If you're a regular Guitar World reader you'll likely be well aware of all the Black Friday guitar deals that have been flying around this week. There's a huge amount to sift through, so with a week to go til Black Friday officially arrives, here are the biggest and best savings you can get your hands on right now.
At Sweetwater we spotted a massive 25% off all JHS Pedals, making it a brilliant choice to beef up your pedalboard for less. It includes classic pedals like the Morning Glory V4 and JHS PackRat, as well as newer offerings like Lari Basilio's signature Violet Distortion/Overdrive and their new Flight Delay pedal.
Guitar Center has loads of great deals too, and up to $280 off Fender Player Series guitars is undoubtedly one of the best going. The lineup consists of mainly Stratocasters, but there is a rather fetching Saturday Night Special Telecaster included in the sale too.
If you prefer to shop at Musician's Friend, they've got up to 50% off a range of Electro-Harmonix pedals which is an awesome deal. It includes legendary pedals like the Big Muff and Soul Food, and the awesome Stereo Pulsar is the headline discount with a 50% reduction.
Many manufacturers have been getting in on the action this week too, and Fender is still running a variety of sales with up to $200 off their guitars. If you're in the market for a new smart amp then you'll want to check out the Positive Grid Black Friday sale, where you can bag a discount of up to 50% off.
Finally, if you're buying something for yourself then it's definitely worth checking out the Reverb early Black Friday sale. With second-hand gear going at up to 80% off, it's a great way to save some cash by buying used, and there's a huge selection of gear on offer including some brand-new items.
As usual, we've picked out some of our favorite deals for you in our editor's pick section if you need a recommendation on some brilliant budget gear. Next week is the big event itself, so make sure to stay tuned for all the best deals action.
Editor's picks
Guitar sales to shop
How we choose our deals of the week
Here at Guitar World, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything guitar related, 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 guitarists, and we want to match other players with the right products for them, at the best prices.
For us to recommend a deal 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 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.
Where are the best places to shop?
Online shopping is definitely a lot easier and more secure than it used to be, and we like to recommend a small handful of online retailers who have a sterling reputation and offer fantastic benefits like fuss-free returns, great customer service and, in some cases, full checks and setup of guitars before they are dispatched. So, all the deals we’ll recommend on this page are from retailers that tick these boxes.
What sort of deals should I look for?
Great deals come in all shapes and sizes. There are a few key types to look out for:
- Single item - A single product with a great discount
- Site-wide discounts - A single discount percentage on a large range of products across a site
- Discount codes - Load your basket to a certain value and redeem a discount code for money off your basket contents
- Added value deals - These include multi-buy discounts, or additional products or software for free when you buy certain items
