Hi folks!

So, it's almost the end of the year, and a few things have happened since my last update, so it's more than high time for me to make another report!

First off, the new-generation guitar games have been released. By all accounts, Rock Band 3 is as amazing as promised, and has been getting rave reviews all over the interwebs. Alas, I have not been able to get hold of a copy of my own yet, which is delaying things somewhat - the game stores in New Zealand have been reluctant to stock the instruments as yet, and I've yet to see a single one of them. I shall be pouring my funds into importing them just as soon as I've finished my Christmas shopping. Guitar Hero 6 is in stores here, but has not had great reviews, so I've held off getting it so far. Most notably, Rise of the Six String, and the accompanying instrument are getting universally panned, so I remain unsure as to whether I will bother supporting it unless I get an overwhelming number of requests to do so.

The Fender Squier for Rock Band 3 has been announced for a March release, and looks to cost about NZD500 - cheap for a MIDI guitar, but still expensive for a standalone purchase. I've been intending to purchase a new guitar anyway, so it looks like that'll be it, when it's released. Meanwhile, I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the MIDI keyboard, and the accompanying interface box.

I do have one very interesting piece of news. Those of you who have attempted to visit the web site for SuperRiff Guitar recently will have noticed that it is no longer there, and is currently being squatted by domain trolls. I have spoken to David Glynn, author of SuperRiff Guitar and SuperRiff Bass, and, given the number of users of Armchair Guitarist who are using it with the SuperRiff series, the plugins and their help files will now be hosted right here on armchairguitarist.com! I'll be working to come up with a new page on this site dedicated to the SuperRiff series of Guitar VSTs, and hope to get this up as soon as I figure out the best way to do so.

Equally exciting, one of my users has produced a very, very cool audio demo made using Armchair Guitarist, SuperRiff Guitar, and SuperRiff Bass, which I'm currently working into a YouTube demo which will appear on the front page. I've also managed to get hold of a decent video camera, so I can start doing video tutorials. This may not happen immediately, but it will certainly happen.

I've had a few holdups this year - I'll admit that this year has not been the brightest for me, with more than a small amount of personal hardship. I've had death in the family, difficulties at work, ongoing issues with depression and more besides, but I hope to be back on track soon. Armchair Guitarist continues to be something that I am very enthusiastic about, and one of the few small areas of brightness in my life, and despite being a bit distracted by other matters recently I hope to get back to working on it very soon. I apologise for the delays, and thank you all for your patience.

Rock on!