Today's Top Stories:

  Fender Adds Kaman Music to Its Family
Already the world's largest manufacturer of high quality guitars, which (besides Fender) includes Gretsch and Guild, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) has announced it will be purchasing Kaman Music Corp., which is the nation's preeminent independent distributor of more than 20,000 products for musicians. Kaman also owns Ovation guitars, Genz-Benz amplification, Hamer Guitars, and is the exclusive worldwide distributor of Takamine acoustic guitars. Both sides agreed that this purchase would greatly benefit musicians, as Fender has distinguished itself as a proven steward of great brands, many of which have their roots in the 1950s and early '60s. The closing date on the sale is said to be January 1, 2008.

  Updates and Upgrades
Apple has issued a Login and Keychain update for its OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system. It's recommended for all users and addresses certain issues users might encounter with passwords of eight or more characters, as well as connection issues to 802.11b/g wireless networks. Changing the password of a FireVault-protected account? Then you need this 10MB update, which is available on Apple's web site.

  New in Stock at Sweetwater

• Roland VG-99/GK-3 - This is the latest guitar modeling synth/pickup system from Roland and it turns your guitar into a highly versatile synth instrument! The VG-99 has three powerful new processors at its core, plus expressive performance controls such as Ribbon Controller and D BEAM. Other highlights include some of the most asked-for features, like an onboard guitar-to-MIDI converter and an on-screen editor. The highly accurate GK-3 pickup sends individual signals to the VG-99 and is simple to install. The VG-99 contains an incredible range of COSM-modeled guitars and amplifiers including new electric, acoustic, and bass guitar models, a new GR-300 synth wave, and much more. Complete dual processing allows you to play two different guitar sounds simultaneously or mix between them. Alternate tunings? Piece of cake!
• Coleman Audio CMC4 - The CMC4 monitor controller puts you in control of your studio subwoofer. Just set a balance between your main monitors and the sub, and the main level control on the Coleman Audio CMC4 will control both. You also get a handy mute switch that lets you check your mix without the sound of the sub (this is critical, since not everyone owns a subwoofer). It includes four balanced XLR input pairs, three balanced XLR stereo output pairs, a Main level for the main speaker output, and Sub level for controlling your subwoofer.

  Guitar of the Day
Our guitar techs love finding instruments for us to include as part of our Guitar of the Day feature. A few days ago, we got a call from one of them, urging us to "just come over and see this!" We've seen guitars costing just a few hundred dollars that played like a Custom Shop release and have let our eyes explore the sumptuous AAAA-grade maple tops of dozens of guitars. But this one...well, it was something different, as in "honestly, we've never seen anything quite like this." The instrument was an Ibanez bass, but crafted from a wood we don't see very often: Burled Poplar. An Amber stain was the perfect complement for this specific timber. The actual model is called the Ibanez SR650PBAM and it's part of a limited run (for good reason, as Burled Poplar isn't the easiest wood to get your hands on). The body is constructed of premium mahogany with that Burled Poplar top, a 5-piece SR4 Wenge/Bubinga neck with a rosewood fingerboard and oval abalone inlays. The bridge is the Accu-cast B20 and a pair of Bartolini MK1-4 pickups are connected to a particularly sweet-sounding Bartolini MK-1 active EQ system. Gold hardware all up and down this bass completes the picture. Call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for additional information or to order this beauty for yourself - it won't be here long!