Fender pays tribute to Eric Clapton’s “Brownie” Fender Stratocaster with the release of its Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton “Brownie” Tribute Stratocaster. It will be available exclusively through Guitar Center on March 21 as part of the Guitar Center Eric Clapton Crossroads Collection. The original Brownie is most famous for its use on seminal 1970 Derek and the Dominos recording Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

Gibson has introduced the George Harrison-Eric Clapton "Lucy" Les Paul. The guitar is part of Guitar Center's Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Collection. The limited-edition collection features five Clapton tribute, replica and signature guitars, all of which will be available in North America exclusively at Guitar Center stores and at GuitarCenter.com starting March 21.

Radial Engineering Ltd. has announced the StageBug SB-1, an ultra-compact direct box designed to fit inside the string pocket of a guitar case. Radial Sales Manager Roc Bubel explains: "Radial already makes more types of direct boxes than any other manufacturer. So adding another model to our line up is not something we would do unless we had good reason. In this case, it really came down to getting inside the case! Today, more and more musicians are traveling light in order to keep costs down.

Here's a Guitar World video from the 2013 Winter NAMM Show, which took place January 24 to 27 in Anaheim, California. During the gear- and rain-filled weekend, we paid a visit to the gang at the LR Baggs booth to check out some new gear. This video profiles the company's new Lyric Acoustic Microphone for acoustic guitars.