary encoder and Momentary / Latching toggle-switch, alongside Intervals : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | OCT | OCT + DRY.
By comparison the Dive has 4 knobs, 2 switches, and Intervals : UNISON | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 24 | DIVE. The Dive is a far more granular, shapeable and overall more versatile pedal - in a much smaller Mini form factor and with 2 sets of Intervals! - moreover it has one of the smallest latencies for any such effect at just 8 ms. The Klowra Vein is measured at 10-12ms, Boss’s XS-1 is measured at 13-14ms, Digitech Drop is 12-17ms, and the EHX Pitch Fork is supposedly 16 to 22ms.
With all pitch-shifters you get some degree of artefacts in the signal - which usually makes them more invisible for heavier sounds / high gain distortion. While the inclusion of a variable Dry-Wet Mix - means you can get a much better quality of output profile - and lessen the chorusing effect which can occur over a certain proportion of wet signal. Klowra says you should be able to hear subtle chorusing with a 50|50 blend at Noon!
I typically have the mix at around 10 o’c - which make the output profile cleaner and clearer. For heavier sounds you can turn it up more - for a more effected signal!
As Drop-Shifters go - this has to be one of the best. You also get A/B channels that you can switch between - meaning that you essentially have 2 Interval Presets at your disposal - and which you can switch between on-the-fly!
I’ve been hugely impressed with all of the Budding Bloom Series - while I still don’t really get the South Zoo Animal Voice one - I do like the Frogs though, and the Cats combined with an Auto-Wah are pretty cool!
The Controls / Modes, and Ports
For the Dive there is quite a lot to get hold of - you have essential power-up modes that play an important part, and you need to be aware of a quick press versus press-hold on the main footswitch! There are some complex A/B interactions too - particularly for the Momentary Mode!
Controls - Semitone Drop Pitch Intervals A : UNISON | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 24 | DIVE, Semitone Drop Pitch Intervals B : UNISON | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 24 | DIVE, Glide / Attack (Adjust onset time - initial shift), Dry > Wet Mix (Subtle Chorusing at Noon), Glide / Release (Adjust snap-back time, hold push-button and turn Glide knob!), Footswitch Switching / Transition Options : Latching | A/B | Momentary, For Footswitch on Latch and Momentary Modes Hold to switch between A<>B Presets, for A/B Mode Hold to Bypass.
Ports - CTRL / Remote In, TS In, USB-C for Updates, 9V DC [-] 150mA, TS Out.
ADJUSTING GLIDE ATTACK & RELEASE
- GLIDE ATTACK - is just the Glide knob - for onset timing Faster CCW, Slower CW
- GLIDE RELEASE - involves Holding the push-button, and adjusting Glide knob for snap-back time : Fast / Slow
3 x MODE TOGGLE SWITCH : Footswitch Switching & Transition Options
- LATCHING - Effect stays on, hold footswitch to toggle between A & B Presets
- A/B - Always-on toggle between A & B Presets, hold footswitch for Bypass
- MOMENTARY - Effect only on for as long as you press footswitch - note that you need to set Starting State via A/B option - select A or B Presets via A/B and on or Bypassed - and that then carries to the Latch option!
POWER UP OPTIONS - Press & Hold Footswitch on Power-Up
- BYPASS - Via push-Button : Green LED = True Bypass / Red LED = Buffered Bypass
- TIGHT (Guitar) / SUB (Bass) - via Mix knob : CCW = Yellow LED 'TIGHT' / CW = Blue LED 'SUB'
So there's a bit of a learning curve for some of the control options - but you pick it up relatively easily. The manual is not 100% clear on a few of these points - hopefully my descriptions here offer a little more clarity.
It's a really potent and capable pedal in any case - and it totally outmuscles the DigiTech Drop in pretty much every regard. One for the Heavy Brigade for sure!
Using the Pedal and Preferred Presets
The ideal audience for this pedal is players who use a lot of drop-tunings. Traditionally more successful bands would have a whole hoard of instruments - all tuned to different tunings and scales, while the modern form is to use Pitch-Shifter and Harmonizer Pedals so that they can deploy different tunings without needing to change or adjust the guitar.
