Animal Factory Amplification Chemical Burn Fuzz

Sometimes when you review a particular pedal, you get to do a little research and discover another pedal in the process. The flavor of the day today focuses on the classic Shin-Ei Super-Fuzz FY-6 pedal, which was produced from 1968 until the late 1970s. Our featured pedal today not only made a long journey to us via India, it also has the innards and homage that make it an excellently-modified version of an awesome vintage effects pedal. Not to mention it’s wicked loud and crazy-powerful, which we love – here is the Chemical Burn Fuzz from Animal Factory Amplification.

Right up top to begin with is a 3-way toggle switch, which blends in the amount of octave present in the fuzz signal. Skin is the mode with the lowest octave amount, Flesh mixes the octave in a bout halfway or so, and Bone is the fullest amount possible, similar to the stock Shin-Ei FY-6. This adds a cool element to this pedal, one not present in the majority of fuzzes around, and a welcome addition for sure. There’s a Blister control up next, which mixes the germanium and the silicon clipping, as well as fluctuating the volume output, too, creating a wide range of tones to choose from.

The pH knob takes over the tone-shaping duties for the Chemical Burn, fading from a scooped-mids mode when cranked counter-clockwise to a flatter, mid-boost response for a cleaner fuzz with less pronounced high and low frequencies. Degree works here as the Gain control, increasing or decreasing how much actual fuzz is introduced into your signal, from a lo-fi, low-gain fuzz to a higher-end, biting buzzy tone, with lots of options throughout the sonic spectrum. Finally, the Agony control is essentially the Volume control, working in tandem with the Degree knob for a multitude of settings between the 2 controls.

Starting off with a classic design and adding in some special tricks and flavors, the Chemical Burn really takes the normal fuzz pedal to the next level, both harkening back to a vintage tone, as well as employing some modern technique and high-grade parts to form one rad little pedal. True bypass, 9V 100mA power and a 3-year warranty, Animal Factory Amplification‘s first pedal is a rocker, and we’re hoping that more like it follow in its footsteps. Thanks to Aditya and all at AFA for sending this pedal for review – we also got a sneak peak at some prototypes that are currently in development, so make sure to check back in the near future to hear what they’re gonna create next!