Guitar World deals of the week: Save $600 on a madcap Fender tube amp, get 36 bits of software for the price of 1, plus a stunning PRS SE for less than a grand

A pair of Positive Grid Spark Neo guitar amp headphones on a red background
(Image credit: Positive Grid)
This week's best sales

  1. Musician's Friend
    9,000+ discounts
  2. Reverb:
    Up to 60% off used
  3. Universal Audio:
    Free guitar plugin

Welcome back to deals of the week! Last week we had a break following the Prime Day guitar deals bonanza, and it seems most retailers are feeling some deals fatigue too, as there are precious few guitar-specific sales going right now. If you're after a big saving don't worry though, I've been diving deep this week to bring you the very best savings from every nook and cranny of the web.

The biggest post-Prime Day sale still going right now is the Musician's Friend Rocktober sale. I've covered it extensively this month, but if you've not come across it yet then the key stats are over 9,000 deals, with discounts of up to 40% off. If you're the type who likes to hunt down deals for yourself, then this is the place to be.

There's an interesting sale over at Reverb at the moment if you want to save even more cash buying used. Twelve highly-rated Reverb sellers have come together to offer some sweet discounts of up to 60% off guitars, pedals, amps, and pro audio gear, making it the perfect place to pick up a bargain. There is one caveat though – the sale ends on October 20th which means you've not got much time to score some mint condition used gear at a super low price.

Software seems to be where it's at for deals right now, as there's also an amazing sale over at IK Multimedia where you can get 36 bits of software for the price of 1. The idea is that when you purchase any qualifying hardware or software, you'll get a bunch of software totally free. The cool part is that more people buy in, the more software gets given away. At the moment there are 28,000 registrations, giving you 36 free software products. If it goes up to 40,000 registrations then everyone will bag 50 free pieces of software, meaning the more people buy in, the more everyone gets.

Universal Audio also has a Rocktober sale on at the moment, with plugins specifically used on classic rock records available with some significant discounts. There's a really cool Capitol Studios reverb plugin that recreates the reverb chamber used by The Beatles, Beach Boys, Green Day, Oasis, and loads more. Or you could grab the awesome UAD Guitar Amp Bundle that features four iconic guitar amps in one. It's a great sale if you like to practice with an audio interface or you want to improve the sound of your recordings.

That's your lot for this week and while it's admittedly a lesser offering than what we've seen over the past few weeks, it won't be long until Black Friday is here. I'm anticipating sales to start hitting at the end of October or early November, and it's definitely worthwhile saving up some cash for the sales. Last year I saw some incredible reductions on top products, and I fully expect this year to be bigger and better.

If you want to stay abreast of the latest sales then you can sign up to The Pick: Deals for the best deals straight into your inbox. Or you can bookmark our Black Friday guitar deals hub, which myself and the Guitar World team will be keeping freshly updated in the run up to, and all throughout Cyber Weekend.

My top deals

PRS SE Special Semi-Hollow
Deal of the Week
Save 20% ($230)
PRS SE Special Semi-Hollow: was $1,149 now $919 at Sweetwater Sound

Why I ❤️ this deal: It's a huge saving on one of our most highly rated guitars of the year

There are loads of PRS guitars on sale at the moment, but one of my top picks is this PRS SE Special Semi-Hollow. It's got a huge $230 reduction at Sweetwater, taking it well below a grand, and it's one of the most versatile guitars I've played this year. This comes courtesy of the lineup of three pickups, with dual humbuckers and a Narrowfield DD “S” pickup in between the two. Add in the ability to coil tap the pickups and you've a ridiculous array of tones to choose from, alongside PRS' trademark build quality.

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Positive Grid Spark Neo
Tried and Tested
Save 20% ($50)
Positive Grid Spark Neo: was $249 now $199 at Sweetwater Sound

Taking the idea of a guitar headphone amp quite literally, the Positive Grid Spark Neo gives you all the myriad tones from the Spark practice amps and puts them inside a set of headphones you can connect wirelessly to your guitar. Here's what our reviewer had to say about it:

"There’s a risk of the wireless convenience coming across like it’s solving a First World problem, and in a way, it is. But once you’ve experienced it, it makes complete sense. If the ability to grab your guitar and quickly start playing without cables sounds good (and trust me, it is), then you’re going to love the Spark Neo."

It's currently got a cool $50 discount at Sweetwater at the moment, giving you an all-in-one practice rig for less than $200. Bargain!

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Xvive U2 Wireless System
Bargain Buy
Save 23% ($35)
Xvive U2 Wireless System: was $154.99 now $119.99 at Musician's Friend

Guitar wireless systems used to be crazy expensive, so this deal on the Xvive U2 Wireless System is a great reminder of just how far we've come in terms of the technology. With a $35 reduction at Musican's Friend, this wireless kit is superb value for money, and the freeing feeling of doing away with cables is a convenience that all guitarists really need to experience.

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Universal Audio Guitar Amp Bundle
Software Savings
Save 50% ($150)
Universal Audio Guitar Amp Bundle: was $299 now $149 at uaudio.com

At half price over at the official UA website, the UAD Guitar Amp Bundle is a stunning deal for players who use an audio interface or like to record their playing. It includes four iconic guitar amps, including a trio of the most recorded amps ever with models on the Fender Deluxe Reverb, Marshall Plexi, and the Vox AC30 included. You also get the Woodrow 55 which is based on a Fender Tweed amp, and if you grab the free Showtime 64 plugin, that's five top-class amp models for less than $150.

