Fender has been a staple of the guitar manufacturing world for over 60 years.

World famous guitar maker Fender has filed with U.S. regulators today to raise $200 million as an initial public offering, reports Reuters.

Fender Musical Instruments Corp, the first guitar maker to mass produce the solid-body Spanish style guitars used by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, among others, was sold to the CBS group in 1965 after having been founded in the 1940’s by creator Leo Fender. When CBS sold the company Fender’s then CEO William Shultz teamed up with some distributors and bought his company in 1984.

Today, a majority stake is owned by the private equity firm Weston Presidio, while the Shultz family still owns about 6 percent of the company.

The move into the public market comes as a means to try and pay off some of the debt the Scottsdale, Arizona based company has amounted, despite the $700.6 million in net sales reported last fiscal year.

“It is a leader in its field. I think there will be demand for its stock,” said Josef Schuster, founder of Chicago-based IPO investment firm IPOX Schuster, when speaking to Reuters.

Fender has not confirmed the number of shares to be sold and at what price.

William Blair & Company will act as the independent underwriter in the IPO offering.

The guitar manufacturer will apply to the list on the NASQUAD under the title “FNDR.”

Whether you’re a musician, or are shopping for one this holiday season, here’s a look at JAM, by Apogee Electronics, a professional grade digital converter for studio quality recording.

With a true “plug and play” setup, it takes just a few minutes before your ready for some high quality recording on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Unlike a simple adapter, JAM is a converter, which transforms the analog signal from your instrument to a digital one before it enters your device, avoiding any unwanted noise.

The input is particularly useful for recording multiple tracks with clarity. Just plug your headphones into your computer or other device, and you’ll have in-ear monitors. Alternatively, let it play through your built in speakers and play/record new parts to your creation while listening to existing tracks. Either way, the integration with GarageBand is seamless, and the sound quality superb.

Although originally designed for electric guitar and bass guitars, JAM is compatible with any instrument that has a built in pickup. We also tested JAM with a Taylor 510ce acoustic/electric, and it sounded very crisp and clear.

Physically speaking, JAM is compact and convenient in size, and is easily stored in a guitar case or bag. It comes equipped with two cables, one for use with Mac (via USB) and one for iPad/iPhone. You won’t have to worry about a lose connection as the output on JAM locks into place. It is also a very lightweight design that poses no threat of pulling the cable out of your guitar — all in all a very functional design.

For a hundred bucks, and a piece of American engineering (Made in USA!) JAM is a great pickup.

Are you a fan of “American Idol?” How about “America’s Got Talent?” Or the “The Voice?” Well what if you could actually create your own fan base of people who’d want to hear you sing and even pay you for it?

TheStage.tv is something new and interesting. It is a place where people from all walk of life that has a dream to showcase their talents. What TheStage.tv does is create a virtual “open mic” for those aspiring artists who want to show off their vocal expertise online.

Featuring the new Spotlight Player, a video player that allows the audience to donate money, purchase music as well as link/share performances of their favorite artists from TheStage.tv. The video player can be placed anywhere, such as a website or social media page.

“The Spotlight Player represents the next generation of social media sharing where the traditional video player has been enhanced by embedding a call-to-action to support the artist in a variety of innovative ways,” said Kevin Kaljan, co-founder of TheStage.tv. “Finally, there is a one-stop mechanism for donation, email subscription and music purchase so that fans can take action immediately.”

The Spotlight Player was developed in partnership with Donortube.com. Basically any artist who performs an original work on The Stage.tv can add the player on their website as well as social media site. The cool thing is that it will link directly to iTunes and Amazon. The Spotlight Player will allow fans of the artist to offer donations as well as help aspiring artists who are planning a tour, record music or donate funds to their own important causes.

You can also subscribe to be notified via email of your favorite artists upcoming performances. The Spotlight Player also offers integrated social media interaction with Facebook and Twitter. Why is this important? When a fan “Likes” a performance on Facebook, for example, the like will automatically embed the Spotlight Player on the user’s wall, all with the same features.

TheStage.tv is the world’s first online open mic that connects artists with new fans and introduces audiences to live music from performers around the globe. Since opening its doors in 2010, TheStage.tv has showcased nearly 60,000 performances from artists across a variety of music genres including shred, jazz, country, singer/songwriter acoustic, karaoke covers and much more. Continually pushing the technology envelope, TheStage.tv is first in supporting dual video relay and 3D webcams.

To watch the Spotlight Player in action visit: http://www.thestage.tv/spot or visit Suzen Juel on the Spotlight Player at: www.suzenjuel.com.

