Today's Top Stories:

  Fender Takes to the Road
There's just something cool about a guitar or bass that has been played - and that wears its dings, bumps, scratches, cracks, and checking proudly. Not only is the appearance enticing, the feel of a "broken-in" guitar is completely comfortable. There are two ways to get a broken-in guitar: gig one constantly for 20 or 30 years or purchase a "relic" - a guitar that has been "aged" to look and feel as if it had traveled thousands of road miles. Unfortunately, using a guitar for 30 years takes, well, 30 years. And most "relic" guitars are custom-shop models with custom-shop price tags. Not all of us have the time or the budget for those options.

Now Fender has another option with the new Road Worn series of guitars and basses. The five Road Worn models are production instruments, which means the price is highly affordable, yet the look and feel is true custom-shop relic. The five new instruments include:

• '50s Tele (2-color Sunburst or Blonde)
  
• '50s Strat (2-color Sunburst or Black)
  
• '60s Strat (3-color Sunburst or Olympic White)
  
• '50s Precision Bass (2-color Sunburst or Fiesta Red)
  
• '60s Jazz Bass (3-color Sunburst or Fiesta Red)

  News from Macworld
The annual Macworld Expo opened its doors on all things Apple-related today in San Francisco. This is the final Macworld at which Apple will be exhibiting; the company will not participate in future Macworld Expos. New at the show was iLife '09, with enhancements to iPhoto, iWeb, iDVD, and iMovie, as well as new built-in Garageband lessons for guitar and keyboard. iWork's Keynote, Pages, and Numbers were also updated.

Perhaps bigger news for musicians are the three changes to the iTunes Store. First, the Store's 10 million songs are going Digital Rights Management (DRM) free. Second, there will now be a 3-tiered pricing structure for songs ($0.69, $0.99, or $1.29 per song). Third, iPhone users can now purchase and download content over a 3G connection. (Previously this could only be done over Wi-Fi.)

Finally, Apple unveiled the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, which has the same "unibody" construction as the laptops that were announced back in October. It runs a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo processor and has 4GB of RAM (expandable to 8GB). A 5,400RPM, 320GB hard drive is standard, along with an 8x SuperDrive, and a 1,920x1,200 LED-backlit display. Expansion options include one FireWire 800, one Ethernet, and three USB 2.0 ports, and an ExpressCard 34 slot. Options include a 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo processor and a 7,200RPM 320GB hard drive or a 128GB or 256GB Solid State Drive (SSD). The new model is highly environmentally friendly - free from arsenic, BFR, mercury, and PVC. A new type of battery is said to offer three times the battery life of other batteries (up to eight hours), and can be recharged 1,000 times. Interestingly, the new battery is not removable. At less than one inch thick and only 6.6 pounds, the new 17-incher should be highly portable.

  PlugSound and Receptor Pro
Muse Research and Univer Sons have joined forces to provide Receptor 2 Pro users with even more sonic resources. The USB Plugsound BOX collection of six virtual instruments with hundreds of presets and Multi sounds will now be included free of charge with each Receptor 2 Pro and Receptor 2 Pro Max. The six instruments include:

• Keyboard Collection - acoustic pianos, electric organs, clavinets, electric grands, and much more.
  
• Fretted Instruments Collection - steel-string acoustic, classical, and electric guitars.
  
• Hip Hop and R 'n' B Collection - loops (sorted by tempo), kits, and multi-sampled instruments.
  
• Synth Collection - classic and modern synths; pads, leads, basses, sweeps, much more.
  
• Drums and Percussion Collection - over 6,000 electronic and acoustic drum sounds sorted into kits plus a wide range of percussion instruments.
  
• Global Collection - the ultimate General MIDI (GM) module, with world, orchestral, bass, guitar, keyboard, and drums and percussion categories in standard GM layouts.

  Guitar of the Day
Think that Peavey only makes "low-end" guitars and basses? Then you haven't checked out the company's amazing list of higher-end instruments, such as the Cirrus series of basses. Peavey calls today's Guitar (err, Bass) of the Day, the Cirrus 4, "A Serious Bass for Serious Players," and the description is apt! The Cirrus 4 has a maple neck-through design with a pau ferro fretboard featuring a single classy inlay at the twelfth fret. (We also have the 5-string version in stock with a quilt maple or redwood top.) The neck is reinforced with graphite and a dual expanding trussrod; gold hardware caps a clear polyester finish. The onboard electronics complement includes two VFL active pickups and an active 3-band EQ with 10dB of boost/cut. The Cirrus 4 includes a hardshell case, and, of course, we include our 55-point inspection, Total Confidence Coverage ™, and free shipping!