What’s new at Zystrix? Read on… May 27, 2024 We’re glad you’re here. We’ll meet the CIA’s Most Wanted guitar pedal parts smuggler between China and the USA. It’s morel mushroom season around here so try some on the BBQ grill. For those of you on cellphones we’ll have a look at the artwork surrounding this webpage. And there’s also a few inexpensive and great sounding guitar pedals you should hear like the Joyo Dark Flame, the Joyo American, the NUX Morning Star, the NUX Steel Singer, and the VSN Blues King. Here’s another, the Tonex One sounds great, but … is it worth purchasing considering the problems with their privacy policy? Probably not, although there’s a work-around for everything. Anyway, we’ll see. So sit back and relax. Welcome to Zystrix, the heartbeat of the universe. Where creativity and free-thinking have more value than conformity. Background Artwork

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Dark Flame pedal by Joyo If you like the REVV G4 pedal then you may like the Dark Flame by Joyo. There’s plenty of tube style saturation and gain. This pedal really cranks. I own the REVV G4 pedal but I think I’ll sell it and buy one of these. With the money I save I think I’ll buy a beer. It’s less than $53 and free shipping from Starlite Distribution. That’s a serious deal. Click here to check it out. Tell them Fred at Zystrix sent you, maybe you’ll get a discount. American Sound by Joyo Years ago it was popular to play through a cranked Fender Twin Reverb. And some people used a thing called an Ice Cube. The Ice Cube used the reverb circuit as another stage of gain – sort of like having two pre-amp knobs. Anyway, if you like that sound (or maybe you used it back then) you may enjoy the American Sound pedal by Joyo. This pedal is billed as a 1957 Fender Deluxe sound, but I think it’s probably the best sounding cranked Fender Twin emulation I’ve ever heard. All Fender amp emulators can be used for their clean sound, but this one rocks too. This Joyo American Sound pedal goes for less than $38 and free shipping from Starlite Distribution. Click here to check it out. Tell them Fred at Zystrix sent you. Morning Star by NUX This circuit design is based on the Morning Glory by JHS and the JHS circuit is based on the Roland Boss Blues Breaker. Although both the Morning Star and the Morning Glory pedals are considered transparent overdrives with a low to medium overdrive range, the Morning Star puts out some nice grit when pushed. I found the Morning Star for $59 and free shipping at Amazon and Walmart online, and it’s $49 from the Eureka Music Center in Missouri USA, and those good folks also sell through Walmart online. Cool. Steel Singer by NUX The NUX Steel Singer is a sound imitation of the fabled Cornerstone Gladio pedal which in turn is a sound imitation of a Dumble amp. This pedal has a Fender amp type of distortion tone which would be great for country pickin’ licks or as a pre before your favorite metal or heavy rock amp-in-a- box. The sound reminds me a little bit of the Nobels ODR-1. Unfortunately the pedal feels like it’s made with cheap components, but I suppose I could put up with that for the pedal price difference ($300 vs $50 USA). I found the NUX Steel Singer for sale at all the big names (Reverb, eBay, Amazon, many others) for less than $50 with free shipping. They’re even for sale at Walmart online. Who would have thunk it? This pedal has a great sound and the price is right. Give it a listen. Blues King by VSN OK, I know the world doesn’t need another Roland Boss Blues Breaker pedal imitation, but this one has the Keeley mod switch and that makes this one cool. I can’t say I hear much of a difference with the switch in the up or down position, but for this sound at this price it’s hard to go wrong. I found one for about $31 with free shipping from Amazon and I think it’s sold by VSN through Amazon. A great value buy in price and sound. Load one. Don’t touch that dial… Stay tuned next time… I’ve been told my Mosky Steam-Roller compressor pedal will ship in the first week of June. I hope they meant in 2024. And then I’ll try to figure out what the 4 modes on the pedal actually do. Promises, promises. We’ll also look at some cool free downloads like another digital snare drum and some other plugins that pretend to be vintage analog audio problems or errors like distortion, audio skips, warble, wow and flutter, and so on. Maybe I’ll see you then. Sometimes something just feels wrong. Where’s Waldork? I wasn’t really that hungry so I ate a kid’s meal at McDonalds. His mother was furious. Knowledge, art, and music for all…

ZYSTRIX POPULAR FREE DOWNLOADS Here’s a free download of almost one and a half hours of original neo-classical solo piano by Dangerous Neighbors. This full length album called Piano Top to Bottom consists of 18 original piano pieces with the final piece in two movements. There is a bonus track making 20 files total. This download comes in three format options: the first option is a single file MP3 containing all the tunes in one chunk similar to tape recordings. The second download option is a folder with all of the separate MP3 piano pieces named and arranged in album order similar to a CD or MP3 player. The third download option is similar to videos found on “ZooTube” with the names and times on the screen. There is also a fourth surprise version made only for “ZooTube” and it is edited down to less than 15 minutes long because of their telephone number required rule. Basically it just guides the listener here. To download any or all of these options simply click here. Enjoy. Free Guitar Cabinet Impulse Responses Introducing the next generation in guitar cabinet impulse responses. Try the new Djammincabs Maxxx 4x12. All of these cab IR files are based on old, new, and boutique 4x12 cab curves. All are recorded in beautiful 24-bit 48K mono and will work on most free and paid digital convolvers. Hear the guitar IR breathe fire with pure attitude. Don’t be suckered in with high-dollar sales pitches, there ain’t no guitar IR downloads better than these. Choose from many cab sound recording styles: cone, edge, angled, arm away, inside cab, back of cab, or back of room. Djammincabs is the world leader in guitar cab IR invention -- no