For more information on TheStage.tv please visit: www.TheStage.tv

There’s no shortage of music apps out there, but we are fans of this one, which helps you make real music, instead of tapping buttons to create more fake music.

Star Scales Pro 2.1 is the latest update to the iPhone/iPod/iPad app that teaches aspiring guitar players scale patterns instead of complex charts. It helps improve speed and accuracy while playing the real guitar while working on your muscle memory.

The update doesn’t change much of the core functionality, but it adds better sound effects, graphics, and a cleaner fretboard interface.

The app is the product of Slovakia-based JoyApps, and it lets you practice on a six or seven string virtual guitar. It’s a teaching tool that’s good for pros and wannabes a like.

Highlights from the developer:

• Clustered scales for easy orientation
• Double length playback for root note of the scale
• Scale pattern on the whole fretboard in landscape mode
• Random generator to getting to practicing to the scales

“We would like to make the play on the guitar as easy as it could be. Time and time again, the pattern method has been proven the most effective method for learning scales that is why we hope scale pattern will assist in achieving better results,” said Zoltan Bognar, the app’s developer.

Star Scales Pro 2.1 is $0.99 and available worldwide through the App Store in the Music category.

The world gets smaller and smaller everyday as social networking Web sites continue to gain more traction with users throughout the world. It seems only natural that the evolution of these sites is towards targeting specific interests.

Enter Indaba Music, a social networking site geared towards musicians with a collaborative bent. The name perhaps sums up the cloud-based Web site better than anything else, as Indaba is a Zulu word for collaboration and community.

Through Indaba, musicians anywhere in the world can create profiles in which they can share musical interests, influences, recordings (called sessions), photos and blogs as a means to connect to other musicians with similar interests and direction.

An intuitive search function, common interest groups and Indaba recommendations allows users who share something in common to find each other, from which collaborative sessions can begin. Sessions, hosted by Indaba’s Session Console 2.0 software, can be public, like an audition, or private, in which users can record, mix, edit, exchange tracks and even pay people.

Indaba’s most enticing feature is the ingenious Session Console 2.0. The console utilizes the cloud while engaging user’s processing power from their computers to record high quality, uncompressed audio straight to the session. In addition to high quality audio, the console features an offline mode that all but eliminates the need for GarageBand or Audacity, along with real-time hosted effects, non-destructive editing and a licensed loop library called the Creative Commons. The console also allows for commenting by showing tracks in waveform and allowing users to comment on specific moments in the wave, a much more effective method of notation than saying, "the third beat in the second bar of the bridge."

While this does not sound like much, anyone who has played music in a collaborative setting can attest to how invaluable the commenting tool is. The most impressive thing about the Session Console 2.0 is its simplicity, which allows any user, regardless of editing experience, to edit their creations within minutes of starting to use the console.

Indaba doesn’t stop here; they also engage their users by offering remix contests of popular songs, A.I.R. (Artists in Residence) who offer lessons and featured sessions that anyone can collaborate on, sometimes with established artists.

While the free membership is plenty useful, the site offers a "freemium" membership for $5 per month that provides users with more loops and effects, and a high-end membership for $25 per month that provides unlimited storage and private sessions, as well as all the "freemium" features.

A common interest and a strong sense of community have allowed Indaba to reach over 200,000 users in over 185 countries with no sign of slowing down. Indaba’s value, however, is not just in its social networking aspect but also in its extremely impressive software that makes it easier than ever before to record high quality and well-edited audio without ever spending a penny. The Web site also seems to be a model of what is possible when both the convenience of the cloud and the power of the personal computer are integrated into software. What’s more, Indaba genuinely seems to care about building a healthy community based around a common love, an admirable quality that more niche social networking sites will hopefully adopt. If you’re looking for the future of social networking, and maybe a new artist to check out, you need look no further than indabamusic.com.

The Bose L1 Compact is a very impressive portable PA system. We were a bit skeptical upon seeing the small box it arrived in, but this thing kicks ass. We have played with amps of similar size. Some have strong volume or tone, but have a learning curve more intense than that of the instrument being played. The L1′s incredible sound, coupled with the user-friendly two-channel mixer onboard makes it the complete package.

