Guitar World deals of the week: save $600 on a Music Man, get $10 guitar lessons, plus all the best early 4th of July sales

It's time for your weekly dose of deals action, and with it being a payday weekend, plus the upcoming 4th of July sales, it's the perfect time to dive in on some fresh gear. With July 4th still a week away, I was surprised to see so many sales launching early this week but I'm not complaining. There are loads of savings to dive into, so let's get to it!

The biggest discounts I've seen on new gear this week are over at Musician's Friend, where you can get your hands on up to 60% off a massive array of music gear. I've spotted discounts of $850 off Music Man, $450 off D'Angelico, and $150 off Epiphone. There are loads of savings on electric guitars, so head there if you're after a new axe.

At Guitar Center, you can bag up to 45% off for their 4th of July sale. Again, there's a big emphasis on electric guitars, with big reductions on PRS, Music Man, Epiphone, and plenty more. I also spied big savings on Universal Audio pedals and a nice saving on a Fender tube amp.

If you're looking to save money by buying used, then you should head over to the 'Independents' Day sale on Reverb, where you can save up to 66% on gear, used and new. It's celebrating Reverb becoming independently owned again, and there's a huge selection of discounts available, including guitars, pedals, amps, recording gear, and loads more.

There's still no 4th of July sale at Sweetwater at the time of writing, but they do have an awesome software sale that's offering savings of up to 60% off. It includes EZ Drummer 3 and Superior Drummer 3, which are great for adding realistic drum sounds to your solo guitar recordings.

That's your lot for this week, but I'm fully expecting next week to be a bumper edition as more manufacturers and retailers launch their 4th of July sales. If that's not enough for you, then the week subsequent sees the launch of the Prime Day guitar deals, so you can expect a bumper couple of weeks of deals action.

Editor's picks

PRS SE Custom 24: was $849 now $679 at Guitar Center

The PRS SE Custom 24 is one of our favorite guitars here at Guitar World. For me, it hits that sweet spot of affordability, playability, and great sound, making it a proper gigging workhorse that will sound just as good in the studio as it does on stage. It's got single coil sounds available alongside the humbuckers, and the build quality is amongst the best I've ever seen. With a $170 discount at Guitar Center, this is a must-have if you need a pro-grade guitar that doesn't cost the earth.

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Musora Guitar Lessons: was $127 now $10 at musora.com

If you're looking to improve your guitar playing, this is an awesome deal. Geared towards beginners, these lessons from Musora usually cost $127, but they're down to just $10 for a limited time. Whether you're just getting started playing or you need a refresher, at this price, it's an unbelievable deal. There are also lessons for bass, drums, and piano if you or someone you know is looking to improve their skills.

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Electro-Harmonix Soul POG: was $324.80 now $129.90 at Sweetwater Sound

The EHX Soul POG is criminally underrated in my opinion. I've had one on my 'board for years now, sitting near the front of my chain to give me a tone boost through the Soul Food and, of course, that delicious octave guitar tone courtesy of the POG. It's super flexible as you can swap the order of the pedals, or use the send and return jacks to insert effects in between the two. With a ginormous $194.90 discount, it's cheaper than just buying a Nano POG by itself, so you're essentially getting the Soul Food for free. Bargain!

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Balaguer DDG Exclusive Select Series Growler: was $1,999 now $1,599.20 at Reverb

I was lucky enough to play some Balaguer guitars at a recent guitar expo, and I was absolutely blown away by how good they are. This Growler is exclusive to Drop Dee Guitars on Reverb and has a massive $399.80 reduction despite being brand new. It plays amazingly, looks incredible, and I found the Growler body shape to be super comfortable.

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Ernie Ball Music Man St Vincent Goldie: was $3,099 now $2,499 at Musician's Friend

The Ernie Ball Music Man St Vincent Goldie is a weird-looking instrument, but I found it surprisingly comfortable when I played one. Despite it looking more like a quirky indie guitar, you can absolutely shred on this thing, and I thought the neck profile was super comfortable. It's got a colossal $600 reduction over at Musician's Friend, so if you're in the market for some premium and a little less usual, go check it out.

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Guitar sales to shop

• Amazon: Money off accessories
• Fender Play: 50% off annual
• Fender store: Up to 20% off
• Gear4Music: Clearance deals
• Guitar Center: Save up to 35%
• Guitar Tricks: 1 month just $1
• IK Multimedia: $200 off Tonex Max
• Musician's Friend: Up to 40% off
• Plugin Boutique: Money off plugins
• Positive Grid: Save on Spark
• Reverb: Second-hand savings
• Sweetwater: Epic pedal deals
• Thomann: Last-minute deals
• TrueFire: Save 60% on lessons
• Waves: Buy two, get one free

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