
Matt McCracken
Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at Guitar World. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on guitars, amps, pedals, modelers, and pretty much anything else guitar-related. Responsible for over 60 buying guides, a large part of his role is helping guitarists find the best deals on gear. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars and has written for various music sites including MusicRadar, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog.
A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and writing and recording in bands, he's performed everything from jazz to djent, gigging all over the UK in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at. When he's not holed up in his home studio recording new songs or tweaking pedal settings, you’ll find him making a racket with Northern noise hounds JACKALS.
Latest articles by Matt McCracken

Sweetwater Cyber Monday deals 2025: bag up to 50% off guitar gear
By Chris Barnes last updated
Cyber Monday is over, but Sweetwater just launched a fresh sale for Cyber Week

Cyber Monday Fender deals 2025: Last chance to save on a Fender
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Cyber Monday is over, but you can save on iconic Fender gear

Musician's Friend Cyber Monday deals 2025: You can still score up to 65% off music gear - but be quick!
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Our pick of the epic deals you need to check out in the Musician's Friend Cyber Monday sale

Guitar Center Cyber Monday deals 2025: there's not much time left to save up to 40%
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Cyber Monday is over but there's still a last chance to save – here's how to secure today's best guitar gear discounts while you still can

Cyber Monday guitar deals 2025: all the biggest savings that are still live at Sweetwater, Guitar Center, and more
By Chris Barnes last updated
Find out where and how to still grab the biggest savings on guitar gear this Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday guitar deals 2025 LIVE: all of today's biggest savings at Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Fender, Amazon and more
By Michael Astley-Brown last updated
I'm rounding up all the hottest guitar, amp, pedal and accessory deals in the Cyber Monday sales. Stick with me for all of the biggest news, savings, tips and tricks for getting more for less

I rigorously tested 14 patch cables in 2025, and five of my top six are heavily discounted this Cyber Monday – fix your pedalboard for as little as $2.49 a cable
By Matt McCracken published
Cyber Monday might be your last chance to pick up patch cables this cheap

Black Friday guitar deals 2025 LIVE: all the biggest savings at Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Fender, Amazon and more that are still live
By Michael Astley-Brown last updated
I'm rounding up all the hottest, still-live guitar, amp, pedal and accessory deals in the Black Friday sales. Stick with me for all of the biggest news, deals, tips and tricks for saving money

Sweetwater Black Friday deals 2025: the big sale has officially started – with up to 80% off guitar gear
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Cyber Weekend is nearly over, so it's your last chance to save big on gear at Sweetwater

Musician's Friend Black Friday deals 2025: Last chance to score massive discounts of up to 60% off guitar gear
By Chris Barnes last updated
Day three of the Black Friday sale is here. Save big on guitar gear and more for a limited time

Guitar Center Black Friday deals 2025: The official Black Friday Sale is here!
By Chris Barnes last updated
Guitar Center has gone early with its Black Friday sale, which sees up to 40% off from now until December 3rd

Black Friday Fender deals 2025: last chance to save big on Fender and Squier guitars
By Daryl Robertson last updated
This Cyber Weekend, we're seeing some fantastic Fender deals crop up across the web, including discounted Player II guitars

Black Friday guitar deals 2025: Don't miss out on the greatest savings for guitar players
By Daryl Robertson last updated
Here are the best savings still live this Black Friday, from Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Positive Grid, and more

Bassists, this one's for you – 9 great Black Friday bass guitar deals with up to $250 off Fender, Yamaha, Darkglass, Line 6 and more
By Michael Astley-Brown published
These 9 amazing bass savings prove it’s not just the Black Friday prices that are low

Thomann just boosted their Cyber Week sale with a deluge of fresh deals on guitars, pedals, and more – save up to 70% on gear while stock lasts
By Matt McCracken last updated
With loads of new deals added you can now grab even more savings on guitar gear in the Thomann Cyber Week sale

I think the guitar deal of the year just landed with a staggering $300 off this 5-star rated Strandberg Boden Essential at Sweetwater
By Matt McCracken published
It may be divisive, but once you play a Strandberg it'll change the way you feel about headless guitars

Universal Audio is giving away a free plugin for Black Friday but hurry, you've only got a few days to get yours – choose one of ten different plugins
By Matt McCracken published
From the classic 1176 compressor to the Showtime 64 guitar plugin, UA's free plugin giveaway has something for everyone

I've not found any Neural DSP Black Friday savings yet, but I did just uncover a way to get a free plugin of your choice when you buy a Nano Cortex
By Matt McCracken published
If you're holding out for a Neural DSP savings this Black Friday, you might be disappointed, but you can bag a free plugin right now

These 5 audio interfaces came out on top in my testing gauntlet, and now they're all on sale with a hefty Black Friday discount – including $200 off a UA Apollo
By Matt McCracken published
With so many savings on audio interfaces for Black Friday, it's the perfect time to upgrade your studio setup

Guitar World deals of the week: save $1,240 on a Gretsch hollow body, get a Player II Strat for its lowest price ever, plus the lowdown on all the best Black Friday deals
By Matt McCracken last updated
Your weekly digest of the best Black Friday gear deals from all corners of the web, hand-picked by Guitar World's experts

Best headphone amps for guitar 2025: silent practice solutions
By Matt McCracken last updated
You don’t need to sacrifice tone to practice quietly with my expert pick of the best headphone amps for guitar players

Best pedalboard power supplies 2025: juice your ‘board with my pick of pro-grade power, fully tested
By James Grimshaw last updated
I put budget-spanning pedal power supplies from Fender, Cioks, Walrus Audio and more through their paces – these were the standouts

Best looper pedals 2025: options for practice, songwriting, and live performance – tried and tested by an expert
By Matt McCracken last updated
Whether you're writing songs or woodshedding solos, using a loop pedal will make you a better guitarist – these are the best looper pedals from Boss, TC Electronic, Line 6 and more

What's the best guitar cable in 2025? These are the tried & tested options I'd recommend to any player
By Matt McCracken last updated
There's a lot of snake oil when it comes to the top guitar cables – I'm a professional guitar gear reviewer and I've tested 11 of the best to help you find your perfect match

The lowest price I've ever seen on a Fender Player II Strat just dropped over at the official Fender Black Friday sale – save up to 30% on a huge range of guitars, accessories, and merch
By Matt McCracken published
The Fender Black Friday sale just launched – here's 7 of the best deals for you
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