Today's Top Stories:

  Toontrack Announces New Distribution Plan
Toontrack Music has announced they will be joining Waves' pioneering Virtual Stock Software Distribution (VSSD) fulfillment program for product distribution. What this means is that end-users will always have immediate access to the complete range of Toontrack products from Sweetwater. After you purchase a Toontrack product, we'll will enter the order number and instantly receive copy-protected software with unique serial numbers required to unlock the product, so there's no waiting - you can get busy making music!

Naturally, your Sweetwater Sales Engineer can explain in greater detail just how this works.

  Cycling '74 Announces User Conference
The folks over at Cycling '74 today announced that their very first user conference, Expo '74, will be held in San Francisco in April of 2009. The conference will include presentations, installations, workshops, and collaborative events that are designed to cover the company's Max, MSP, and Jitter software. Details will be posted to the conference web site over the upcoming months. The company has confirmed that the conference will take place on April 22-24, 2009 at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center. Cycling '74 is committed to making the conference affordable for its software users.

  Updates and Upgrades
Line 6 has announced the availability of GearBox version 3.64.1 for Mac computers running OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5. (Leopard). This version fixes an incompatibility with QuickTime 7.5. So now GearBox users can play GuitarPort Online tracks when QuickTime 7.5 is installed. System Requirements:

• Intel or Power PC-based G4 1.5GHz or better (G4 1.67 or better recommended).
  
• OS X 10.4 or better.
  
• 512MB RAM minimum (1GB or more recommended).
  
• 1GB free HD space minimum (10GB or more recommended for recording).
  
• USB 1.1 or 2.0 port on computer for connecting Line 6 hardware (USB 2.0 port is required for TonePort UX8 and POD X3 family devices).
  
• Internet connection required for activation (once activated, Internet connection is not required, except for access to optional Guitar Port Online membership service).
  
• Host application that supports RTAS or AU Plug-ins (for use with optional GearBox RTAS/AU Plug-In)

• GearBox player can now play GuitarPort Online tracks when QuickTime 7.5 is installed.
  
• GearBox tuner now works correctly with PODxt devices.
  
• GPO connectivity has been improved.

  Guitar of the Day
Today's Guitar of the Day, a Gibson Custom SG Standard Historic Reissue with Maestro Vibrola, has several things going for it. First off, it's a stunning re-creation of one of the most popular guitars of the 1960s, and second, it plays like a dream! By now, most guitarists know that the SG (which was Gibson's shorthand for "solid guitar") debuted in 1961 as the new Les Paul. Unfortunately, Les didn't particularly care for the design (after all, this was no longer the guitar he had helped create) and he asked the company to remove his name from it. Available almost exclusively in Gibson's popular Cherry finish (although a limited number of Ebony SGs were made over the years), players liked the thin, fast neck, which was attached to the solid mahogany body in such a way that they had easy access to the highest frets, making it great for soloing. While we think today of the Les Paul as Gibson's most successful design, in the 1960s and into the '70s, the company's best sellers were the SG and the semi-hollowbody ES-335. In fact, Gibson didn't even release a proper re-creation of the Les Paul Standard until 1974! When people think of Eric Clapton's "woman tone," what comes to mind is a Les Paul; yet it was actually a handpainted SG that Clapton used early on with Cream that delivered that tone.

But that was then, and this is now, and our reissue SG holds up beautifully in terms of good looks and sound quality (courtesy of a pair of Burstbucker Pro pickups). To keep the guitar from looking like it just popped out of the Gibson factory, this SG's nickel parts have been given a light aging process so they won't blind someone during a performance when the stage lights bounce off it. Even the Cherry finish has been made to appear slightly faded. It's a small detail, but the pickup toggle switch has been given an aging toner so it's a light butterscotch color rather than plain white. And since this is a historically accurate reissue, the truss rod cover even says "Les Paul" on it. But what naturally grabs your eye is the Maestro Vibrola tailpiece, since it's the largest piece of hardware on the guitar. For some reason, Gibson chose to design their own vibrato rather than license a Bigsby for use on this instrument, and this one is accurate right down to the fine engraving work. Like other guitars that seemed to have been born perfectly evolved from Day One of their existence, this SG Standard reincarnation proves why Gibson was such a respected builder of fine electric guitars. It's a joy to play, it records beautifully, and it reminds us of the Golden Age of guitar building here in the U.S. of A. Naturally, it includes a Custom Shop hardshell case and free shipping right to your door!