A lot of guitar players might think the notion of “enhancing” a classic American Series Stratocaster® sounds kind of pointless. Why mess with something that’s served so many, so well? But that’s sort of what Fender® has done with their “Custom Shop” models, and we’re sure it’ll pass muster with even the Fender fundamentalists. The Custom Shop guitars feature a few subtle upgrades to the original model here and there, similar to the kind of touches you might put on a favorite guitar you’ve played for a long time. First up is the Classic Custom Strat (StratCCMHBL), a version of the American Series Stratocaster® with custom detailing, classic Fender contours and legendary Strat tone. The other two models are Classic Player Stratocasters, with the Custom Shop touches and a choice between a “V” or “C” shaped neck (the StratPVRCBT and the StratPCMBCT, respectively).
There will be no inSync on Monday (5/27). It’s Memorial Day, and even music technology takes a break sometimes. We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled inSync on Tuesday (5/28).
M-Audio and Midiman announced the release of a driver update for the Delta series of audio cards that includes bass management for surround playback. Delta audio cards that have eight analog outputs (such as the Delta 410, Delta 1010, and Delta 1010LT) can benefit from this new addition to the Delta Control Panel using any WDM compliant operating system (e.g., Windows XP, 2000, or ME). With this new upgrade, the Delta Control Panel will handle bass management tasks with a variety of user controls when playing back multi-channel audio from any CD/DVD player that decodes surround material. Controls include selectable crossover frequencies per speaker group, delay settings to compensate for speaker placement, bass boost/cut, and global volume control for the surround speaker setup. Users can now plug directly into powered speakers for a true surround experience. The new Delta driver with bass management is available for download from the Midiman Web site.
