Today's Top Stories:

  Yes, In Fact, MOTU Does Do Windows
Okay, we couldn't resist that little bit of word play. Seems that there are now 64-bit Windows drivers for MOTU FireWire and UltraFast USB 2 audio interfaces. These drivers will ship with all current products, but if you own a MOTU interface that's running on a Windows machine, just go to MOTU's Web site and download the new drivers for free. The updated 64-bit drivers include 32-bit emulation, allowing users to freely use 64-bit and 32-bit audio software applications simultaneously. Most importantly, all MOTU FireWire and USB 2 audio interfaces are supported, including the new UltraLite half-rack, bus-powered 10x14 FireWire interface, the 192kHz bus-powered Traveler, the 828mkII (FireWire and USB 2 models), the 896 (both the original and HD models), and even the original 828 FireWire interface. 64-bit drivers for MOTU's PCI-X and PCI Express audio interfaces are now in beta and are expected to be finalized by the end of this month, while 64-bit drivers for MOTU's entire line of USB MIDI interfaces are currently under development and are also expected to ship very soon.

  Buy a Premium Mackie Onyx 400F, Get $100 Back!
Most of us still clearly remember when Mackie crashed the big, expensive console party. Up until that point, decent-quality mixers carried huge price tags. Then along came Greg Mackie's little upstart company (which is now a big upstart company) and changed the rules. Now it's Mackie's Onyx 400F that's grabbing some well-deserved attention. See, Mackie felt that we musicians shouldn't have to pay astronomical prices to get a really primo mic preamp and then have to turn around and buy a separate digital interface. So they built the Onyx 400F with four channels of their best Onyx mic preamps, added four additional line inputs and a whole bunch of I/O options, then put it all in a single-space rackmount unit with a 24-bit/192kHz FireWire interface. As if life couldn't get any better, they're offering $100 cash back to everyone that purchases the Onyx 400F right now, making this an even better bargain (if that's possible).

  HALion and HALion Player Get Updated
Steinberg has announced that both HALion and the HALion Player are getting an upgrade that improves the speed of loading Samples, Programs, and Banks and also provides better memory management. Yes, there are a few bug fixes, as well. HALion is a 32-bit/96kHz virtual sampler that loads up to 128 instruments at once, 16 of which are simultaneously playable. The latest version, dubbed v3.2.1.1338, is recommended for all HALion 3 and HALion Player users. Here are just a few of the improvements and bug fixes:

• Improved speed when loading Samples, Programs, and Banks.
• Better memory management (less reallocation of memory).
• The loading time of HALion has been reduced when HALion is instantiated.
• OS X Fix: Loading projects created with previous HALion AU versions would cause a failure.

  New In Stock At Sweetwater

• Peavey SSE 12 (White) - Designed to complement Peavey's line of Sanctuary mixers and power amps, the SSE 12 is a 2-way system with 12-inch woofer and 14XT tweeter for permanent installation, individually or in arrays. It has a horn design with a wide coverage pattern and incorporates flying points on the top and bottom for use with VersaMount 70 mounting brackets. It's constructed of high-density 13mm birch plywood and covered with a durable acrylic polyurethane coating.
• Peavey PV 15M - This is a 2-way floor monitor system with a 15-inch Sheffield Pro 1500+ premium woofer and a 14XT 1.4-inch titanium-diaphragm compression driver (no piezos) coupled to a constant-directivity horn with Sound Guard IV high-frequency driver protection. The PV 15M is rated at 500 watts program and 1,000 watts peak power handling capability. This rugged trapezoidal enclosure allows the PV 15M to be angled at either 30 or 45 degrees from the floor in addition to being pole mounted.
• Crown XTi 1000 - The XTi 1000 features 700 watts per channel (1,400 mono), a backlit LCD screen with DSP speaker presets for crossover frequencies, EQ, limiting, delay, plus a subharmonic synthesizer. Other features include LED status per channel, advanced protection circuitry, a switch-mode universal power supply, proportional-speed fan-assisted cooling, XLR inputs, Speakon and binding-post outputs, and more. XTi Series amps easily handle 2-ohm loads and are capable of chest-thumping lows. Plus, your investment in an XTi-Series amplifier is backed by Crown's 3-year, no-fault, fully transferable warranty.
• Raxxess POMT-ST 6 - For those of you who are trying to record vocals without a pop filter: Good luck! This 6-inch steel mesh pop filter shields the diaphragm from sudden bursts of sound that can cause that awful popping effect. Beyond that, the shield is "transparent" and does not interfere with other movement of sound toward the microphone. Comes with stand adapter and gooseneck.
• Massenburg Design Works Hi-Res Parametric EQ v2 - Version 2 of the much-lauded MDW EQ plug-in provides Pro Tools users with a superb, high-end EQ solution. The result of countless hours of critical listening and design by the man who actually created the parametric equalizer, George Massenburg, this plug-in boasts unprecedented clarity, superlative smoothness, and excellent high-frequency response, all the result of Double-precision 48-bit processing and high-resolution sample rate processing. In addition, it emulates the GML 8200's constant shape reciprocal filter curves, considered to be the industry-standard reference for filter curves. We invite you to listen to the difference.

  Guitar Of The Day
If you didn't look at the headstock, you might think you're actually playing a real Gibson when you strum Epiphone's Les Paul Custom Plus. Well, technically, you are, because Epiphone is owned by Gibson and their guitars are subject to the same strict quality-control standards. To keep the weight (and cost) down, the multiple-bound body is constructed of mahogany and alder with a visually stunning flamed maple top, which not only adds to this guitar's good looks, but also contributes to its overall sound quality, as Les Pauls have been built with maple tops since the 1950s. You also get gold hardware, a fast maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and pearloid block inlays, along with a glued-in neck joint for superior stability and outstanding sustain. Naturally, you get the fat, smoky sound of a pair of genuine humbuckers (hey, it's not a Les Paul without humbuckers, now is it?).