Each Gigahearts pedal is built to perform and to last, incorporating quality components throughout. When we thought about developing this initial line of pedals, a number of philosophies were adopted and adhered to which we feel, in combination, offer significant value to our fellow musicians

1. Through hole components, on a future-serviceable double-sided and plated PCB 
2. Hand soldered components, with hand wired construction
3. Incorporation of locking washers on footswitches and i/o jacks to
   prevent shorts or  loose connections and potential future repairs 
4. Audio grade Panasonic / Nichicon electrolytic capacitors 
5. Sensible selections of MLCC and Polyester film capacitors in the
   signal path, from vendors such as KEMET, WIMA etc in standard footprints
   and packages
6. Machine tooled IC sockets, for ease of both experimentation and replacement
7. Industry standard 9v DC power via 2.1mm tip negative jack, with
   reverse polarity protection circuitry to ensure compatility with the
   vast majority of common PSUs 
8. Robust 3PDT "hardwire" true bypass switching rated for at least 30,000 cycles
9. Pedalboard friendly sizing with top-mounted connectivity for modern setups 
10. An ethos of transparency of where and how our products are made and
    who supplies our parts, as well as honest representation of our inspiration when it comes to circuit design.

In 2025, parts sourcing for effect pedal builders is a real concern, not only in terms of rising costs but also availability, quality/consistency, and adherence to global safety standards including RoHS guidelines. This matters to us as we are currently committed to designs that are entirely through-hole in execution, and certain through-hole parts are being made obsolete in preference of surface mount technologies. 

All components used in Gigahearts effects meet these stringent requirements, are lead free and from reputable vendors. 

Depending on availability, we source of parts from Rapid Electronics, Switch Electronics, Digikey, TME Components, Mouser, Small Bear Electronics, Love My Switches and Tayda Electronics. 

Our standard enclosures are designed in house, with finishing provided by Tayda using state of the art robust powder coating and full colour CMYK automated UV printing. 

Our PCBs are designed in house and are unique layouts. We do not source PCBs from other vendors, such as those who specialise in retail to DIY pedal builders, for our effects. Whilst we have used these in the past, and absolutely advocate for this part of the pedal community and industry, we wanted ownership and exclusive rights to our designs. This ensures we have control over future revisions, improvements, authenticity to original schematics and parts, as well as control of our own supply chain and inventory planning. Our PCBs are manufactured overseas like the vast majority of pedal companies as this is the only cost effective channel for small enterprises. Currently we are working with either JLCPCB, Elecrow or PCBWay depending on market conditions. 

• All product design activity, including CAD design of PCBs and enclosure artwork is done in house in Manchester, UK. 
• Enclosures are manufactured and finished in Thailand
• PCBs are manufactured in China 
• Components are purchased from various international vendors and
  often originate in Taiwan, China, Japan for example Alpha Potentiometers
  from Taiwan. 

These basic building blocks are all hand assembled in Manchester, UK. We do not outsource any subassemblies. Soldering is by hand to RoHS standards. Final testing is by a human being with an amplifier and guitar (or in many cases, at least three amplifier styles and multiple guitar/pickup types).