Welcome back to another edition of Deals of the Week! With spring sales popping up all over the place, we've rounded up some super savings for you. Keep reading for big money off amps and guitars, plus some excellent buy-some-get-some-free deals on gear.
There are still two massive spring sales going on at the moment, with huge reductions of up to 35% off gear at Musician's Friend, plus similarly impressive savings of up to 30% off at Guitar Center. With payday looming and the GC sale set to finish on May 1st, it's the perfect time to bag that bargain you've been keeping your eye on.
In the first of our buy x get x offers, over at the official Fender shop you can save some money on Hammertone effects pedals for a limited time. Just buy two of these affordable stompboxes and you'll get one completely free. If you'd like to learn more about them before you buy, check out our Fender Hammertone review where we praised them for their great sound, excellent build quality, and top mount jacks!
In a similar style deal, Native Instruments is offering three of their awesome Play Series Kontakt instruments for just $59. Considering they usually retail around $50 each that's a stonking deal. The selection of instruments is geared more towards producers, but there are some guitarist-friendly options to beef up your recordings, like Butch Vig Drums for hard-hitting percussion, or Modular Icons that will add layers of synths to add dimension to your tracks.
Finally, you can still save big money over at Positive Grid, where their International Guitar Month is still in full swing. There are some awesome individual deals - one of which you can see in our editor's pick section - and with free shipping on absolutely everything, it's a great chance to bag a bargain before the end of the month.
We're expecting many of the spring sales to finish come the end of the month, so it's definitely time to act if you've been waiting. Typically there's a gap between now and the summer sales where things are thin on the ground, so you may have to wait a bit longer for that discount if you miss out this time!
As always we've picked out some of our favorite individual deals for you below, including amps, guitars, pedals, and some awesome software – all with big money off. Catch you next week for more bargain hunting!
Editor's picks
Marshall JCM800: Was $3,549.99, now $2,199
One of the most iconic amps of all time, the JCM800 delivers a powerful, crunchy tone that has featured on countless rock and metal records. It's got a humongous $1,350.99 discount over at Sweetwater at the moment. It's a no-nonsense, single-channel, fire-breathing tube amp that every guitarist should try at some point in their lives.
Guild Surfliner HH: Was $499, now $269
Typically retailing at $499, this Guild Surfliner HH has got a massive discount at Guild's Official Reverb Store, taking the price down to just $269. That's 46% off which is huge money! It's lightweight with a resonant body and provides some super tones via the bridge humbucker. If you want to find out more check out our Guild Surfliner review where we gave it four stars out of five.
Eventide Blackhole: Was $249, now $199
If you like you reverbs on the cosmic end of the spectrum, then the Eventide Blackhole will be the perfect addition to your pedalboard. It's got a nice $50 discount in the Musician's Friend Spring Sale at the moment. It ain't subtle, but if you want to liven up slow, spacious melodies it'll hit the spot.
BIAS FX 2 Elite: Get Riff interface free
As well as having a hefty $120 discount off the regular price, your copy of BIAS FX 2 Elite will come with a completely free Riff audio interface when you use the code FREEGIFT during checkout. Use thousands of presets or create your own unique amp tone from scratch, with the newly updated DSP engine you'll find loads of authentic sounding guitar amps, all easily accessible from your computer.
Fender Saturday Night Special Strat: $1,099 $999.99
With an HSS set of Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Special pickups and a Guitar Center-exclusive Daytona Blue finish, this Limited Edition Player Strat has a cheeky $100 discount over at Guitar Center. Versatile and playable, we're big fans of the Player Series here at Guitar World, and this one looks as good as it sounds. You can also get a Telecaster or P-Bass if you prefer.
Gamechanger Audio Light: Was $379, now $303.20
Kings of making forward-thinking and weird-looking guitar pedals, Gamechanger Audio's Light is a unique take on that most difficult to replicate of reverbs, the hallowed spring. Classic spring reverbs were created by physical units, making them difficult to capture in a digital pedal. Light covers all the classic tones with actual springs, but can also make some seriously out-there sounds. With a nice $75.80 discount at Guitar Center, its great value for money too.
Soundtoys EchoBoy: Was $199, now $69
Utilized on more records than we've got time to name here, Soundtoys EchoBoy is one of the most popular delay plugins for producers. Super versatile with loads of tempo and tap syncing options, it's got a hefty $130 discount over at Plugin Boutique in their Spring Sale. Perfect for adding a touch of vibe or completely transforming sounds, this is one that should be in any recording guitarist's toolbox.
Guitar sales to shop
- Amazon: Today's top guitar deals
- Andertons: Huge Spring Sale
- Fender Shop: 3 for 2 on Hammertone
- Gear 4 Music: Huge clearance deals
- Guitar Center: Up to 30% off guitars
- IK Multimedia: Save on iRig and AXE I/O
- Musician's Friend: Up to 35% off sale
- Plugin Boutique: Save big on plugins
- PMT: Up to 40% off Flash Sale
- Positive Grid: Smart amp sale
- Reverb: Save big on top brands
- Sweetwater: Save on keyboards
- Thomann: Hot deals on guitar gear
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
November has arrived and with it a flurry of early Black Friday deals have landed in our inboxes. We were expecting an influx but this year has already surpassed the expectations of the writing team here at Guitar World, with pretty much every retailer and many manufacturers either going all-in on their Black Friday sale or tempting us with some sweet early savings.
First up, Sweetwater's early Black Friday sale has landed offering massive savings of up to 70% off gear. Big hitters like Mesa/Boogie, Taylor Guitars, and Universal Audio all feature
