Today's Top Stories:

  PLAY with RTAS
EastWest has announced that both Mac and PC versions of all PLAY products are now fully RTAS compatible. Existing PLAY products can be updated for free to inclue RTAS support.

  Live Orchestra
Ableton has announced the release of the Orchestra Instruments sampled instruments for the Live DAW platform. The four sections of the orchestra are all represented: strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion. The instruments were all recorded at a number of velocities/dynamics and articulations, and were played by world-class musicians. A new technology called "SmartPriming" is used to minimize the CPU power required to drive these instruments so large ensembles can be used without straining the host computer.

  New In Stock At Sweetwater

• Allen & Heath ZED436 - This console provides users with all the essentials they need for flexible live mixing: 32 channels with smooth, long-throw faders, 4-band EQ with swept mids, six aux sends, and four sub groups. You also get a direct output on every channel and master level controls on all outputs.The ZED-436 has a fantastic pedigree that comes from Allen & Heath's nearly 40 years of making mixing desks for the professional sound community. The padless DuoPre mic/line preamplifier is a new design that was first implemented on the ZED-14, and it delivers a high-headroom, low-noise signal. The EQ and low-noise summing amps are borrowed from the highly acclaimed GL2400.
  
• electro-harmonix Stereo Pulsar - This pedal delivers a sweet vintage tremolo, designed to elevate your tone to new sonic heights! Expect undulating tremolo and panning that's perfect to both fill out and add dimension to your sound, both up on stage and in the studio. A switch lets you select between vintage triangle or square waves, so you can sculpt the right sound for each song. You can also shape control transitions from negative to positive sawtooth, and even adjust the pulse width for the ultimate in sonic control. If you're looking to add motion and depth to your sound, you need stereo tremolo!
  
• Roland TD-9SX - The TD-9 sound module is the anchor of Roland's new mid-line V-Drum kits. With hundreds of new sounds, real audio songs, and patterns onboard, the TD-9 raises the bar significantly in its price range. Outfitted with a large, backlit display with accompanying oversized buttons and controls, the TD-9's friendly and icon-based interface makes editing sounds and customizing kits fast and fun. Drummers can play along with backing songs to build their own musical experience base. They can also use the USB port to play along to streaming audio files. "Quick Record" and "Quick Play" allows drummers to immediately record and play back solo drum parts, or parts performed with the backing songs.
  

  Guitar of the Day
If you could somehow find a time machine that could take you back to 1958 to buy a Gibson ES-335, this is very much like the guitar you'd find waiting for you. Unlike later versions, this "dot neck" 335 has a big, fat neck. Well, once you start talking necks, you're likely to end up talking about designs that Gibson came up with in the late 1950s, like the iconic '58 Les Paul, which seems to epitomize the classic guitar with a big "tree trunk" neck. But it wasn't all alone! In 1958, Gibson released another legendary model that also sported a fat mahogany neck: the original ES-335. And by the way, for you lovers of guitar trivia, the model numbers on many of Gibson's early models were (as some of you already suspected) the list prices, so an ES-335 carried a $335 price tag when it was originally released, while the ES-355 cost $355. In any case, just like the Les Paul, the 335's neck got thinner, until by 1960, it had Gibson's "slim-taper" neck, which was built for speed, though some builders and players feel that a larger neck contributes to a bigger sound and more sustain.

Today's Guitar of the Day, the Gibson Memphis ES-335 "Fat Neck," is not officially a specific reissue, but rather a combination of characteristics that made the original 335 so popular, beginning with that chunky '58 neck profile. It has a slightly slimmer body, which is closer to the '59 335 and the top, back, and sides are constructed out of a maple/poplar/maple laminate, which makes for a very sturdy instrument. (Despite what some believe, laminates are very good materials, particularly when you're talking about electric guitars.) To aid in producing a fat tone, Gibson has equipped this Dot Neck with a pair of '57 Classic humbuckers, which deliver the sweet, warm tone of the original PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups. Both the top and back, as well as the 22-fret rosewood fingerboard have tasteful, single-ply cream binding. Today's examples range from Antique Natural to Vintage Sunburst, Antique Ebony, and the quintessential Gibson color that became so popular in the 1960s, Cherry, which is called Antique Red here. Naturally, a deluxe hardshell case is included, as is free FedEx delivery right to your doorstep!