1. Quick links
2. Editor's picks
3. FAQs
4. Shopping tips
Black Friday is still a few weeks away, but you don't have to wait until the big day to score huge savings on top guitar gear. Many major retailers and top brands are already rolling out early Black Friday deals, giving guitarists a head start on holiday shopping before stock sells out.
Sweetwater has already kicked off early savings with discounts on a bunch of gear. We expect even more price drops as Black Friday approaches, but these early offers are definitely worth checking out now.
Guitar Center is launching early holiday savings with healthy discounts on effects pedals, accessories, and amplifiers. Look out for even bigger savings on major guitar brands like Fender, Gibson, Squier, and Epiphone as we get closer to the main event.
We'll be updating this hub continuously as new offers go live. Be sure to bookmark our Black Friday guitar deals hub to stay on top of the best savings throughout the entire shopping season.
Below, check out all the top early deals you can grab right now.
- If you want the best Black Friday guitar deals delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for The Pick: Deals here.
⚡ Black Friday guitar deals: Quick links
- 🇺🇸 US deals
- B&H Photo: Score discounts on pro audio
- IK Multimedia: Amplitube 5 only $29.99!
- Musician's Friend: Up to 50% off sale
- Plugin Boutique: 100s of software savings
- Reverb: Shop used gear
- TrueFire: All-access annual sub only $79
- Waves: Huge plugin bundle deals
- 🇬🇧 UK deals
- Gear4Music: Guitar clearance deals
- Guitar Tricks: $99 annual sub
- IK Multimedia: Shop guitar plugin deals
- Plugin Boutique: 100s of software savings
- Positive Grid: Spark bundle savings
- Reverb: 20% off BF deals
- Waves: Huge plugin bundle deals
🥇 Editors' picks
❓ Black Friday guitar deals: FAQ
What day is Black Friday 2026?
Black Friday 2026 will land on Friday, November 27. The deals will run through that weekend (also known as Cyber Weekend) and wrap up with Cyber Monday guitar deals on Monday, November 30.
In my experience, these deals won't be restricted to just that four-day period, though. In the past, some of the best Black Friday guitar deals have emerged well in advance of the event – as early as late October, so keep checking this page to see what epic deals I uncover. Many deals will hang about until well into December too.
What stores have Black Friday sales?
All the major musical instrument retailers go large when it comes to Black Friday guitar deals, cutting prices on a wealth of products - in the past I've seen huge discounts from Sweetwater, Guitar Center, and Musician's Friend, amongst others.
Not only is Black Friday a great time to get your hands on accessories and more beginner-focused gear, but there's certainly big money to be saved on premium brands like Gibson, Fender, and PRS, too.
The Amazon and Walmart Black Friday sales will be huge, too. Not only do both of these retail giants sell a fair range of music-making gear, but these are also the places to pick up things like wireless headphones, Amazon Echo devices, and other smart tech for your home, as well as vinyl, record players, and more.
When it comes to the deals themselves, things get a little harder to predict. Deals can land at any time – sometimes even in the middle of the night – so it's important to keep your eye on your favorite retailers so you don't miss out. Signing up for mailing lists and keeping pages like this bookmarked will help you keep on top of the offers.
Some Black Friday guitar deals may stick around for the entirety of Cyber Weekend, while others may only stick around for a matter of hours. I noticed last year, and in many of the sales that have happened in 2026, that the hottest items have a tendency to sell out, so if you spot a good deal, my advice would be not to sleep on it.
Is it a good idea to buy guitars online?
If you're concerned about buying a guitar or other gear online on Black Friday without playing it first - and particularly higher-end gear - you really don't have to be. Online music instrument retailers like Guitar Center , Musician’s Friend and Sweetwater offer hassle-free returns as standard, meaning you can purchase a guitar, give it a spin in the comfort and privacy of your own home and send it back without issue if it's not right.
We'd recommend you check the specific returns policy for the retailer you're thinking of buying from ahead of time, but most offer between 30-45 days to return an item, as long as the item is in original condition.
🛒 Shopping tips for Black Friday
1. Consider your music-making goals - What are you planning to do with your music-making for the next year? Make sure you purchase gear that's going to serve your goals, whether you're recording a whole album or you want to try your hand with a different gauge of electric guitar strings.
2. Work out what you actually need - Look at your gear collection and see where the gaps are. There's little point buying another overdrive pedal when you've already got five of them! This process should be fed by your music-making goals, and stop you from buying things you don't really need.
3. Make some room - We're all guilty of hoarding gear, but Black Friday presents an excellent opportunity to have a clear out. Not only will your partner and family thank you for clearing some space in the house, but you'll also free up more funds for future gear purchases!
4. Create a wishlist - There are going to be millions of deals going around on Black Friday, so creating a wishlist early allows you to focus on the things you really want. Listing the prices pre-Black Friday can also show you how much of a deal you're actually getting, making this a doubly worthwhile exercise.
5. Sign up for mailing lists - Now you know what you want, sign up for mailing lists from the manufacturers of the products or your preferred retailer. This will get you the news of fresh sales straight into your inbox, meaning you can jump on them quickly. Our own newsletter will feature some of the best Black Friday guitar deals too, so make sure to sign up for that if you haven't already!
🧐 How I choose the best Black Friday guitar deals
When looking for a Black Friday guitar deal, there are several criteria it has to meet. First of all, is it a genuinely great product? We cover all the biggest product launches throughout the year and review loads of gear, which gives us an excellent insight into the current gear market. For us to highlight a great deal, the product has to be something that we would use ourselves.
Next, is the price right? Because we cover deals throughout the year, we know full well the current value of a huge amount of products. This means we can get around the bumping of products to the RRP that some retailers do to make a discount look better than it is. We know the product's actual market value, and thus we can tell if it's a great deal or not.
Finally, we have to check the retailer where the deal is being offered from. We'll only serve you deals from retailers we've had great shopping experiences with ourselves. Buying from a trusted source is a must, especially if you're gifting to someone else, so we only deal with trustworthy retailers.
🤔 Why you can trust us
Guitar Player is written by and for, well, guitar players. With over 50 years of experience, our writing team regularly gigs in bands, records music in the studio, and is generally obsessed with the guitar and guitar music. This means that when we choose a deal to highlight, we believe it's a genuinely good product and great value.
We regularly review gear throughout the year, getting hands-on for in-depth testing. This gives us a great overview of what the best gear of any given year is, so we always know what to be on the lookout for during Black Friday.
We also cover the biggest sales and best deals throughout the year, so we're always aware of what the product's price is, when it's on sale, and when it isn't. This means we can get around certain retailers who relist a product at the RRP to make the discount seem larger than it actually is and give you only those deals that are truly great value for money.
Just this year we've covered the massive Guitar Center Labor Day sale, which saw huge discounts of up to 50% off guitar gear. We also checked out the Prime Day sales, which saw some fantastic discounts on accessories like strings, straps, and guitar picks.