other guitar IR company can imitate these. Djammincabs Maxxx 4x12 makes it easier for you to design your own personalized sound -- even your own Metal IR pack. If you can’t find a cabinet or combination you like here, then you don’t like 4x12 cabinets. This guitar IR download also includes a Tactical Munitions Manual with suggested uses and detailed cab combinations. This is the best free guitar impulse download available anywhere. Djammincabs Maxxx 4x12 “Murder Your Competition.” I feel brave. I want to try them now. Here’s my email... Djammincabs for Guitar Free Guitar Impulse Responses This is the original Djammincabs guitar cabinet impulse response collection that started it all. Click here to download over 200 Free Guitar Cabinet Impulse Responses. Djammincabs for Bass Guitar Download Free Bass Impulse Responses Click here to download over 200 Free Bass Guitar Cabinet Impulse Responses. Best Free Guitar Impulses. The Top 11 Best Free Guitar and Bass Cabinet Impulse Responses for 2022 (in alphabetical order…) Find, download, and test the best free guitar cabinet impulse responses for 2022. FREE BASS LOOPS SAMPLES DOWNLOAD ROYALTY FREE BASS LOOP SAMPLES FREE BASS LOOPS Over 200 samples are included in the collection Download the complete collection of 24-bit bass loops here. NOTE: This download size is approximately 369 Megs. Free Pendulate Synthesizer Presets Original Newfangled Audio Pendulate synth patches/presets Click here to download over 240 Free Pendulate Synth Presets (patches) Synapse Audio Dune Synthesizer Download Over 200 Free Synapse Audio Dune 2 and Dune 3 Synthesizer Patches and Presets Click here to download over 200 FREE Synapse Audio Dune 2 or Dune 3 synthesizer patches or presets. NOTE: This synth patch download is slightly over 1 Meg in size. Free Reverb Impulse Responses Choose from hundreds available in 48K 24 bit WAV format including new original reverbs. CabSpace Over 400 Guitar Isolation Booth Reverbs Download over 400 Free Zystrix Original Reverb Impulse Responses, and over 200 Free Zystrix Original BONUS Reverb Impulse Responses. Download all the Alesis MIDIVerb 4 reverb impulse responses. Download all the Lexicon MPX-1 reverb impulse responses. Download all the Alesis Wedge reverb impulse responses. Download over 50 Reverb Relics from the past. Click here to download free reverb impulse responses. Free Drum Samples Only Available from Zystrix Free Gong Samples and Sounds Free Snare Drum Samples and Sounds Free Bass Drum Samples and Sounds Free Oriental Cymbal Samples and Sounds Free Oriental Bells Samples and Sounds The Ultimate Original Drum Sounds List Download over 2000 original slammin’ rock bass drums. Download original Gongs, Cymbals, Broken Cymbals, and Bells. Download Over 200 Free Original Bass Drum Sounds and Samples. Download over 200 Original Free snare drum sounds. Click here to download Drum Kit Sounds. Dangerous Neighbors The SW Michigan Rock Band Power Trio. Free Rockin’ Music Downloads Download tunes from the 80s to today. Use the special codes on the Embalmed for Life page (see the DOWNLOAD FREE AUDIO BOOKS link below) and get free downloads for the complete album and the free horror audio book The Fluid - Embalmed for Life. Click here to download various music from the rock band Dangerous Neighbors. Download Free Synth Samples for Intros, Interludes, and Endings Listen to example #01 by clicking here (MP3 Sample) Download FREE professional quality stereo sample packs that slowly evolve over time. All samples are in 48K 24 bit WAV format and are about 20 seconds long or more. If you like suspense, psycho, outer space, or terror then this collection is for you. These range from paranoia to sci-fi, cinematic gore to strange industrial horror, and creepy creatures to insane laboratories. Click here to download all the synth Intros, Interludes, and Endings. DOWNLOAD FREE AUDIO BOOKS The Fluid, Embalmed for Life There are Free Audio Book codes for Audible downloads (must sign up). There are also free sample downloads of the book reading. There are free downloads of music samples. There is a free “Look Inside” download of the paperback. There is a free glossary of the largest list of mortuary slang in the world. The Free Dangerous Neighbors Album The Fluid, Embalmed for Life comes included as part of the audio book and parts are available here as a free download. The paperback book is available for sale at Amazon dot com. I have no control over these sales; because of the Amazon agreement I cannot offer complete paperback or complete audio books here. I’m sorry for any inconvenience. Click here for free audio books, book reading samples, music samples, etc. Take me back to the top of the page. Zystrix Privacy Policy THE FINE PRINT: Zystrix is a world leader in personal privacy and we take your privacy very seriously. We do not store, sell, give away, or barter with any of your personal or private information including your email, IP address, links clicked, location, habits, tastes, online activities and behaviors, or anything else considered personal or private information. We never have. Zystrix is not and has never been a participant in any advertising program including but not limited to the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Sweetwater, Reverb, or any other affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees from readers by click-through advertising and linking to the aforementioned or any other companies. Zystrix does not allow companies like Doubleclick, Clickbank, Zedo, Linkbucks, Hubspot or any other related clandestine personal privacy internet problems to occupy space or have any presence on or in the Zystrix website. Zystrix does not and has never used Google Analytics, therefore this site is not required to have those annoying cookie agreement popups. Zystrix has no links associated with the sale or offer of any products, and we do not allow this. Unlike so many other websites similar to this one, this Zystrix privacy policy keeps our reviews dead honest, cuts out any unnecessary middle man, and keeps this website free from cookies and the influences of Google and the many other unethical purveyors of your digital exhaust and personal information. Open source, private, and honest. It’s our mantra.