This year marks the 75th Anniversary of one of the most distinctive—and most beautiful--acoustic guitars known to popular music. Epi fans know it as the Epiphone EJ-200, and it was, and still is, the king of the flat-tops. The original J-200 was introduced in 1938 and perhaps no more than 100 went into production. It became an instant classic and though it was revived in the '50s, originals are expensive and tough to find. (No one ever gets rid of a '200' super jumbo.) The Epi EJ-200 made this fantastic instrument available to musicians everywhere and for the first time in its history, it's safe to say there are probably more EJ-200s in the world right now than the original designers could have ever imagined. Singers love the "200" for its woody, balanced tone that neatly sidesteps the bass and treble range of the human voice, making it the perfect accompanist for singers. Dreadnought style acoustics can be boomy and somewhat moody in their tone, but the "200" never gets in a sin…

Get ready for the next generation of Music Production Controllers. Akai hit the NAMM show this month with some amazing new controllers for DJ's and studiofreaks. The MPC Fly, the first MPC specifically for iPad 2, provides a fully integrated portable MPC solution. The Renaissance fuses legendary MPC production with the power of your computer, and the MPC Studio enables you to produce in your own studio.. anywhere in the world! MPC Fly MPC Fly merges unmatched Akai Professional technology with the power of your iPad 2, embodying legendary capabilities that have made the MPC an industry standard like real MPC pads, MPC Note Repeat and MPC Swing. Its multifunctional, double-hinged design gives you the flexibility to produce tracks anywhere, while also acting as a protective case between sessions and giving you total access to your iPad 2 for normal uses. MPC Renaissance Fusing Akai Professional’s legendary MPC layout and workflow with the power of your computer, MPC Renaissance i…

Almost every artist follows the same path to mastery: extended periods of concentrated effort spent honing the skillset, often followed by a long period of artistic imitation. This mimicry serves as a foundation on which the artist’s contribution of genius to his field of endeavor will be built. So it is with master instrument builders. In the 70s, Ibanez crafted copies with such intensity and diligence that they often surpassed the quality of the originals. Clearly, Ibanez anked among the world’s best. The big question: could Ibanez deliver their own original contribution to the guitar world? It didn’t happen easily. Or overnight. But in 1987, Ibanez created not one, but two guitars that would join the modern musical instrument pantheon. Developed first as the Roadstar, the fully “Ibanezed” pedalto-the-metal RG is known throughout the rock and metal world as a full-bore performer. The thin “Wizard” necks are only one of the many innovations that make the RG, the streamlined, n…

Fender is thrilled to introduce new Bassman Pro series of heads and cabs that will tug at the heartstrings of bass players worldwide. Decked out in '60s blackface, and supercharged with monstrous sound and rock-solid strength, the six new members of the Bassman Pro series are designed with world-tour ready features and enormous Fender tone. The Super Bassman is a pummeling, 300-watt tube head designed to tear up the largest arenas. Features include a tube preamp (two 12AX7s) and tube power amp (one 12AX7, one 12AT7, six 6550s); vintage channel that delivers the full, warm sound of a classic Fender passive tone stack; overdrive channel that delivers the aggressive and responsive sound of a modern active tone stack; footswitch that allows to choose between channels; rear-panel Fender Automatic Bias system that constantly monitors and re-biases tubes for perfect performance and alerts you when service is required; speaker output switch that can be set to "mute" to turn speaker off an…