Today's Top Stories:

  Build Your Dream Guitar - Even If It Doesn't Exist!
Line 6 has announced the release of Variax Workbench 1.5, the latest version of its interactive, virtual custom shop exclusively for its line of Variax guitars. This new version adds Variax Acoustic 700 editing capabilities. Workbench 1.5 is a combination USB interface and software package that allows guitarists to see and hear physical changes to their Variax guitar in real time. It is compatible with both Windows PC and Mac OSX computers. A software only version is also available as a free download for Vetta II and PODxt Live owners. Workbench lets you easily create, store and share (if you're so inclined) completely customized guitars - some of which may not even exist in the real world. A hollow body Gretsch electric with three single coil pickups, for example or maybe a Strat with three humbuckers. Variax Acoustic 700 owners can now experiment with alternate tunings, mic positioning, compression, trim controls, and live or studio mode ambient settings. With Workbench 1.5 you can fill each slot on the Variax Model knob with a custom guitar of their own creation. A built-in librarian allows users to effortlessly store, share and backup thousands of guitar models!

  Cakewalk Takes You to Another Dimension
The good folks at Cakewalk have released an update for their Dimension Pro software instrument, which functions as a plug-in on both the Mac (Audio Units and VSTi) and Windows (DXi and VSTi) platforms. Version 1.2 provides several new features, usability and performance enhancements and some bug fixes. Here are just a few:

• Intel Enabled Mac Support: Yup, it's Universal Binary time, so the AU plug-in is completely compatible with Intel-based Mac Systems.
• RTAS Support: This provides native plug-in support via RTAS for Pro Tools 7.0 and above (Mac) and Pro Tools 6.0 and above (Windows).
• REX support: Dimension Pro can now load REX format loops, as well as .sfz format files in any element.
• Microtuning and Alternate tuning with Scala file support.
• MIDI Learn: Assign any knob on screen to any MIDI controller event, including Aftertouch and Pitch Bend.
• Master FX: New reverb algorithms have been added to the Master FX section providing seven reverb modes that range from Small Room to Large Hall.
• Insert FX: The new reverb modes have also been added to the Insert FX section. A distortion algorithm has also been added, letting you warm up or totally degrade your sounds.
• Copy/Paste Element FX: Allows you to copy/paste Insert FX settings between Elements.

  New in Stock at Sweetwater

• Gibson Montana SJ-300 Rosewood - You can own one of the first 40 SJ-300 Rosewoods to be made! Faithful to the time-tested perfection of the SJ-200, the "Super Jumbo" SJ-300 has a AAA-grade solid Sitka spruce top with six-ply binding, lustrous abalone rosette and crown inlays, a premium Indian rosewood body with four-ply bindings and a mahogany neck with an ebony fingerboard. Naturally, it includes a Custom Shop hardshell case along with a First Run Certificate of Authenticity.
• Auralex Great GRAMMA - Sometimes the biggest sound improvements come from the smallest advances. The Great GRAMMA from Auralex is a simple isolation riser that makes a world of difference in the sound quality of your stage amp. It's 30" long by 19" wide by 2" high and has a 300-pound weight capacity. The Great GRAMMA comes complete with a carrying handle, road-ready carpet, Studiofoam Wedges (underneath), PlatFoam (underneath), and an optional gig bag.
• Fender James Burton Telecaster - This Telecaster pays homage to James Burton, a legendary lifetime Tele player who has performed on stage or in the studio with such diverse artists as Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson and Emmylou Harris. It features include a special '60s U-shaped maple neck, three Fender-Lace Sensor pickups (Blue in the neck position, Silver in the mid position and Red at the bridge) with special five-way Strat-o-Tele switching and a head turning Red Flame polyurethane finish.
• Peavey SSE 26 - The SSE 26 is a compact two-way sound reinforcement enclosure that's specifically designed to complement Peavey's full line of Sanctuary mixers and power amps. It can be used individually or in arrays for wide coverage in PA or music applications. It's constructed of high density 13mm birch plywood and covered with a durable acrylic polyurethane, making the enclosure presentable in any setting. The system has two 6.5" woofers and a 14XT titanium tweeter and can handle 300 watts program or 600 watts peak.
• Taylor GS Series Maple/Spruce - The brand new Taylor Grand Symphony Series (or GS) is based on the concept of the Grand Auditorium, but with the waist moved up toward the neck, and the lower bout a little larger. In addition to pushing the waist up, Taylor widened it, making the GS capable of producing a more powerful sound, with a deep, piano-like bass and full, complex midrange. This particular GS Series guitar has a premium Sitka spruce top with a gorgeous big leaf maple back and sides. Yet despite all its upscale appointments, it's relatively affordable.
• Summit Audio FeQ-50 - This is a single channel, 4-band parametric EQ with a ton of versatility in a conveniently small package. The FeQ-50 was designed to be sonically warm and harmonically pleasing - an equalizer that adds character and depth to any signal. When you combine the unique iron-based circuitry, the vacuum tube/solid-state outputs and pristine Summit Audio build quality , there really is nothing else like it in the marketplace!
• Yamaha EMX5014C - This might look like your average mixer, but look closer and you'll see it's an all-in-one solution that combines 14 channels of inputs with a 500-watt (per channel) power amp, built-in graphic EQ and Yamaha's legendary digital effects processing at a price that even a few years ago would have been unthinkable. There are single-knob compressors on each input to smooth out vocals, 80Hz high-pass filters for eliminating low-frequency noise and rumble and PFL (Pre-Fader Listen) switches for isolated monitoring of individual channels. At this price, the EMX5014C has almost no competition!

  Guitar of the Day
In the mid-1960s, almost every budding guitar player dreamed of owning a guitar like the one George Harrison was playing. The Gretsch 6122 is the company's incredibly accurate recreation of George's original Country Gentleman, which was actually only built in that configuration (sometimes dubbed the "King George" model) during 1962 and '63. This reissue is dubbed the Country Classic because early Grestch collaborator, Chet Atkins, owned the Country Gentleman name, but otherwise it has the same feature set that includes a dual cutaway design, 17-inch laminated maple body with deep, rich mahogany stain and multi-ply bindings, two hot FilterTron pickups, Adjusto-matic bridge, and Gretsch by Bigsby vibrato tailpiece. The rock maple"action-flow" neck joins the body at the 18th fret for easy access to upper registers and has an ebony fingerboard with neo-classical "thumbnail" position markers. There are a few features of the original that Gretsch wisely decided were out-of-place on a modern, premium grade guitar. For starters, the company made the wise decision to make the f-holes real, rather than painted on (as they were on the 1960s models). They also decided to do away with the felt mufflers, since today's players mute the strings much better with their hands, and finally, they ditched that silly snap-on leather pad on the back (which most players tossed away and eventually lost). These are smart moves and it shows, as today's Gretsch Country Classic delivers both the good looks and the distinctive sound of the original. Go back and listen to some of those original Beatles recordings and marvel at the way George was able to coax so much tone from one guitar!