The Gigahearts Micro Square is an analog octave and fuzz pedal from Gigahearts. It combines a square wave shaper with an octave-up generator, the two elements that give octave fuzzes their aggressive, synthy character, and puts them in a compact pedal format. according to RockBoard's PedalPedia's product information, it takes those circuits "from the classic and places it in a supremely pedalboard friendly format, idiosyncrasies and all"1.
What it does
The Micro Square is a fuzz with an octave-up generator on board. The square wave shaper clips the signal into a hard-edged, buzzy tone, and the octave generator adds a note one octave above what you play. RockBoard's PedalPedia describes the circuit as derived from the original schematic of the vintage "big box" design, so it aims to reproduce that unit's behavior, including its quirks, rather than smooth them out1.
As for where it sits musically, the maker suggests "this sounds equally at home in a diverse range of settings, from grunge (Pumpkins) to modern blues (J. Mayer)"1. That range reflects how octave fuzz has been used across styles: pushed hard it produces the thick, splattering tones associated with 1990s alternative rock, while at lower gain settings it can sit under lead playing as a textured boost.
Power and practical notes
The pedal runs on 9V DC, center negative, and draws 100mA1. That current draw is worth noting when planning a pedalboard power supply: it is higher than many compact analog pedals need, so a daisy chain or a low-output supply slot may not run it reliably.
The Micro Square draws 100mA at 9V DC, center negative1. Give it its own outlet on a switched power supply rather than sharing a daisy-chained output.
Where Gigahearts fits
Gigahearts builds a range of fuzz and octave pedals alongside the Micro Square, including the MK2 Small Cheese and the Mashed Voltaire Deluxe. The Micro Square is the line's compact take on the classic big-box octave fuzz formula1.
Sources (1)
- Micro Square by Gigahearts, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
