Today's Top Stories:

  The Creation Station Idea Center Goes Live!
Sweetwater's Creation Station computers have garnered nothing but rave reviews. It's no surprise, really, as the Creation Station is the first PC designed exclusively for musicians. That's right, we've done all the hard work for you, so you don't have to start from scratch building a recording or performance system that's got all the features you need. If you already own a Creation Station, congratulations, you've made a smart purchase. What's more, you're now part of a huge user base, and to take advantage of that fact, we've gone live with a website called the Creation Station Idea Center. The site is designed to encourage the free and easy exchange of information through blog-style posts, so whether you want to ask questions about PC-based audio production or share your own Creeation Station experiences, the Creation Station Idea Center is the perfect forum for those discussions. What's more, the folks at Cakewalk will be contributing, sharing their expertise and knowledge of the newest 64-bit technology, as found in their SONAR 6 software. Whether you're a long-time user or just considering the purchase of a Creation Station, you're going to find plenty of content that will help you get the most from your system (or convince you that owning one of these very cool computers is a really brilliant move). The content will be updated on a regular basis, so plan on stopping by often. What's more, customers who purchase a system as a result of visiting the site will get a FREE copy of the Cakewalk Musician's Toolbox IV, a $200 value that includes the following:

• Kinetic 2 Percussion Soft Synth
• Dimension LE Soft Synth
• DropZone REX Sample Virtual Instrument
• Pyro 5 CD Burning/MP3 Encoding software

  It's Where All of Santa's Helpers Will Go This Holiday Season
Where do you go to find the hottest gift ideas for that special musician in your life? Here's a clue: It's the same place musicians go to post their Wish Lists, so that Santa knows exactly what they want or need without having to study up on all the current music technology. Since you're reading this in Sweetwater's inSync online daily industry news report, we're guessing you know the answer. Our ace web team outdid themselves this year with one of the best looking, most informative web pages ever! They've put together lists of gift items in six categories: Guitarists, Keyboardist, Singer/Songwriter, Bass Player, Sound Engineer, and Recording & Computer Musician. To go there right now, just click on this link. All the information you need to make this the best holiday ever is right there, with items in all price categories. If that's still not helpful enough, just go with the one gift every musician on the planet would want: A Sweetwater Gift Certificate. We have the fastest shipping in the business, so even if you fall a little behind this holiday season, we'll do our best to get that special gift to you in record time. What's more, almost every single item qualifies for free shipping. Why are you still reading this? Go check out our online gift guide now!

  Enjoy Great Music While Making a Little Majic
Sweetwater and Fort Wayne radio station Majic 95.1 WAJI have pooled their resources and released Majic Miracle Music, a compilation CD of brand new recordings by nationally recognized artists. All the proceeds from each sale go to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The CD is priced at $10 and is available at Anchor Books, Anne's Hallmark stores, Borders, and Mitchell Books, as well as Sweetwater's new retail store at 5501 US Highway 30 W. Don't live in Fort Wayne? The CD is available online here. The recording artists who have contributed to the project include Gin Blossoms, Jars of Clay, Smash Mouth, Nick Lachey, Landon Pigg, Josh Kelley, Ryan Cabrera, Anna Nalick, Michael Tolcher, and Teddy Geiger. Six of the songs were recorded at Sweetwater Productions, the region's premier recording studio. The others are acoustic recordings donated by the artists. Majic Miracle Music is a product of Sweetwater Studio 95, a partnership launched this summer between Sweetwater Sound and Majic 95.1 WAJI for the recording of live, acoustic versions of songs by bands and artists visiting Fort Wayne.

  Now There's a Liquid Mix for Everyone
Without much fanfare, Focusrite released what is probably the most anticipated software for PC owners. That's right, Focusrite Liquid Mix for Windows XP is now a reality. The latest release, Liquid Mix v1.5, operates within virtually every major sequencer, delivering the proprietary Liquid Mix technology into the hands of the entire music recording community. What's more, with no change to the hardware necessary, PC users need wait no longer. All that's required is a download, available here. Since its launch earlier in the year, Liquid Mix is fast becoming an industry standard. It has walked off with seven awards to date and probably will close out the year with several more.

  Anthology II Goes Universal!
One of our favorite products of 2006 is Eventide's Anthology II, a bundle of 15 must-have plug-ins that duplicate the best Eventide effects from the previous 35 years. If you're running a Pro Tools system, Anthology II covers all the basses, from compressors and limiters to Harmonizers and those awesome Eventide reverbs. For those of you running an Intel-based Mac, you'll be pleased to know that Anthology II is a Universal Binary product, meaning it works perfectly with the newest Mac laptops and desktops, as well as all the PowerPC Macs out there. The Universal Binary upgrade is available free to all Anthology II registered users.