Today's Top Stories:

  Guitar Sessions
Yesterday we spotlighted Native Instruments' new Guitar Rig 3 XE, today let's look at the brand-new Guitar Rig Session! Session is a recording solution aimed specifically at guitarists. It includes the Guitar Rig 3 XE software, as well as a specially designed audio interface that offers two instrument preamps and can operate at up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution. There is also a microphone input and a headphone out. Low-latency drivers ensure the feel and response are completely natural. Steinberg's Cubase 4 LE, the NI KORE Player software instrument, and Pop Drums acoustic drum sound library are also included.

  How Tough Is Your Interface?
Portable interfaces can take a lot of abuse. But PreSonus wants you to know that the AudioBox USB can take whatever you might dish out. Check out the video on their site of an AudioBox getting kicked, stomped, and slid on pavement - then run over by a truck. The same AudioBox is then used to record the sound for a music video. [Editor's Note: Running dancing on, and over your gear with a truck, is NOT recommended, and probably not covered under warranty...]

  How Tough Is Your Guitar Processor?
Concerned with how road-worth your TC Electronic G-System is? Uh...after watching this video, we have no concerns whatsoever! [Editor's Note: Running and over your gear with a scooter, truck, and...TANK...is NOT recommended, and DEFINITELY not covered under warranty...]

  New In Stock At Sweetwater

• Steven Slate Drums Signature Drumkits LE - This sample set delivers the kind of high-quality drum sounds we've come to expect from Slate. Having sold big, fat, and punchy drum samples to the top names in the industry for quite some time now, Slate brings all his know-how to this affordable 18-kit collection. Plus, with Signature Drumkits LE, you get five modeled kits that recreate the sounds of the biggest rock bands ever, including Nirvana, AC/DC, Deftones, Green Day, and Led Zeppelin. This gives you the kind of raw, no-tweaking-necessary samples you need, so you'll have radio-ready drum tracks in no time!
  
  
• Roland RD-700GX - This new 88-key stage piano delivers stunning audio quality and natural piano feel to inspire great performances. It gives you the capability to turn it into your own "custom instrument" via a Piano Designer function, and its "Ivory Feel" keyboard with Escapement provides an astoundingly natural-feeling playing experience. Powered by Roland's latest sound engine, you get several different instruments (including the SuperNATURAL electric piano and tonewheel organ) and playback of several different file types via USB connection. Flexible file compatibility enables playback of Standard MIDI Files, WAV, AIFF and MP3s. Then tap into the Cakewalk SONAR LE software, included in every RD-GX package!
  
  
• Roland RD-300GX - Those who want great sound and a stellar feature set without breaking the bank need to look at this 88-key stage piano. Like its big brother, the RD-700GX, this piano offers incredible sound quality and great piano feel to inspire your best performances. In addition to the super-expressive piano soundsets, other essential instruments are built into this piano, including electric pianos. For those who like to get inside an instrument and customize its sounds, the Piano Designer feature is your key to unlocking and personalizing the soundset, down to the smallest details.
  

  Guitar of the Day
Once again we're breaking out of our "guitar-only" mold to present a truly superlative amplifier. In this case it's the venerable Fender Deluxe Reverb 1965 Reissue. There has been a Deluxe amp in the Fender catalog since way back in 1945, when it was first introduced as the 1x10 K&F Model 26, though even then everyone just called it the "Deluxe." By 1948, the amp got Fender's now-cherished tweed covering and with a 12-inch speaker, to boot. The "Wide Panel" Deluxe was introduced in 1954, followed by the "Narrow Panel" version in 1955 and that one lasted until 1960, after which the whole Fender line got brand-new cosmetics in the form of brown Tolex covering and a brown control panel, which now featured tremolo. You might say that perfection arrived with the addition of reverb, along with the move (on all Fender amps) to black Tolex with black control panels. If you had to pick the "perfect" Deluxe Reverb, most "in-the-know" would almost certainly say the 1965 model is it!

The Normal Channel had two inputs, a volume, bass, and treble control - all nice and straightahead. The Vibrato Channel was designed to be slightly brighter and had two inputs, along with volume, bass, and treble controls, plus speed and intensity (depth) controls for the vibrato effect, and finally a separate reverb control, which adjusted how much reverb was applied to the Vibrato Channel. Rated at 20 watts, the Deluxe delivered almost exactly the same sound as the larger Fenders (like the Twin Reverb), but with less overall volume. It wasn't long before guitar players realized that pushing a 20-watt amp hard produced great overdrive. The all-tube '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue adds an extra two watts, but otherwise it's almost exactly the same amp and it sounds fantastic with either single-coil or humbucking pickups. For all the musicians who are becoming aware of how important it is to keep high volume levels under control to prevent hearing damage over the long haul, the Deluxe is a perfect choice for small venues and studio work. For larger venues, just mic it up. Don't spend thousands of hard-earned dollars on a real '65 with a questionable history - get this reissue and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with owning a brand-new amp that sounds exactly like it's been playing clubs and honky-tonks for 40+ years!