Today's Top Stories:

  $50 Cash Back on Blofeld
MV Pro Audio (Waldorf's U.S. distributor) is offering a significant $50 cash rebate to purchasers of the hugely popular Waldorf Blofeld desktop synth module. The rebate program runs from October 8th, 2008 through November 30th, 2008. Blofeld has been the recipient of numerous rave reviews from most of the major music magazines, all of which have made note of the unit's exceptional value. With the dollar's recent gains against the Euro, and the resultant rebate, the unit's economic value is even more striking!

MV Pro Audio president, Michael Marans, is quick to point out that Blofeld is manufactured in Germany, and boasts one of the most powerful and sophisticated synth engines available on the planet today. It's a synth engine defined and refined by years of innovation, and revered by musicians around the world. The $50 rebate is available on all Blofeld desktop synthesizer purchases; a rebate form, complete with all the rules and regulations governing the program can be downloaded.

  Updates and Upgrades
Steinberg has announced that the latest update to its Cubase Essential 4 Personal Music Production System is now available. Adding new features, including support for Steinberg's new MR816 CSX/MR816 X and CC121 Advanced Integration hardware products, support for the new VST Sound format and full compatibility with the new Sequel Content Sets, the 4.5 update for Cubase Essential 4 owners is now available.

Cubase Essential 4.5 offers enhanced support for the Yamaha MOTIF XS series as well as the KX USB Music Studio series. Cubase Essential 4.5 also introduces VST Sound, a new and improved universal media management format that is a fundamental part of Steinberg's VST3 standard. With version 4.5 Cubase Essential provides full compatibility with Steinberg's entry-level Sequel 2 Music Creation and Performance Software as well as the new Rock, Hip Hop,, Industrial, Elektro and Funky Content Sets. Each of
the new sets offers over 200MB of content that is fully compatible with the
Cubase MediaBay, making getting started with the new content fast and easy.

  New in Stock at Sweetwater

• Yamaha Tyros3 - Yamaha's flagship arranger keyboard is here and it's brimming with incredibly realistic sounds, robust recording features, premium Auto Accompaniment styles, and performance-enhancing pads and sliders. Plus, Yamaha has added their new Super Articulation 2 voices to the 61-key Tyros3, for an unprecedented level of expression. Designed to be your music-making hub, you can connect a microphone, a video monitor, and a USB storage device and record and mix songs right onboard the keyboard! What's more, you'll enjoy even more creative options and editing abilities when you tie the feature-packed Tyros3 into your computer setup! The Tyros3 features an incredible 1,540 voices, giving you all the sonic tools you need to maximize your creativity.
  
  
• TEAC FillTune HP-F200 - Based on the latest research into the science of acoustic transmission, the HP-F200 bone-conduction headset allows those with outer-ear hearing problems to listen to speech or music by vibrating bones in the inner ear. The FillTune HP-F200 can be attached to an external microphone, music player, or wireless transmitter for a wide range of listening options. This incredibly effective, foldable headset allows full-bandwidth listening while still letting you pay attention to outside sounds. A 1/8-inch connection allows a wide range of mics, wireless transmitters, and music players to be plugged in. For high-fidelity bone-conduction headphone performance in a comfortable, foldable design, you can't beat the performance you get from the Teac FillTune HP-F200!
  
  
• Yamaha Pocketrak CX - The Yamaha Pocketrak CX handheld digital recorder doesn't just offer the stunning CD-quality stereo recording capability of its predecessor, the Pocketrak 2G - it also offers enhancements such as improved recording time, a built-in high-sensitivity 90-degree X/Y microphone for natural-sounding stereo recordings, peak limiter, training features, and more. This super-slim (1/2" thick) recorder also includes a built-in preview speaker, USB 2.0 connectivity, 2GB of onboard memory, and it even includes Cubase AI4 production software. A re-chargeable battery built into the compact body allows dozens hours of continuous recording and playback in a variety of different recording formats from CD-quality WAV files to convenient MP3.

  Guitar of the Day
Some of our more alert readers have pointed out that we don't do as many acoustic guitars as we do electrics, and even fewer nylon-string classical guitar models. Well, today we're featuring not one, but two acoustics - and they're nylon-string classicals! We're talking about the GAD-C2 and GAD-C3 Flamenco Negra from Guild, a name you probably normally associate with bigger hollowbody electrics and steel-string acoustics. You might actually be surprised to learn that Guild has actually been building fine-quality, affordable nylon string guitars since 1961 - that's 47 years! So you can bet they've got the process figured out by now. Play one for even a few minutes and you'll be convinced of it!

Both models have the Hauser classical body shape, but the GAD-C2 has a Western Red Cedar top, while the GAD-C3 has a solid AAA American Sitka Spruce top. Each has a high-gloss polyurethane protective clearcoat to prevent nicks and scratches (and it also brings out the richness and beauty of the woods). Both have a Natural finish with Guild classical spruce bracing, a one-piece mahogany neck with rosewood insert, and a flat radius 18-fret ebony fingerboard. Both have solid Indian rosewood backs and sides, although the GAD-C3 has an upgrade to AAA-quality rosewood and premium binding front and back. Both also have a solid Indian rosewood bridge with a compensating bone saddle. Guild 3-in-line tuners are standard equipment on both models. But most importantly, these instruments play and sound just like nylon guitars you'd expect to pay at least twice as much for, and both include absolutely free shipping right to your door via FedEx.