1. Quick links
2. Editor's picks
3. FAQ
4. Shopping tips
Black Friday 2024 is approaching at break-neck speed, and I'm gearing up to cover the event in great detail like I always do - and luckily, most of the big retailers have launched their official Black Friday sales already.
Traditionally, this is the best time of year to expand your microphone collection, as all the major music retailers get in on the Black Friday action. So whether you are looking for a cut-price condenser, a cheap-as-chips podcast microphone, or a seriously discounted live mic, you'll find it this Black Friday.
Over at Sweetwater, you can score huge discounts of up to 80% off big-name brands, Musician's Friend has up to 50% off gear in their early holiday sale, while Guitar Center has slashed up to 50% off everything you need to make music.
Picking the right mic can be a tough call, so I've taken the time to walk you through the process, fom handy shopping tips to answering frequently asked questions and even hand-picking a selection of our top microphone deals for you.
Of course, I'll also be looking ahead at this year's Cyber Monday music deals, so be sure to check out our deals hub page to see what I uncover.
Black Friday microphone deals: Quick links
- Amazon: Shop all mic deals
- Guitar Center: Save big on microphones
- Musician's Friend: Up to 50% off
- Plugin Boutique: Software deals
- Sweetwater: Shop all studio deals
- Andertons: Studio bargains
- Gear4Music: Big deals
- Plugin Boutique: Software deals
- PMT: Save £££ on big-name brands
- Thomann: Shop hot mic deals
Black Friday microphone deals: Editor's picks
Black Friday microphone deals: FAQ
When is Black Friday
For 2024, the Black Friday microphone deals will officially arrive on Friday, November 29 - the day after Thanksgiving and less than a month before Christmas. As usual, the deals will extend across that weekend (also known as Cyber Weekend) before the Cyber Monday music deals finish the event with a bang on Monday 2 December.
Now, we've covered Black Friday for long enough to know that many of the best Black Friday microphone deals will emerge in the weeks leading up to the big day, some as early as mid-October - and better yet, many deals stick around well after the event and into December.
If you're using Black Friday to save money on Christmas gifts, our guide to the best Christmas gifts for musicians is great for inspiration.
What Black Friday microphones deals should I expect?
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the big music retailers throughout October and November, scouring the internet for the very best Black Friday microphone deals we can find.
Based on last year's evidence, the Thomann Black Friday sale, Guitar Center Black Friday sale, Sweetwater Black Friday sale, and Musician's Friend Black Friday sale are the places to go if you are looking for a tasty deal on a new microphone. Every year we see stellar discounts applied to all categories of mics, from studio stables to stage-ready workhorses and even podcast mics.
The Amazon and Walmart Black Friday sales will be massive as always, too. Here you'll be able to pick up everything from cheap wireless headphones and Amazon Echo devices, to top music gear – we’ll be bringing you the best deals we can find across these events.
We've been covering the Black Friday music deals for years now, so you can rest assured our teams will be hunting down the best offers before anyone else and sharing them with you first.
Black Friday microphone deals: Shopping tips
1. Create a wishlist early - If you really want to win big when the Black Friday microphone deals start flowing, our biggest tip would be to get your research done early. That way you know exactly what you're looking for once it's time to strike.
The good news is that we can help you with that...
To help you create your dream shopping list, take the time to explore our expert and up-to-date buying guides and reviews. These will arm you with everything you need to know about buying the best audio interface, acoustic guitar strings, guitar tuners and so much more.
2. Work out what you actually need - Check out your favourite brands, and see what you need and will genuinely use - don’t waste your cash and fill your basket with stuff you'll never use. Has a popular model just received an update? Well, if so, perhaps the old version will be massively discounted for Black Friday?
3. Consider your guitar goals - What do you want to achieve with your singing or recording goals for the next 12 months or so? Is there gear out there that will help you hit them? Are you looking to join a band? Now could be the time to invest in a giggable microphone.
4. Clear some space - Something else you should consider ahead of time is whether you have enough space in your studio. Now might be the best time to get rid of any unnecessary gear that is taking up space - and better yet, if you sell it, you could put that extra money towards your Black Friday purchase.
How we choose deals
Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music-making, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products we recommend.
First and foremost, we are players and creators, and we want to match like-minded folk with the right products for them, at the best prices.
For us to recommend a deal on guitars or anything else it has to be a product we rate that’s a genuinely great price or part of a truly fantastic bundle. It’s also important that we only recommend retailers where you will have a positive shopping experience.
Why you can trust our choices
We spend a lot of our time scouring music retailers for fantastic deals on our favourite guitars, amps, pedals and accessories. Not only is it our job to research and recommend the best gear in our buyer’s guides and reviews, but we’re also dedicated to helping musicians get the best deals on the stuff 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, 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.
