1. Quick links
2. Editor's picks
3. Guitar deals
4. Amp & pedal deals
5. FAQs
6. Shopping tips
7. How we choose
8. Why trust us
9. Last year's deals
Despite being a week or so away from the official Black Friday guitar deals as I write this, we've seen many retailers and manufacturers go full-force into the sales action, launching their Cyber Weekend sales earlier than ever. With huge money off guitars, pedals, amps, and accessories, there's plenty to get stuck into already.
At Sweetwater, you can bag yourself massive savings on guitar gear with over 14,000 items discounted. Discounts can be well up to 60% off, so it's a great place to grab a deal on a new bit of gear. Guitar Center has also gone early with a full Black Friday sale, offering up to 50% off a range of instruments. Musician's Friend meanwhile hasn't gone live with their main sale just yet, but there are early deals of up to 50% off in their Holiday Kickoff Sale. I can't imagine they'll be waiting much longer to pull the trigger on their main sale.
There are plenty of direct sales too if you prefer to buy from the manufacturer. At Fender you can bag some early Black Friday deals with up to $200 off guitars. Meanwhile at Positive Grid, we're already seeing some big savings on Spark amps and BIAS software with discounts going all the way up to 50% off. If you're buying for yourself, you can also get savings of up to 80% off second hand gear over at the Reverb early Black Friday sales event.
Keep scrolling and you'll find quick links to all the major sales from across the web in both the US and UK. A little further down the page you'll also find our top products from all the sales, handpicked by myself and the rest of the Guitar World editorial team. We'll be regularly updating this page throught Cyber Weekend, so make sure to keep checking back for more deals action.
Black Friday guitar deals: Quick links
Below you'll find links to all the latest Black Friday guitar sales from all corners of the web:
Amazon: Guitar gear deals
Fender Play: 50% off annual
Fender store: 20% off guitars
Guitar Center: Up to 40% off
Guitar Tricks: One-year sub for just $99
IK Multimedia: $200 off AmpliTube
Musician's Friend: Up to 50% off sale
Plugin Boutique: Huge software deals
Positive Grid: Save on Spark
Reverb: Up to 80% off used
Sweetwater: Save on gear
Waves: Plugins just $19.99
Andertons: Save on guitars
Fender Play: 50% off a one-year sub
Gear4Music: Clearance deals
Guitar Tricks: One-year sub for just $99
IK Multimedia: Buy one get one free
Plugin Boutique: Huge software deals
Positive Grid: Save on Spark
PMT: 2nd hand deals
Reverb: Early Black Friday sale
Thomann: 70th Anniversary sale
Waves: 20% off annual plan
Editor's picks
Guitar deals
Amp & pedal deals
Black Friday guitar deals: FAQ
When is Black Friday?
Black Friday 2024 will land on Friday, 29 November. The deals will extend across that weekend (also known as Cyber Weekend) before finishing with a bang on with Cyber Monday guitar deals on 2 December.
The deals won't be restricted to those four days, though. Previous experience tells us that some of the best Black Friday guitar deals will emerge well in advance of the event – so keep checking this page to see what epic deals we uncover.
Should I buy guitar gear online during Black Friday?
If you're concerned about buying a guitar or other gear on Black Friday without playing it first, you needn’t be. Online music instrument retailers like Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend and Sweetwater offer hassle-free returns as standard, so you can purchase a guitar, play it in the comfort and privacy of your home and, if it’s not right, send it back without issue.
You should check the specific returns policy for your chosen retailer before you purchase, but most offer between 30-45 days to return an item, as long as it’s in original condition.
What else can I buy during Black Friday 2024?
It's not just about the Black Friday guitar deals in November. Aside from music-making gear discounts, you'll find bargains on great tech like robot vacuum cleaners, iPads, MacBook Pros and Amazon Echos – and you can even pick up groceries, pet food and dishwasher tablets – but it’s the guitar deals we’ll be looking out for.
Shopping tips for Black Friday
Got your eye on a few things and wondering whether Black Friday is the time to buy? Here's a few tips from our personal experience that will ensure you're ready to strike if the gear you want is up for grabs:
1. Create a wishlist early - The most sensible way to take advantage of this year's Black Friday music deals is to know in advance what you’re looking for. This will make searching much easier, rather than having to trawl through loads of deals you don’t want to find the ones you do, or pondering things you don't need. To help you create your dream shopping list, take the time to explore our expert and up-to-date buying guides and reviews.
2. Work out what you actually need - Check out your favourite brands, see what you need and will genuinely use - don’t waste your cash and fill your basket with stuff that will never truly see any action.
3. Consider your music goals - What do you want to achieve with your music over the next 12 months or so? Do you want to gig more? Learn a new instrument? Or finally, record your songs? Now could be the time to invest in gear that helps you fulfil your musical aspirations.
4. Streamline your current gear - Something else you should consider ahead of time is whether you have enough space in your collection for new gear. Could you offload some gear you don't use to make room and generate funds for some new gear?
5. Sign up to mailing lists - In addition to bookmarking this page, we'd recommend signing up to mailing lists of your favourite retailers now to get the jump on the best deals when they do come around.
How we choose the best Black Friday guitar deals
We spend a large portion of our time reviewing gear, so our fingers are very much on the pulse of what's going on in the world of guitar. Products we've reviewed throughout the year as well as those we use on our own rigs inform our decision on what products we should be highlighting in our deals.
Of course, we have to take into account the price, and that includes whether or not the discount is against the RRP or the regular price of the item in question. Some retailers will try and pull the wool over your eyes with regards to a deal, making it appear as if the discount is much larger than it actually is, and that's where we come in.
We track product prices and deals all throughout the year, so we know whether or not a discount is genuinely good value or just appears to be. We'll only highlight deals that are actually great value for money, and those are what appear here on our Black Friday guitar deals page.
Why you can trust us
At Guitar World, our team is composed of actual guitar players. We play in our own bands, write our own music, record in studios, and gig all over the country. That means that when we present a deal in one of our articles, it will always be on a product we genuinely think is good, something we would use for our music-making.
We spend a lot of our time scouring guitar retailers for fantastic deals on our favorite gear. Not only is it our job to research and recommend the best gear in our buyer’s guides, but we’re also dedicated to helping players get the best deals for the gear they need, too. After all, the only thing better than New Gear Day is a hearty discount.
We cover a lot of the big sales events throughout the year, including Memorial Day, Black Friday, 4th of July sales, and Amazon Prime Day, and we have a good view on which products are likely to receive the biggest discounts and when the prices they’ve been in the past and which deals are genuinely worth a look.
