1. Quick links
2. Editor's picks
3. FAQ
4. Shopping tips
5. How we choose
6. Why trust us
8. Last year's top deals
If you've been gearing up for the launch of Guitar Center's Black Friday sale, you're in luck because their biggest sale of the year is here. With offers of up to 50% off, it's the perfect opportunity to bag yourself some fresh gear for less.
I've had a look through the sale to see what's available, and my attention was immediately caught by a $130 discount on the Alesis Express Nitro Mesh electronic drum kit. We described it as 'just perfect for beginners' in our review, and at just below $200 in the sale, it's excellent value for money.
If you're in the market for a new audio interface, you can get a massive $200 discount on the brilliant Universal Audio Apollo Twin X Duo. Discounted, most likely due to the fact that the Gen 2 Apollo interfaces recently arrived, it's the cheapest I've seen an Apollo Twin for a long time.
There's plenty more on offer whether you're a keyboard player, guitarist, or you need a new vocal mic. Below we've got a bunch of quick links that will take you to certain categories of the sale. If you keep scrolling further you'll also find a selection of our favorite gear, all with significant discounts.
I'll be updating this page alongside the MusicRadar team throughout the run-up to Black Friday and Cyber Weekend itself, so make sure to keep checking back for all the best-handpicked deals.
Guitar Center Black Friday deals: Quick links
- Shop the full sale
- Guitars: $700 off Gibson
- Keyboards: $250 off Yamaha
- Drums: Save on e-kits
- Acoustics: $250 off a Martin
- Live sound: Money off PA
- Amps & effects: Up to 33% off
- Microphones: Save on Shure
- Recording: Big money off UA
- DJ gear: Pioneer deals
Editor's picks
Guitar Center Black Friday deals: FAQ
When is Black Friday?
The Black Friday Guitar Center sale itself kicks off on Friday, 29 November, the day before Thanksgiving.
Although the event doesn't officially take place until this date, just like most retailers, the Guitar Center Black Friday deals will certainly start rolling out sooner. Last year, GC was slashing prices from as early as late October and didn't stop until well into December.
Beyond Black Friday are the Cyber Monday Guitar Center deals, which land just three days later on Monday, the 2nd of December.
What can you buy in the Guitar Center Black Friday sale?
Despite its name, Guitar Center actually stocks pretty much everything any musician could want, so it's a great place to go if you want to give your studio an overhaul, upgrade your guitar rig, start drumming or any other musical activity that tickles your fancy.
You might head to the website planning to buy an electric guitar, but the company also sells all the music-making products you could ever wish for: MIDI keyboards, studio monitors, microphones, beginner digital pianos and much more.
The Guitar Center Black Friday sale is also the time to stock up on those music-making essentials and accessories: acoustic guitar strings, guitar tuners, guitar picks and guitar straps are just the start. If you can make music with it, it's more than likely that Guitar Center will have it and it will enjoy some sort of discount on Black Friday.
Guitar Center Black Friday deals: Shopping tips
How to prepare for Guitar Center Black Friday?
The golden rule when hunting for Guitar Center Black Friday deals is to know what you're looking for. Whether you're a guitarist, bassist, drummer, producer or DJ, think about what you need to improve your music-making life and then start researching it. This will save you a lot of time when the Guitar Center Black Friday deals start rolling in, as you'll quickly be able to decide what's relevant to you and what isn't. There will be so many deals coming your way, that being able to cut through the noise is super important.
Also make sure you're aware of current prices – that way you'll know how good a deal something really is when you see it reduced on Black Friday. Some supposed 'savings' aren't everything that they seem.
The good news is that you can easily find out what the best music-making products are by checking out MusicRadar's huge portfolio of buying guides and reviews.
Don't forget that Guitar Center isn't the only major retailer offering Black Friday savings, either. Check out our retailer and individual product pages below for even more options. Can't find what you're looking for at one shop? Maybe it's on sale exclusively at another...
- Our pick of the Sweetwater Black Friday deal highlights
- And the Musician's Friend Black Friday deals
- In the UK/Europe? Check out the best Thomann Black Friday deals
- These are the best Gear4music Black Friday deals
- Explore our pick of the best Black Friday guitar deals
- And the best Black Friday drum deals
- Lay your hands on the best Black Friday keyboard piano deals
- Bag a discount on the biggest brands with these Black Friday Andertons deals
Guitar Center Black Friday coupons
Not only does the Guitar Center Black Friday sale deliver excellent discounts on individual products, last year they went even bigger by offering a blanket 15% discount off a wide range of gear, meaning everything from pianos and guitars to DJ turntables and headphones were available with decent money off.
All you had to do was enter the unique code at checkout. This is particularly ace if you have a number of items on your wishlist.
Guitar Center Black Friday deals: How we choose deals
Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music-making, 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 players and creators, and we want to match like-minded folk with the right products for them, at the best prices.
For us to recommend a deal on guitars or anything else 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 music retailers for fantastic deals on our favourite guitars, amps, pedals and accessories. Not only is it our job to research and recommend the best gear in our buyer’s guides and reviews, but we’re also dedicated to helping musicians get the best deals on the stuff 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, 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.
