Today's Top Stories:

  Updates and Upgrades
If you like sifting through endless menus and windows to make music, Tracktion 3 is definitely not for you. Based on a simple, single-screen interface, Tracktion is the fast, powerful, complete solution for turning your ideas into finished songs. Now Mackie has released version 3.0.1.4 of Tracktion (currently for boxed owners only). Changes since v3.0.0.18 (the version in all the Bundle Boxes) include French, German, and Spanish PDFs of the Tracktion 3 Reference Manual, a greatly improved Auto Detect Beats for loops function, and the ability to place the temp directory on an external drive.

  New in Stock at Sweetwater

• Bock Audio 251 - This large-diaphragm tube condenser microphone faithfully recreates the sound of the fabled Telefunken ELAM 251, one of the most sought after vintage mics of all time. Formerly known as Soundelux, Bock Audio builds high-end mics that faithfully recreate the sound of famous vintage classics. What's more, they don't compromise when it comes to components, construction, assembly, or testing. All their mics are hand-tuned, using strictly tested European capsules and premium-grade electronics. The 251 has amazingly solid low-end response along with open, airy highs that put it in a league all its own. This mic's superior quality can be heard immediately when you put it on vocals, though it also makes every acoustic instrument sound its best thanks to its astonishing clarity and premium handbuilt quality, with point-to-point wiring, time-proven transformer circuitry, and attention to detail that truly brings the sound of legendary mics back to life.

  Guitar of the Day
On October 28th, 1999, six-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow signed a deal with Gibson Acoustic Guitars to produce a Sheryl Crow Signature Model guitar. The guitars would be nearly identical replicas of Crow's prized 1962 Gibson "Country And Western" guitar, which is one of Sheryl's favorite instruments and has been used extensively by her not only on stage, but for songwriting and on many of her recordings. Naturally, this required Sheryl to send Gibson her very own guitar so that master luthier Ren Ferguson could study it from headstock to endpin and take detailed measurements and digital photographs, recording every single detail, right down to the label inside. Naturally, the cosmetics had to be right, but the quality of the sound was equally as important, so plenty of effort was put into duplicating this very special guitar's signature sound. After a bit of nail-biting, a prototype was created that impressed Crow so much, she signed off on the entire run! The Sheryl Crow Signature Model features a square-shoulder body style that is similar to Gibson's acoustic Hummingbird, with a Sitka spruce top and Honduras mahogany back and sides. Gibson applied a very special "antiqued lacquer" on top, which matches the aged, honey-color of Sheryl's original guitar, so even brand new, this guitar looks like it's spent decades up on stage in smoky clubs and on extended tours across the country. It also has unique dark cherry-stained back and sides, which exactly matches Sheryl's, as well as a special pickguard material that accurately duplicates her older-style "faux tortoise" pickguard. As you'd expect, the neck width and shape were crafted to Sheryl's exacting specifications; a traditional Indian rosewood fingerboard completes the picture. Hidden inside is a Fishman active transducer that accurately reproduces this guitar's vintage-flavored tone when amplified to fill larger venues. As you'd expect, this beautiful guitar ships with a plush-lined hardshell case.