So it's mostly the heavy brigade that is going to get the most use out of this. Me personally not so much - while I really like the Dive effect! I play so much EVH and Jimi that I'm permanently tuned down half a step. Of course I could set to E-Standard Tuning and then use the Dive to drop down the 1 Semitone. I often have the big Boss XS-100 on the board which does all kinds of smart things not covered by the Dive - but even that is not a permanent placement. While I would probably tend to choose a Pitch-Shifter pedal that could shift Up as well as Down.
A Down-Shifter like the Dive is most suitable for Drop-Tuning High Gain Players really - where it's probably the perfect product. I tried to come up with 3 typical presets that most would find handy.
- PRESET 1 : A1 + B2 + Latching - 'Check 1-2' : Drop 1 or 2 Semitones - always useful!
- PRESET 2 : A Unison + B Dive + A/B - 'Deep Dive' : start at Unison and Dive down to the abyss - more elegant to do it this way than Momentary - swathing is quicker from A > B and Off > Dive!
- PRESET 3 : A12 (-1 Oct) + B24 (-2 Oct) + Momentary - 'Dual Subs' : Momentary Drop 1 or Drop 2 Octaves - note that you need to set A/B and Starting State via the A/B Mode first - and carry that over to the Momentary Function.
In watching a few of the demos I realise a lot of those demoers also had access to the Klowra remote footswitches - which make switching between A/B modes so much easier. The setting of the Starting State for the Latching mode is decidedly clunky in my opinion! I feel the remote footswitches would help with that!
Overall though it's a really neat pedal - mostly with 2 foot-switchable A/B Presets at your disposal - on Latching and A/B Modes only though!
This is a smart pedal overall - but there are a few clunky operational areas. At the start of this piece this was heading for my second favourite of the Budding Bloom series, but now I would have my preferred order as : Leap Octaver first, then the Whorl Rotary, then the Hane Filter, then this Dive Drop-Shifter, and then finally the oddball South Zoo Animal Voice Synth which will always bring up the rear!
Dive Polyphonic Drop-Shifter Features & Specs, and Buying a Unit
- Precision Polyphonic Pitch Shifting & 8ms Ultra-Fast Tracking
- 'Tight' & 'Sub' Dual-Algorithms via Power-up options
- Seamless Dual A/B Drop Tune Presets
- Expansive Pitch Range & Flawless Wet/Dry Mix Control
- Customizable Glide Trajectory
- Momentary / Latching Trigger Modes
- Virtual Whammy Bar Experience
- A Budding Bloom Series Pedal
- External Footswitch Ready
- Powered by the WildSeed DSP Engine
- Evolving Firmware Ecosystem
- Selectable Bypass Modes
- Ultra Compact, Road-Ready Design
- Latching | A/B | Momentary - Footswitch Modes
- Pedal Type : Digital Pitch Shifter/Drop Tune Pedal
- Effects : Polyphonic Pitch Shifter
- Inputs : 1 x 1/4" TS Instrument
- Outputs : 1 x 1/4" TS Instrument
- Input Impedance : 500k Ohm
- Output Impedance : 100 Ohm
- External Control : TS Momentary footswitch
- Bypass Mode - Switchable: True Bypass, Buffered Bypass
- Power Source : 9V DC [-] power supply required
- Current Draw : 150mA
- Hardware Interface : USB-C
- Sample rate : 44.1K Hz
- Sampling accuracy : 24-bit AD/DA Conversion & 32-bit Floating-Point DSP
- Package Contents : 3.5mm TS (Male) to 1/4" TS (Female) Audio Adapter Cable, Exclusive Sticker, Quick Start, Safety Instructions,Product Catalog
- Dimensions : 51mm H x 92mm D x 38mm W / (2.0"H x 3.6"D x 1.5"W)
- Package Size : 59mm H x 140mm D x 140mm W / (2.3"H x5.5"D x 5.5"W)
- Net Weight : 234g/0.515lb
- Package Weight : 358g/0.788lb
- MAP / RRP : $105
Klowra pedals, including the Dive Polyphonic Drop-Shifter are available Direct from Klowra and via Amazon.com, and are increasingly available at select International Dealers too.
Demos
