Today's Top Stories:

  The Hottest New Sounds - Right on Your Computer!
At one time, if you wanted the best sounds, you had to buy an expensive hardware synth or sampler. When you wanted a new sound, you went shopping for a newer keyboard or MIDI module. Lots of us are still paying off instruments we bought in the 1990s - or even the '80s! Today's hottest new sounds are available right on your Mac or PC - even your laptop! Virtual instruments have opened a whole new world of sonic possibilities for studio musicians and live performers, delivering recreations of vintage analog synths, totally new digital sounds, or realistic emulations of acoustic instruments. Want to know which "soft synths" are right for you? Just go to Sweetwater's Guide to Virtual Instruments and MIDI Controllers for features, articles and even some awesome videos. Experts like Craig Anderton and Nick Batzdorf can help you keep up with the state of the art in virtual instruments. Oh, and you'll actually have fun doing it!

  Psst! Hey Buddy - Looking for a Free NI KORE System?
The Native Instruments KORE Universal Sound Platform is the latest NI innovation, integrating all your plug-in instruments and effects into a single, unified hardware interface. Enter our Monthly Gear Giveaway now and you could win a KORE system along with the NI KOMPLETE 3 bundle, which includes 13 great NI instruments and effects like Kontakt, Reaktor, FM7, B4 II organ, Absynth, and so much more. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions (the answers are right on our website and it's okay to peek) and you could win over $2,000 worth of NI hardware and software. It only takes a few minutes, so what are you waiting for? Full details and the entry form are here.

  Guitar of the Day
Seems like half the guitar players on the planet play Fender Stratocasters! Well, there's a very good reason for that. Strats can sound thin and funky or fat and nasty. With three pickups and five distinctive pickup combinations, there's a sound for almost any kind of music you can think of. One of the most interesting of the new Strat models is the Eric Johnson Stratocaster, which was built from the ground up to Eric's lofty standards with features that just might make it the ultimate "player's Strat." See, Eric's been playing Strats a long time and he notices the little things that all add up to a truly unique signature sound. Hey, this is a guy who can hear the differences in nine-volt batteries and guitar cables, so you know anything he puts his name on is first class. The Eric Johnson Strat starts with a lightweight, two-piece, deep contour alder body (most Strats have three-piece bodies) finished in a very thin two-color sunburst nitrocellulose lacquer. This lets the guitar "breathe" and freely resonate. Next there's a '57 style parchment pickguard with three custom-wound single-coil pickups mounted into countersunk holes over deep '57-style body cavities. Eric chose a vintage-style tremolo with four springs, a silver painted block and '57-style string recess. The one-piece quartersawn tinted maple neck has the "soft V" shape that most serious Strat players seem to prefer (you know, guys like Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy), 21 medium jumbo frets and staggered vintage-style machine heads. The guitar ships in a deluxe blonde hardshell case with black endpieces and a black plush interior. Check this one out!