Today's Top Stories:

  Updates and Upgrades
Access has just released version 2.0.5 of their Virus TI Software Suite. This new version is a maintenance and bug fix release with no additional features or benefits, but the company recommends it for all users. This release fixes a buffer size reset problem on PC and a driver related distortion problem on Intel Macs. To get the update, registered users may go to the Access web site. Cycling '74 has updated their Max/MSP software for both Mac and PC to version 4.6.3. Bug fixes and changes include:

• Fixed problems with crashes when clearing cues, when loading files and playing in reverse or when playing files with very slow playback speeds
• Fixed problems with audio and MIDI sync
• Fixed Intel Mac PACE crashes after using Software Update (prebinding issue)
• Fixed Windows crashes due to Java configuration
• PACE support for Vista and 64-bit Windows XP

  New in Stock at Sweetwater

• Bock Audio 195 - This large-diaphragm FET microphone is practically two mics in one, since it lets you select between "fat" and "norm" modes for bass response tailoring, as well as providing a low-cut switch. A unique variable pad allows the 195 to operate in even the highest SPL situations (like in front of a Marshall stack). This handmade premium microphone has great extended high- and low-frequency response, fantastic dynamic impact, and none of the typical FET mic high-end "fizzle." The capsule uses a premium quality 1" gold-sputtered diaphragm and incorporates Roderstein resistors, low ESR electrolytic capacitors, polypropylene coupling capacitors, and a unique low-noise FET circuit.
• Universal Audio 2-LA-2 - The LA-2A is legendary in the recording world. Based on that classic design, the new UA 2-LA-2 offers two linked or independent channels and two T4 optical compression cells per channel, greatly expanding on the feature set of the original LA-2A. The 2-LA-2 is not an exact component clone, but rather a feature-enhanced stereo evolution of its ancestor that elegantly combines two channels of silky, tube-amplified, stereo-matched optical gain reduction in one unit. Designed by original UREI engineer Dennis Fink, the 2-LA-2 retains the all-discrete Class A circuitry and core "sonic signature" components that made the LA-2A the studio standard compressor. With ten tubes and four T4 gain reduction modules plus switchable recovery settings, the 2-LA-2 is a true breakthrough in optical compression.
• CME VX8 - The new VX Series controllers are the first of their kind to include DAW integration features like motorized 60mm faders and a modular expansion bay. A solid, all-aluminum chassis with a distinctive paint job make these units extremely durable. The VX8 offers 88 professional, graded hammer action weighted keys that make it ideal for both studio and stage. The addition of USB audio I/O, motorized faders and two 1/4" inputs make these not just MIDI controllers, but the center of a computer-based home studio. Also available is the VX7, with 76 semi-weighted keys, and the VX6, with 61 semi-weighted keys.

  Guitar of the Day
There are an awful lot of good things to say about the instruments crafted by the folks at PRS. One of those is that they don't reserve their figured maple tops for their top-of-the-line guitars. A case in point is today's Guitar of the Day, a simply stunning Model CE 22 in Emerald Green. Take a look at the photos in our Guitar Gallery and we're pretty positive you'll think you're looking at the company's more expensive Custom 22. What's more, the carved maple top comes awfully close to being a "10-top," which you'd expect to see on more expensive models. But the real shocker might not immediately be apparent. Check out the photo of the headstock, which includes part of the neck and fingerboard. We've never seen rosewood with this much variation in color - specifically the reddish hue - except for Brazilian rosewood! We know Paul Reed Smith has a nice stash of this timber, which is no longer being imported into the U.S. from Brazil because of its scarcity. We're not officially saying it's Brazilian rosewood, but just that to our eye, it certainly looks like it. Check out the PRS Modern Eagle we have in stock. It definitely has a Brazilian board. Compare it to today's CE 22 and see if you don't agree. Beyond the rosewood fingerboard, this guitar has a nicely figured maple neck (it's a bit hard to see in the photos because of the limited palette of colors available on the Internet). This is another upscale feature you'd expect on a costlier instrument. Now the CE 22 does have a bolt-on neck, but then so do many other solidbody electrics, some of which cost two or three times what the CE 22 sells for. Actually, if it had a set neck, the CE 22 would be a Custom 22, which is actually a PRS Dragon, but without the spectacular inlay work. The CE 22 comes with the same high-end Dragon II pickups with nickel-plated covers which deliver the classic humbucker sound. But since this guitar has the 5-way rotary pickup selector, you'll have access to the glossy "in-between" pickup sounds of a famous solidbody (you know which one we mean). The switch splits the pickups into single-coil mode in both series and parallel, for beautifully clean, glossy rhythm sounds or slinky solos. The vibrato is exactly the same as the ones used in PRS's top models and almost never causes the strings to go out of tune. Naturally, it ships to your door in a plush-lined hardshell case. Somebody is going to get themselves one incredible instrument - and for as little as $63 a month!