1. Quick links
2. Editor's pick
3. FAQ
4. How to prepare
5. How we choose
6. Why you can trust us
7. Last year's best deals
You may think Black Friday is done and dusted, but the majority of the Black Friday sales are still active - and thankfully that includes Sweetwater's mega sale. That's right, Sweetwater's Black Friday Sale is still live and you can score up to 75% off a wide range of guitar gear from the biggest names in the business.
While Sweetwater runs offers throughout most of the year, their Black Friday sale is one of the biggest of the year by far and is definitely a place we'd recommend you head if you're looking for some killer Black Friday guitar deals. So, whether you're after a new clip-on guitar tuner or you're ready to splash out on a new combo amp, this is the place to look.
Don’t worry about having to trawl through every last page of the official sale either, as we'll be rounding up the latest and best offers right here. You'll find some of the best electric guitars for a range of budgets, plus the best acoustic guitars for beginners and so much more. Whether you're new to the guitar or you've been playing for ages and want to upgrade your rig for playing live, recording and beyond, now is the time to grab a bargain.
Once their Black Friday sale ends tomorrow, we'll have our eyes peeled on what they do for the Sweetwater Cyber Monday sale.
Sweetwater Black Friday deals: Quick links
Shop the current Sweetwater sale by category:
- Guitar deals: Save big on electrics and acoustics.
- Amps and effects: Big money off amps and pedals
- Recording deals: Rig up your studio with cut-price interfaces and monitors
- Live sound deals: Save big on a PA for your band or busking rig
- Software deals: Score money off plugins and DAWs
Sweetwater Black Friday deals: Editor's picks
Sweetwater Black Friday deals: FAQ
When is Black Friday?
The 2023 Sweetwater Black Friday deals will land on Friday November 24, followed three days later by the Sweetwater Cyber Monday deals on Monday 2 November.
There are two origins of the term Black Friday: one relates to a huge stock market crash, and the other refers to the day after Thanksgiving in America, and that’s the one we’re referring to here.
Sweetwater's Black Friday sale always presents rich pickings for guitarists, as potentially thousands of products will be discounted. Black Friday is also a win-win for retailers and shoppers, as retailers get to shift a lot of products in a short space of time, and you get Christmas gifts and the gear you need at a discounted price. Some of the Sweetwater Black Friday deals will have huge discounts, while others will offer more modest savings.
Amazon, of course, is a major player in both the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, and while it’s a place to stock up on cheap headphones and smart speakers, for musical instruments we recommend heading to dedicated retailer sales, such as the Sweetwater Black Friday sale.
What deals should I expect?
We’ve been covering the Sweetwater Black Friday sale for many years now, so we know from past experience that this is one musical retailer you can rely on for really good discounts. Sweetwater has a clear, no-fuss returns policy too, which should help you feel more confident when it comes to buying gear online, whether you’re after the best budget guitar amps or the best pedalboard to get your effects in order.
Based on what we have seen from previous Sweetwater Black Friday deals, there will be savings on acoustics and electrics, plus amps, strings and a range of guitar pedals like looper pedals and distortion pedals. There may well be discounts on the basics too, such as guitar cables and various guitar straps. Recording software and microphones are a more recent addition to the Sweetwater Black Friday offering, so if you're looking to lay down some tracks in the coming months, November is a good time to shop.
Rest assured that we’ll be rounding up the biggest discounts here, as well as the Sweetwater Black Friday sale offers that, while not monstrously huge, are still worth buying because of the immense quality of the product involved.
We’ll be updating this article with all the early Sweetwater Black Friday deals, but we fully expect the majority of offers to land on Friday 25 November.
How do I find the best Sweetwater Black Friday deals?
As we’ll be doing all the legwork of trawling the Sweetwater Black Friday sales during the event itself, all you need to do is bookmark this page and take a look at the killer deals we’re curating for you.
We can spot a worthy deal a mile-off, and know which ones aren’t worth snapping up, so if you haven’t shopped a Black Friday sale before, stick with us and we’ll make it easy. After all, some of these Sweetwater Black Friday deals will be time-limited, and the last thing we want is for you to panic, buy something because it’s a good price, then you figure out later that it isn’t right for you. That’s a waste of your time, right?
For an easier life, keep your eyes peeled on this page, and read our advice below on how to prepare yourself for a big event like the Sweetwater Black Friday sale so that you’re getting what you want and need with ease.
Sweetwater Black Friday deals: How to prepare
Got your eye on a few things and wondering whether Black Friday is the time to buy? Here's a few tips from our personal experience that will ensure you're ready to strike if the gear you want is up for grabs:
1. Create a wishlist early - The most sensible way to take advantage of this year's Black Friday music 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
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.
Sweetwater Black Friday deals: How we choose deals
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.
Sweetwater Black Friday deals: 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.
Sweetwater Black Friday deals: Last year's best deals
Last year's Sweetwater Black Friday sale was pretty much unrivaled for awesome offers and big discounts (of up to 70%, no less) off big brands.
Some of our favorite deals included $130 off the stellar Surf Green Blackstar Studio 10 6L6 amp, while the awesome Harmony Juno Flame Maple had $150 slashed off the price!
For effects fans, there were big percentage savings to be had on pedals from JHS, Earthquaker Devices, and Keeley as well as essential accessories such as strings, straps, cases and stands.
Here are a few more of those highlights:
More great Black Friday deals to explore
You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
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