Today's Top Stories:

  More Sweetwater Exclusives for your M50
As of today, all Korg M50 keyboards purchased from Sweetwater will ship with the latest operating system (v1.10), which adds a number of improvements including 700 additional effects presets. We're also installing the M50 Vintage Keys Collection into each M50, which adds 32 new electric pianos and Clavs that have up to eight velocity layers and extensive vintage effects processing.

But we're not done yet! We're including a Sweetwater M50 Bonus CD-ROM that includes all of the updated owner's manuals, a quick start guide, patch lists, sysex charts, a parameter guide, and USB drivers for Mac and PC. The CD-ROM also includes the new v1.10 M50 Editor for Mac and PC.

We want you to get the most out of your new keyboard!

  Motown Turns 50
January 12th marked the 50th anniversary of Detroit's Motown - this was the day on which Berry Gordy received an $800 loan to incorporate his Motown Record Company. A year-long celebration is planned, which was kicked off with the declaration of the day as "Motown Day" at a ceremony featuring many government officials and a range of celebrities, including members of Rare Earth, Martha and the Vandellas, the Four Tops, the Miracles, the Funk Brothers, and more. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is also participating in the celebration with an exhibit that opened on January 1. Numerous releases are planned for the year, including a documentary film, DVDs, and album releases from the Motown archives.

Over the past 50 years, the label has had nearly 200 hits, and has featured the talents of an incredible list of artists, engineers, and producers. Motown founder Berry Gordy sent a message to the kickoff celebration reading, "Motown music was for everybody, and it grew out of love. It has spread around the world and has become part of the culture and consciousness in all seven continents, and it all started right here."

  Free Guitar Solos
Waves is offering a free download of their GTR Solo amp/effects modeling software. GTR Solo offers 10 amps, 13 stomp boxes, and 10 speaker cabinets. Hundreds of presets are included. The downloaded version is completely free, but will expire in one year. Note that installing GTR Solo will uninstall all currently installed V5 plug-ins. After installing GTR Solo, you will need to re-install all your Waves v5 plug-ins.

Be careful though, you're going to be hooked...but don't worry, the full version will be waiting for you.

  TL Audio Wins
Our friends at TL Audio have won the award for Best Hardware in the Effects and Dynamics category in Remix Magazine's 7th annual Remix Technology Awards for the Fat Track summing mixer/tube production suite. The nominees are voted on by the editors and writers of Remix, Electronic Musician and Mix magazines. Performance, innovation, results, and value are taken into consideration in choosing the winning product for each category. The award will be presented at the Winter NAMM tradeshow, which takes place this weekend in Anaheim, California.