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Jackson X Series SL1A DX
Crazy Finish!
Save 22% ($200)
Jackson X Series SL1A DX: was $899.99 now $699.99 at Guitar Center

Depending on your taste in guitars this might be the coolest guitar you've seen all week, or the ugliest. While its looks may prove divisive, there's no debate about how good a deal it is with $200 off at Guitar Center. Featuring a Floyd Rose Special locking tremolo and the cool combo of a Jackson Humbucker for the gritty stuff and a Mini-Rail pickup for your cleaner tones, it's surprisingly versatile too despite the very metal-friendly looks.

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Keeley Halo Andy Timmons Dual Echo
Pedal Deal
Save 15% ($44.85)
Keeley Halo Andy Timmons Dual Echo: was $299 now $254.15 at Musician's Friend

Over at the Musician's Friend Rocktober sale this Keeley Halo Andy Timmons Dual Echo has got a tasty $44.85 reduction. At the time of writing I couldn't see this pedal any cheaper elsewhere, so this is the lowest price you'll find it new at the moment. Based on Timmons' dual Memory Man setup, this pedal gives you a much more usable form factor to recreate his iconic tones, and start creating your own. You can use it as two separate pedals or combine the sounds, making it a super versatile addition to any 'board.

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Fender Jack White Pano Verb
Used Deal
Save 20% ($600)
Fender Jack White Pano Verb: was $2,999 now $2,399 at Reverb

I think we can all agree that the Fender Jack White Pano Verb was one of the crazier releases of the past year or so. It's also particularly pricey if you're looking for an amp that does things a little differently. Over at Reverb you can bag one mint condition with a hefty $600 reduction, but if you take into account the new price of $3,149, you're actually saving a whopping $750. With its combo of 15" and 10" speakers, stereo reverb and tremolo effects, plus those distinctive looks, this is a premium bit of a gear and a proper head turner.

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Guitar sales to shop

Each week I search all the major retailers and manufacturers for the very best sales for guitar players. Here's a list of what's available and where this week.

Upcoming sales

If you're not ready to shop just yet but are looking to save some cash for an upcoming sale, I've got the insider knowledge on which sales are coming up soon. Here's what you should be saving your money for:

  • Black Friday guitar deals 2025 - The biggest sale of the year will be here soon, falling on the last weekend of November. This year, the timing means that lots of people will be getting paid on Black Friday itself, which could make it the biggest one yet. It also means that there won't be many days between Black Friday and Christmas as there has been previously, making it essential to get your orders in early!

Top products

Part of my job is looking after all the buying guides here at Guitar World, which gives me a unique oversight as to which products are hot right now. Every week I look at what's getting the most clicks from our buying guides and list the top five products for you here.

Our clever widget sorts them by price and automatically picks up if there's a discount at a particular retailer, doing a lot of the hard work for me! If you're looking to see what other guitarists are interested in and get the cheapest possible price, then this is the place to start your search.

Why trust me?

Guitar World writer Matt McCracken holding a Telecaster guitar

(Image credit: Future/Matt McCracken)

You may be wondering, why should I trust what this random dude on the internet says? Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Matt McCracken and I've been playing guitar for well over twenty years. In that time I've gigged all over the UK, recorded in professional studios, bought and sold countless guitars, amps, and pedals, spent 5 years working in music retail for Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars, and now I handle all things gear for Guitar World.

I am a guitar player first and foremost, and the reason I do this job is that I genuinely love all things gear. When I'm not working my day job, you'll find me in the rehearsal room with my band, helming the desk at my local studio working with other musicians, or writing new songs and testing gear in my home studio.

The main focus of my job is to test and research gear for our buying guides and reviews here, whether it's demoing the latest pedal release with my band, diving into the technical side of audio interfaces, or putting guitar cables head-to-head in group tests to determine which is the best. It gives me a great overview on what gear is out there right now, and unlike a lot of content you find online, I've actually had my hands on the gear I write about.

I'm also responsible for finding the best possible deals on gear for our readers, covering all the major sales events of the year like Memorial Day, Prime Day, Labor Day, and of course, the Black Friday guitar deals. I track prices of all the most popular gear throughout the year, so I know straight away whether or not a saving is the real deal or a dishonest retailer trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

How I choose deals

To determine whether or not a deal is worthy of inclusion in deals of the week it has to pass a few different hurdles. I'll ask myself the following questions about any deal before I decide whether or not to include it:

- Is the product genuinely good value for money?
- Is the discount amount real or has the RRP been inflated?
- Would guitarists benefit from having this particular piece of gear in their rig?
- If I've not had hands on experience with the gear, do I have a recommendation from a fellow staff member or musician?

I have various tools I can use to check prices if I've not been tracking it, like camelcamelcamel which can track the price of a product on Amazon. Generally because I'm looking at this stuff every week, I already have a good overview of what the product should cost.

Shopping tips

1. 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.

2. Create a wishlist early - The most sensible way to take advantage of any gear 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.

3. 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.

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.

Over to you

Spotted a deal that I missed? Drop me a line in the comments below and if it's still live I'll drop the best ones deal into next week's Deals of the Week.

Matt McCracken
Junior Deals Writer

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. 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 country in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at.

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