This is perfect for you, your guitar and whatever small crowd or venue you run into. It’s great for a coffee shop, open mic gymnasium or your living room. All you have to do is adjust the height of the tower for the coverage you need. It is a very easy to use system, but its versatility shines. There are a total of four pieces: the base, and three extensions. The base can be used with one extension only, making it an extremely portable amplifier, or it can be used with the full tower of all extensions. There are no cables to deal with between these extensions either. The square extensions piece into one another, and the connections are made internally, which is nice because instrument and microphone cables are enough to deal with. For your microphone channel, there are adjustments for volume, treble, and bass. Once you have an instrument plugged in, all you need to do is adjust volume. There is even a green light for each indicating that your signal is being received. So many portable amps require fumble over 30 knobs and switches before a sound you can tolerate emerges, but the L1 System keeps it simple, and small. While we only tested this with guitar and vocals, it could certainly be used with a bass or keyboard as well.

Each array of the system has a durable soft protective cover. The slipcover for the base even has an attached diagram of how to connect your instrument, microphone, and each component of the system that you wish to use. It couldn’t be easier.

For those with a variety of PA system needs, just place the base on a table and pick up the mic and your ready to give a presentation. There is even an mp3/Ipod input (1/8") for your intermission from the stage, or just hanging around at home.

Though this system is $1,000, a few hundred more than other similar two channel systems, the sound and tone quality are worth the extra investment. That, coupled with the ease of use and modest size of the L1 Compact make it an easy choice.

The Boss Dr. Beat DB-90 Talking Metronome is a versatile music practice and teaching tool that can serve both as a 21st century replacement for swinging pendulums and as a great introductory gadget.

The DB-90 mixes traditional metronome functions, including 30 kinds of beat patterns and a 30-250 tempo with features like its “Rhythm Coach” exercises to keep you matching the beat.

The unit features a MIDI input and 1/4-inch headphone and input jacks with amplifier simulating, meaning you can plug your guitar into the Dr. Beat directly, and it will act as a monitor for you. There’s no MIDI output though, so you won’t be sending any data back to your computer/workstation/etc.

The DB-90′s “tap” feature lets you choose your own tempo without having to dial in to a pre-programed setting. After all, it’s your music.

The unit’s default power supply is a 9-volt battery, but we’d recommend buying the Boss PSA DC power adapter to save on batteries.

It’s a big device, but it has all the practice and tuning features you could imagine. It’s a perfect solution for any musician.

Moog’s Little Phatty synthesizer just got better. Announced September 15, the Little Phatty Stage Two and Tribute Editions now come with a new Control Voltage Output Modification. The new modification allows musicians to control Moogerfooger Effects Processors and other analog gear with the voltage outputs generated by the Little Phatty synthesizer.

The Control Voltage Output Modification adds five 1/4′” analog Control Voltage outputs to the right side panel of the Little Phatty. This limits the possible applications only by the imagination of the user.

“Use MIDI Clock Sync to synchronize the Little Phatty’s arpeggiator to a drum track, and the Pitch CV output becomes an incredible production tool.” said Chris Stack, Moog Music Marketing Manager. “You can route it to a wide variety of Moogerfooger parameters to create a universe of tempo-synced analog effects, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

The Control Voltage Output Modification is available from Moog for $199.99 as a factory upgrade.

The Boss TU-88 is a versatile micro monitor and tuner. It offers a tuner, metronome and built in headphone preamp in one device.

The guitar tuner, which can be accessed wirelessly or by connecting your instrument to the input jack, is very easy to use. It also can play a reference tone for you through the “Accu-Pitch” speaker. This built-in speaker will also play another tone indicating that the instrument is in tune (within 5 cents sharp or flat in actuality).

The metronome is also a nice addition. I often avoid metronomes while playing because I don’t want to put the time into finding my exact tempo with it, but the TU-88 bypasses that with a unique feature I had never seen before. The “TAP” button allows a user to set the metronome’s tempo to his or her tempo. Pushing the button with the beat of whatever your playing will set the metronome to your beat. This ensures that you stick to the beat that you intend to. You feel the beat — you set it, and you keep it. If your’re reading music and do know exactly what tempo you need, the TU-88 can certainly accommodate you.

The tuner and metronome are very useful and innovative, but what really makes the TU-88 stand out in my mind is the headphone amplifier. There are tons of devices that tune guitars, quite a few of them offer built in metronomes, but this is the first device I’ve seen that includes a tuner, metronome, and headphone amplifier.

The headphone amplifier allows one to plug their instrument cable into the TU-88′s input jack, plug and pair of standard headphones into the “phones/line out” and play straight to their headphones. This is ideal for an electric guitar player who wants to work on something quickly without dealing with large amplifiers. Often times while traveling a headphone preamp is useful. Noise level is minimal while using a headphone amplifier, which makes it an ideal addition to your gear for private practice sessions. The “Mix in” jack even makes it possible to plug in a CD/MP3 player to play along with — all within your headphones.

