Today's Top Stories:

  NI's Summer of Sound
Want to stretch your buying power? If so, here's an easy way: From now until August 31st, 2007, Native Instruments is offering up several specials that allow you to save up to 50% on their best-selling products. For example, their Classik Keys bundle is priced at 50% off, Guitar Rig is 36% off, while the Akoustik Piano Crossgrade is half price. Even their best-selling Kontakt 2 is priced at 41% off, and that even includes a bonus Tutorial DVD that will have you up and running in no time. Whether this is your first Native Instruments purchase or if you're just looking to update an existing product, there's no better time to talk to your Sweetwater Sales Engineer than right now, during the refreshing Summer of Sound!

  New in Stock at Sweetwater

• electro-harmonix Bass Micro Synth - The Bass Micro Synthesizer creates tones that range from the classic sounds of an early Moog synthesizer to wild custom creations you've never heard before and everything in between. Ten slider controls let you dial in a virtually limitless array of analog synth sounds. Its four voices - Guitar, Octave, Sub-Octave, and Square Wave - are completely independent and fully mixable. The Bass Micro Synthesizer can modify these signals with envelope control for a variety of "bowed" or "blown" sounds. Go ahead and take your bass sound further than you've ever taken it before.
• electro-harmonix HOG - Here's a totally polyphonic guitar synthesizer, giving you complete control of up to 10 interval pitches. Musicians can unveil an entirely new tone potential with anything from extreme sub bass to powerful multi-octave chords, including fifth and third intervals. Dedicated Filtering and envelope control, with numerous setup options, make the HOG a must-have performance instrument. Best of all, no special pickup is required and no glitches are created. HOG puts amazing control in your hands, and blows open the doors of your own personal creativity.
• electro-harmonix HOG Foot Controller Pedal - Now you can recall your favorite HOG presets instantly! With the HOG's external Foot Controller plugged into the Footswitch phone jack, you will be able to store and load 6 presets. Use a normal guitar cable to connect the Foot Controller to the HOG. Except for the Input Gain slider, all sliders and settings on the HOG are saved in the presets, including the position of the Expression Pedal, Exp. Button or MIDI pitch bend.
• electro-harmonix Metal Muff with Top Boost This one is aimed directly at our metal-loving guitarists, and may just be the finest pedal for heavy metal ever created! The 3-band EQ boasts a special sculptable midrange control that is perfect for contouring the mids, a must for metal tones. The Metal Muff also incorporates a Top Boost, adding a bit more edge for solos and lead passages. The original Muff was a favorite with guitarists due to its violin-like sustain; but with the Metal Muff with Top Boost, you get access to a brand new range of sounds.

  Guitar of the Day
When Leo Fender first introduced the original Telecaster in 1950, nobody could have imagined how this $169 "plank"-body electric guitar would change the world of contemporary music. Some joked that the guitar looked more like a canoe paddle than a musical instrument. But most surprising is the fact that, even after more than a half-century, the "Tele" still looks as modern today as it did when it was first introduced. Considering the fact that Leo Fender wasn't even a guitar player, you have to wonder exactly how this "magic" happened. Over the years there were small upgrades to the Tele, but so brilliant was the overall design that today's Tele isn't all that different from the original. In celebration of Fender's 60th anniversary, the company introduced some very special guitars, like this stunning Special Edition Telecaster, with a beautifully figured, exotic koa top and a birdseye maple neck. If you've drooled over Custom Shop Teles, but could never afford one, here's your chance to own a truly extraordinary guitar without taking on a second job. The Fender Special Edition Koa Telecaster starts with a lightweight alder body, then adds a figured koa top and a white pearloid pickguard. Koa is a rare wood that only grows in the Hawaiian Islands and is so revered for its tone and exceptional grain pattern, you typically only see it used on guitars with astronomical price tags. Next up there's a vintage-style bridge with three brass saddles, two special-design Seymour Duncan pickups, and a modern "C" shape birdseye maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. These Special Edition guitars were made in limited numbers, but we ordered every single one we could get from Fender. If you want a Tele that looks like a million bucks, but can be purchased for as little as $21 a month, maybe you should take a good look at the photos on our Guitar Gallery page!