Today's Top Stories:

  Free Mouse and 1GB Memory Stick with Fantom-G Purchase
It's not deja vu - we have announced the Fantom-G upgrade before, but there's a twist! From now until October 31st, purchasers of the Roland Fantom-G series workstations will be able to send in a rebate form to get a free mouse and free 1GB memory stick. Okay, old news, but we just saw the mouse they are including, which has several LEDs that change color, and thought it was worth mentioning again. Yeah, it doesn't really do anything, just looks really cool and adds that undefinable "extra" to the mix. In any case, when combined with the latest operating system (which Sweetwater exclusively installs for free before shipping out your new Fantom-G), you also get all the new features listed below.

• Multi-Sampling (lots of user samples across the keyboard instead of just one).
  
• A handy "Sample BPM Calculation" function.
  
• An "Undo" for Phrase Recording.
  
• A "Favorite Play" screen to get to your favorites quickly.
  
• Controller Reset.
  
• Delete User Wallpaper.
  
• Many new Shortcut buttons.
  
• You can now store your Track Order with each Song.
  

  Dave Matthews Band Sax Player Dies at 46
LeRoi Moore, who was a saxophone player for the hugely popular Dave Matthews Band, died on Tuesday of injuries sustained in an accident that involved an all-terrain vehicle back in June. Moore was 46 when he died at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the band's website. Moore was initially hospitalized in late June after the accident, which occurred on his farm outside Charlottesville, VA. He had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin rehabilitation when complications forced him back into the hospital on July 17. The exact nature of the complications were not released.

  Antares Ships Auto-Tune Vocal Studio
Antares has informed us that their Auto-Tune Vocal Studio (or AVOX2), a comprehensive, money-saving bundle of powerful vocal processing tools that was originally announced back in April, is now available. Auto-Tune Vocal Studio combines the Native or TDM versions of Auto-Tune Evo, the latest generation of the world standard in professional pitch correction, with AVOX 2, the Antares Vocal Toolkit. This provides everything you could possibly need to produce world-class vocal tracks at a price that represents a substantial savings over the prices of Auto-Tune Evo and AVOX 2 if purchased separately. Naturally, as with all of the thousands of products we sell, your Sweetwater Sales Engineer can fill you in on all the features and provide you with your special low Sweetwater pricing!

  Korg Pandora SoundEditor Now for Mac
The PX5D SoundEditor is an application that allows you to edit all the parameters of the Korg PX5D - also known as the Pandora - right from your computer. Originally this software was only available for PCs running Windows, but Korg has announced that there is now a Mac OS X version available. The PX5D SoundEditor graphically displays many parameters at once. When editing is complete, your programs can be written either to the PX5D or to a file on your computer. SoundEditor is also a useful librarian for managing all your sounds and settings. Factory preset programs, factory preset chains, and an extra 100 preset programs are all included.

  Guitar of the Day
Since these are the last two Gibson Les Paul BFG Limited Editions we have in stock that are signed (and hand serialized) by Les Paul himself, the model warrants honors as today's official Guitar of the Day. From the raw, unsanded top to the unique pickup combination, the BFG has carved out its own special niche in the Gibson line. It's the guitar for the player who is making a statement: "No dolled-up, prettified guitar for me! No sir. I just want to play a great-sounding guitar and totally blow away the audience!" If that's you, this may be your guitar! We currently have one in Transparent Black and another in Transparent Gold. Both have carved maple tops, and while they have been stained, they have not been sanded down afterward. Nor have they had any sort of clear-coat finish or binding. It's all raw wood to match the raw, flame-throwing tone. The chambered mahogany body is also unfinished, and the mahogany neck sports that famous 1950s rounded profile - no skinny pencil-necks here! The rosewood fingerboard has absolutely no inlay work and only plain white dots on the sides to indicate the positions. It's positively Spartan!

The pickups are an unusual - but quite versatile - combination of a bridge-position Zebra BurstBucker 3 with a black P-90 single-coil in the neck position. No sissy chrome covers are allowed! For tone-shaping, the BFG is equipped with two volumes and a single tone control (each of which has an unfinished wooden knob), a 3-position pickup switch, and a "kill switch." All of the hardware is distressed black chrome, which is the perfect complement to the guitar's stripped-to-the-basics look. Put all of those pieces together and you get one rude, bare-bones Les Paul with only the essentials. There's no pearl, no abalone, no vintage lacquers. This is clearly (and loudly) an instrument for players who aren't taking any prisoners. The Burstbucker in the bridge position is screaming hot, while the P-90 in the neck position is capable of a crisp clean sound when you want it, but it can also deliver a satisfying crunch when you really lean into it, and roll back the tone control a bit. Appropriately enough, this guitar includes free shipping via FedEx right to your door in a suitably worn Les Paul case.