is no fun. Pedals with impedance issues are
also problematic as I always run a buffer on
my board. (A lot of old pedals, particularly
fuzz, have this problem.) Some of my early
designs were specifically done with the goal
of getting vintage sounds but with better
input and output impedances and useable
power requirements.
TR: Let’s talk about the White Atom. I
recently received the newest version of
your super versatile, silicon—germanium
hybrid fuzzy overdrive. I love that texture
control—it seems to starve the voltage for
splatty, horn-like emissions. What were the
original design goals and what is different
about the 2015 White Atom?
44
BUILDER PROFILE //
CL: Originally the White Atom was
designed because I wanted a fuzz to use
live for myself. I had tried a lot of different
fuzz pedals live before I started building
pedals and for one reason or another they
never worked well for me; temperature
instability, weird power requirements, poor
impedances, lack of volume or not the right
eq. I wanted to make a fuzz pedal for myself
that was useable, versatile and that
addressed all the issues I just mentioned.
The result was the White Atom. It is a fuzz
that plays nicely with buffered pedals, is
temperature stable, runs on standard power
polarity and has plenty of volume and a nice
EQ to work well in a mix. It is my go-to fuzz
An Interview with Christian Livingstone of Magnetic Effects and The Datsuns