ROAD TESTED,
PEDALBOARD
APPROVED
Of the many burgeoning London pedal
builders cropping up of late, Magnetic
Effects stands out firmly with eye-popping
graphics, raucous revamps of classics and
original circuit designs. Unlike many
boutique pedal companies, these rock
boxes are tuned and tweaked to perfection
by a well-seasoned professional touring
guitarist. Since 1997, Christian Livingstone
has toured all over the world with fellow
New Zealanders The Datsuns, scorching the
Earth with Technicolor tinnitus inducing
fuzzy boogies that evoke the spirit of MC5
and Radio Birdman. These dudes have
made records with John Paul Jones and
shared stages with Ozzy Osbourne,
Metallica and countless other major draws.
In short, Christian knows what cuts it on the
stage and in the studio.
Since around 2012, Magnetic Effects has
been Christian’s creative outlet from the
other side of the looking glass. Like all great
boutique pedal builders, the journey started
with mods, tweaks and improvements to
existing designs. Naturally, Magnetic Effects
has progressed rapidly to a brand with both
tonal and aesthetic shake appeal. There is
continuity across the sounds, graphics and
man behind the machines—which is what
makes any brand a proper established
entity. Let’s pop the bonnet on this Datsun
six-string-slinger and grease the gears for
a joyride.
TONE REPORT: Christian—my man.
Thanks for the tones and the time—let’s
pickup where the intro left off. Was this
journey as a pedal producer the result of
wanting more from the gear you used for
decades on the road, or a hobby-turnedprofession?
CHRISTIAN LIVINGSTONE: My pleasure!
Little bit of both really. I started out
modding pedals to tweak them more to my
satisfaction. Eventually I started selling
pedals purely for fun, as a way to fund my
newfound hobby, and then it gradually
morphed into a business.
TR: I imagine given the raunchy
characterful shades of dirt on display with
The Datsuns’s back-catalogue, that you
were well armed with vintage fuzz boxes,
wahs and filters. These great tones are
inherently garnished with routing hiccups,
volume drops and the like. Was this when
you started improving classic circuits? Was
necessity the mother?
CL: Yeah, I used to have quite a large
stompbox collection! Still do, although I
have slimmed it down a little over the last
few years.
Necessity was indeed the mother of
invention in the beginning. After my initial
modding phase I got into design because I
couldn’t quite get what I wanted out of a lot
of other pedals. My mindset was honed
from years of touring so practicality and
usability was key. For example, a pedal that
only runs on batteries is not useful to me as
that is annoying to deal with on tour. A
battery dying in the middle of a festival set
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