Forget Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event, these 6 sales are where it’s at for guitar players today

By Chris Barnes
published

Black Friday-esque savings from Fender, Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend and more leave Amazon’s sale in the dust

Fender Vintera Strat on a pink gradient background
(Image credit: Fender)

Another day, another Amazon sales event. This time it’s their Prime Big Deal Days, which takes place over two days and is affectionately known as ‘Prime Day 2’ around the Guitar World office. While the rest of the world is going crazy over discounted air fryers, the only thing we care about is good deals on guitar gear. But honestly, Amazon has mostly failed us guitarists in that department (although we have spotted a couple of decent Positive Grid and Boss deals). If you’re looking for a bargain right now, the best places to shop right now are nowhere near Amazon.

So, while it’s not worth spending much time on Amazon, there are plenty of places that are currently running epic sales, including Guitar Center, Sweetwater, Musician’s Friend, Fender and IK Multimedia. We’ve rounded up the best ones below.

As we get closer to this year’s Black Friday guitar deals, you’re going to start seeing more and more discounts on the gear you love, whether that's a shred-worthy electric guitar, a classy new acoustic guitar, or a thunderous bass. We cover sales events like this year-round and we know great deals from mediocre ones.

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Guitar Center Guitar-A-Thon: Up to 35% off
Guitar Center's Guitar-A-Thon is up and running until October 11, giving you a couple of days to bag some bargain gear. With up to 35% off a huge range of guitars, amps, and effects, it's a top choice for finding a great deal this week.

Deal highlights
Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro V: $2,499, now $1,799
Epiphone Hummingbird Performer: $479, now $360
Fender Player Stratocaster: $1,049.99, now $799.99

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Fender Vintera sale: Save up to $280
Since the release of the new Vintera II series, we’ve been waiting for the OG Vinteras to drop in price, and that day has finally come. You can make hundreds of dollars in savings on some killer models. Including these headline acts:

Deal highlights:
Fender Vintera 50s Strat: $1,099.99, now $879.99
Fender Vintera 70s Telecaster Custom: Save $230
Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar Modified HH: Save $280

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Musician’s Friend: 40th anniversary up to 40% sale
Musician’s Friend is celebrating its 40th birthday in style this year and spreading the birthday love to its customers. You can save up to 40% off a wide range of guitar gear – from acoustics and electrics to amps and effects – through October 29.

Deal highlights:
Fender Player Telecaster Plus Top: $879.99, now $719.99
Gretsch G2657T Streamliner Center Block Jr: $Save $150
Fender Blues Junior IV: Save 10% with an account

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Sweetwater Recording Month: Save on studio gear
From plugins to mics and audio interfaces, Sweetwater has earmarked September as the month they help budding producers gear up their home studios for less. With products up for grabs from Lewitt, Universal Audio, Focusrite and more, you should be able to kickstart or enhance your recording setup all while making decent savings. The sale runs through October 31.

Deal highlights:
Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 (3rd Gen): $259.99, now $219.99
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X BT2 headphones: Save $40
IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5 Max: $299.99, now $99.99

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Marshall: Save $30 on Major IV headphones

Marshall: Save $30 on Major IV headphones
In addition to their hard rocking guitar amps, Marshall has become almost as well known for their range of rock-ready speakers and headphones. Right now, you can save a sweet $30 off their popular Major IV wireless headphones, which boast 80+ hours of runtime per charge. They’re super cool and look like you have a couple of mini amps strapped to your ears. 

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IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5 SE: $149.99

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5 SE: $149.99, now $59.99
If you’re looking to start recording but feel you’re lacking in sounds, virtual gear is usually the way to go, giving you countless amps and effects at your fingertips, minus the outlay of loads of physical gear. We loved the full fat version of AmpliTube 5 when we reviewed it – awarding it 5 stars – but this stripped back Special Edition is a great place to start if your budget won’t stretch. 

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In the UK

Amazon is running it's Prime Big Deal Days sale there too, but once again the music gear offering is pretty poor. Here's where you should shop instead:

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Chris Barnes
Chris Barnes

I'm Guitar World's eCommerce Editor. It's my job to manage buyer's guides on the site and help guitarists find the right gear and the best prices. I'm a guitarist and a drummer and I've worked in the music gear industry for 18 years, including 7 years as Editor of the UK's best-selling drum magazine Rhythm, and 5 years as a freelance writer working with brands including Roland, Boss, MusicRadar and Natal.