Weighing in at only 7 ounces, the TU-88 has everything you need for your next gig whether its in the living room, a friend’s garage or Gillette Stadium.

Roland Corporation introduced on Tuesday the new BA-330 Portable Digital PA System.

The system is designed to be versatile and can run for 10 hours on eight AA batteries or forever on AC power and can entertain rooms with up to 80 people, Roland says.

The BA-330 has a four-channel configuration, with two channels dedicated for microphones or instruments, and two other channels for standard 1/4″ stereo inputs. Each channel has its own independent tone adjustment and effects switching for built-in effects, such as EQ, reverb, delay and widening. A Stereo Link function allows for a pair of BA-330s to work in tandem to provide an extra-wide stereo spread, Roland said.

The unit is built around four 6.5″ drivers and two tweeters.

Roland also says the BA-330 is the first portable PA designed with an “Intelligent Anti-Feedback function” that automatically sniffs out potential feedback and eliminates it automatically.

The BA-330 will be available in November for $829.50, so don’t count on playing with it outside a subway stop for pennies.

The art of DJing has come a long way since our middle school dances.

Nothing sums that up better than the Eks Otus controller with built-in six channel sound card and built in touchpad.

Where records gave way to CD’s, CD’s have given way to laptops and iMacs. Software like Deckadance can emulate an entire soundboard with two tracks just like those old double turntables.

The Otus takes that a step further. It has a built in touchpad and left/right mouse buttons, so the DJ doesn’t need to have a mouse or reach over to the laptop’s touchpad. The Otus is mean to be the only thing you have to touch to put on an entire night at the local club and keep everyone dancing.

The design of the Otus really stands out. It’s totally powered by the computer’s USB, and it lights up, looking all sexy when you’re using it.

There are several touch pad buttons and a large, solid feeling, dual purpose jog wheel. The side is used for pitch while the top of the wheel lets you scratch.

The only complaint about the Otus is that it’s almost too futuristic. A lot of the buttons are touch-bottons with no tactile response, so sometimes you’re not sure if you actually activated a button. There are also several looping buttons that are a bit close to each other.

There are four mini wheels above the legs of the Otus that can be customized for any purpose. Their placement around the board takes some getting used to, but you’ll be able to reach fine. It still beats reaching the laptop. You can flip through folders and files right on the Otus without even touching your computer.

The Otus lets you control two virtual decks on one machine with templates for your favorite DJ software, though they not only recommend Deckadance, but they give everyone a free copy of the software when you buy the unit.

The unit has two stereo and digital audio ports as well as a dedicated headphone jack.

The Otus can completely replace a CDJ, and it’s the perfect way to go digital.

Ever been ready to grab your guitar and work on a new lick or turn on some music to work on a new lead guitar part, but you couldn’t because it would make too much noise?

It’s hard to believe, but sometimes as musicians we find ourselves in situations where others don’t want to hear us play. There are other times when we would rather practice privately, and for these times we should never sacrifice playing but simply make use of the VOX Headphone Amp.

Plugging this device into the 1/4-inch instrument cable jack on your guitar allows you to listen privately to your guitar playing through any pair of headphones with a 1/8-inch jack. The VOX AC30 is made to sound like VOX’s famous AC30 high gain amplifier. It’s sound was great; it has been modified to be a powerful high gain guitar sound which is perfect for playing along with your music CD’s or mp3′s. The headphone amp has an auxiliary input for music from a CD player, mp3 player, computer or even the radio.

Once connected to the auxiliary input, you can play guitar along with your favorite songs, which is a great way to practice all within your headphones! If you aren’t interested in the AC30′s high gain guitar sound, VOX does offer other headphone amps, which aesthetically are the same as the AC30 shown. All priced at about $40, VOX offers AC30, Classic Rock and Metal options.

For a few dollars more they also make products specifically for bass guitar and for lead guitar parts only. They’re ideal for playing privately at home or even for traveling. Playing at the hotel or even in the car is no problem with VOX’s headphone preamps.

All in all, this is a useful gadget for any electric guitar player, and it is offered at a fair price. Measuring only 3.39″ x 3.15″ x 1.22″, and weighing 1.41oz., it won’t weigh your guitar down while plugged in. Other headphone preamps I have used, like the Pocket Rock-it, did not sound as true to a real amp sound despite being bigger than the Vox.

It can be a headache setting up amps and connecting them to your guitar, but the headphone amps make it a piece of cake if you’re looking to practice on your own, quietly. It runs on 2 AAA batteries (included), which will keep you rocking for up to 15 hours.