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 punks Never Better.
Latest articles by Matt McCracken

By Matt McCracken Published
It may be divisive, but once you play a Strandberg it'll change the way you feel about headless guitars

By Matt McCracken Published
From the classic 1176 compressor to the Showtime 64 guitar plugin, UA's free plugin giveaway has something for everyone

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

By Matt McCracken Published
With so many savings on audio interfaces for Black Friday, it's the perfect time to upgrade your studio setup

By Matt McCracken Published
The Fender Black Friday sale just launched – here's 7 of the best deals for you

By Matt McCracken Published
The Black Friday guitar deals have officially started with the launch of a gigantic sale over at Sweetwater

By Matt McCracken Published
Thomann just jumped the gun on Black Friday with its early Cyber sale - and with up to 69% off guitar gear, there’s really no need to wait

By Matt McCracken Published
It might be built for beginners, but the G200SE’s quality and playability show that budget guitars are getting seriously good

By Matt McCracken Published
No need to wait for the main event when the early Black Friday deals have already arrived

By Matt McCracken Last updated
Treat them right this Christmas with our pick of the 46 must-have guitar items, essential accessories, clever gadgets and instruments for every budget

By Daryl Robertson Last updated
Show your bass-playing buddy, parent, or partner some love this Christmas with 15 brilliant gift ideas for bass players

By Matt McCracken Published
PG's follow-up to its first wireless amp-headphone solution for guitar gives players a massive price cut, but it doesn't get everything right

By Chris Schwarten Last updated
Our pick of the finest fasteners from Schaller, Loxx, Jim Dunlop and more

By Matt McCracken Published
Kernom delivers a detailed sweep through the many faces of fuzz

By Matt McCracken Published
Don't worry if you missed out on the October Prime day sales, these are all the best deals that are still live right now

By Matt McCracken Last updated
Forget big-ticket items, in my opinion it's all about the essentials in the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale

By Matt McCracken Published
With a bunch of our favorite PRS' on sale every but Amazon, it's the perfect time to pick up a guitar that punches well above its weight

By Matt McCracken Published
The BeatBuddy is back with a host of new features that might have you wondering whether it’s finally time to sack your drummer

By Matt McCracken Published
This plugin sale at Universal Audio is a great way to get ahead of the Prime Day plugin deals

By Matt McCracken Last updated
Pick up an essential piece of gear without dropping big bucks - our list of the best budget reverb pedals

By Matt McCracken Published
Blackstar’s smallest interface brings slick video integration that makes phone-based recording effortless – and that includes Android users at last

By Matt McCracken Published
I've been digging through the Thomann Guitar Days sale and these are the biggest savings on the best gear

By Matt McCracken Published
Gretsch revives a 1960s cult-classic, delivering sharp looks and aggressive tones at a price that’s accessible for all
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