Cakewalk has announced Guitar Tracks Pro version 4.0 and Guitar Tracks Pro USB, a new version and look-and-feel for the software designed for the recording guitarist and singer/songwriter, plus a new, complete recording solution that includes a high quality audio interface.

With Guitar Tracks Pro, you get easy multi-track recording, precise editing tools to comp-together the perfect solo or vocal track, a virtual mixing Console, effects arsenal, and the ability to burn CDs and upload your music directly to the web. At the core of Guitar Tracks Pro is a powerful engine based on Cakewalk's SONAR audio and MIDI technology. Guitar Tracks Pro makes music production even more accessible with a sleek new interface that has been optimized to take your music from riff to hit easier than ever, according to Cakewalk.

Guitar Tracks Pro includes much more than just recording software: you get a virtual guitar amp; an entire backing band of virtual instruments; pre-recorded drum loops by some of the most in-demand drummers on the scene today; and instructional videos from legendary guitarists. And with Guitar Tracks Pro USB, you get even more value with a high quality USB audio interface, providing everything you need to record and produce your music.

"When we sat down to design the new version of Guitar Tracks Pro, I was surprised at just how many great feature suggestions were coming from all areas of the company," commented Michael Hoover, Cakewalk's executive vice president of products. "The fact is that 3 out of 4 people who work at Cakewalk play guitar, so it was natural that almost everyone in the company had a personal interest in making Guitar Tracks Pro the best software it could be."

Guitar Tracks Pro 4 Key Features:

• NEW Simple multitrack recorder interface streamlined to make it easier than ever to record, edit, and mix your music.
• Record and playback up to 32 audio tracks at up to 24-bit/96 kHz quality.
• NEW Record and playback up to 64 virtual instrument tracks—perfect for building arrangements with backing tracks.
• NEW Track Templates and tutorials help you set up to record.
• NEW Studio Instruments Bass, Drums, Electric Piano, and String Section—your virtual backing band. Use preset patterns in many popular styles, or create your own parts with these high quality instrument sounds.
• NEW Plug in direct to Native Instruments' Guitar Rig 3 LE virtual amplifier to get arena sized guitar tones for your songs in the privacy of your home studio.
• Arrange and edit music with point and click ease.
• Create, edit, and print your own notation and tablature; included fretboard view makes it easy to match notes to the guitar neck.
• NEW Familiar mixing Console view makes getting a great mix accessible to any user.
• Suite of professional effects: Classic Phaser, Modfilter, Chorus/Flanger, Tempo Delay, Bit Decimator, Studioverb, HF Exciter, Compressor/Gate, Para-Q, and more.
• NEW Get radio ready punch from your final mix with Boost 11 Peak Limiter.
• Add more sounds and instruments with third party VST plug-ins.
• NEW Cakewalk Publisher allows you to create custom music players and playlists that you can share online.
• NEW CD Burner to burn your finished tracks and mixes to CD.
• NEW Windows Vista support.
• NEW Perfect your chops with a collection of Guitar World instructional videos featuring Steve Morse, Dave Mustaine, Jimmy Herring, Paul Gilbert, Joe Bonamassa, and others.
• NEW Play along with loops recorded by world class drummers including: John Blackwell (Prince, Justin Timberlake), Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney), Nick D'Virgilio (Genesis, Tears for Fears), Ed Greene (Steely Dan, Barry White), Danny Gottlieb (Pat Metheny Group, Sting) courtesy of Sonic Reality.
• NEW Additional samples and instrument loops spanning rock, blues, country, and bluegrass from Smart Loops, Digital Sound Factory, and Groove Monkee. Over 2GB of additional content.
• NEW Includes demo project by Dave Martone, one of the top shredders in North America, featuring drums by Daniel Adair of Nickleback.

Guitar Tracks Pro USB

Guitar Tracks Pro USB is an all-in-one solution for guitarists and singer/songwriters, providing everything you need to record and produce high quality music fast and easily on your Windows PC. Guitar Tracks Pro USB includes the all new Guitar Tracks Pro 4 recording software with the Cakewalk UA-1G USB audio interface.

The portable UA-1G allows you to record and playback high quality audio on your computer. The UA-1G was especially designed with guitarists in mind and includes a special 1/4" jack that's been optimized for the electric guitar so you can get the best sounding recordings possible of your guitar playing on your computer.

The Cakewalk UA-1G USB audio interface highlights include:

• Simple, user friendly design.
• Stereo input and output at 24-bit/96kHz audio quality.
• Excellent sound quality provided by high-end A/D and D/A converters.
• Large input level knob for easy control while recording.
• Multiple connection options:
  • 1/4" jack with Hi-Z option for recording electric guitar or bass.
  • Electret condenser mic input.
  • RCA I/O.
  • Optical S/PDIF I/O.
  • Headphone output.
• USB powered, perfect for mobile recording with your laptop—no AC adapter required.
• Low-latency ASIO 2.0 and WDM drivers.

Localization

Guitar Tracks Pro Version 4 ships with software in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian, and online help in English, French, and German. In the US, Guitar Tracks Pro Version 4 includes printed documentation in English; outside the US Guitar Tracks Pro Version 4 includes printed documentation in English, German, and French; PDF versions are available in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian.

Pricing and Availability

Beginning late June, 2009, Guitar Tracks Pro 4 and Guitar Tracks Pro USB will be available through select music and consumer electronics retailers throughout the world for "less than the cost of a few hours in a recording studio" (it's $139 in the Cakewalk web store). Upgrades to Guitar Tracks Pro 4 for registered Cakewalk customers will also be available direct from Cakewalk at Cakewalk.com ($59.99 / $79.99).