There might not be a Sweetwater Memorial Day sale this year, but this 50% off guitars pedals and amps offer is too juicy to miss

An Earthquaker Devices Acapulco Gold distortion pedal on a blue background
(Image credit: Earthquaker Devices)

Part of my job is to find the best deals and sales available for guitarists across the World Wide Web, which is why I was very surprised to see there was no Sweetwater Memorial Day sale this year. Luckily if you’re a guitarist you can still cash in, as there are some excellent deals of up to 50% off a huge range of guitar pedals and amplifiers.

Typically you’d expect there to be a huge array of sales this weekend as retailers look to take advantage of the hubbub around Memorial Day sales for musicians, but not so at Sweetwater. It’s an unusual move, but thankfully there’s still a great selection on offer for those looking to fill a gap in their pedalboards or add a better guitar amplifier to their backline.

Sweetwater Memorial Day Pedal & Amp sale: Up to 50% off

Sweetwater Memorial Day Pedal & Amp sale: Up to 50% off
With a huge array of pedals and guitar amplifiers discounted for the Memorial Day weekend, there may not be a huge sale at Sweetwater but it’s certainly good for guitarists. We’ve spotted big discounts on well-known pedal brands like Earthquaker Devices, JHS, Walrus Audio, and many more, as well as some huge savings on guitar amps from the likes of Mesa/Boogie, Victory, Ashdown, and others.

Earthquaker Devices Acapulco Gold V2
Earthquaker Devices Acapulco Gold V2: was $139 now $118.15 at Sweetwater Sound

If you want a distortion pedal that gets seriously loud, the Earthquaker Devices Acapulco Gold V2 lets you get properly heavy. It’s versatile too though, so whether you want shoegaze or doom tones you can get a great scope of distortion from clean-ish to fuzz-type tones. Despite just having a single large knob there’s a lot of variation available, particularly if you augment it with your guitar’s volume knob. With a nice $20.85 in the Sweetwater pedal sale it’s not huge money off, but enough to tip us over the edge.

Universal Audio UAFX Orion
Universal Audio UAFX Orion: was $169 now $99 at Sweetwater Sound

Universal Audio pedals are typically pretty pricey, which makes this deal on the UAFX Orion tape delay pedal even more tempting. Reduced from $169 to just $99, it’s a superb imitation of the Echoplex EP-3, delivering beautiful tape tones with plenty of flutter or warble depending on how you set it. Like the Echoplex, it also has a built-in preamp, so you can use it as an always-on booster too.

Read more: Universal Audio UAFX Orion review

Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Ambient
Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Ambient: was $99.99 now $84.99 at Sweetwater Sound

As far as budget reverb pedals go, the Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Ambient is undoubtedly one of the best releases of recent times. Already competitively priced at just $99.99, it’s got a further $15 off at the moment, making it even better value for money. We found it super easy to get a great sound out of it, and the three modes offer a good range of tones for those who like ambient guitar sounds.

JHS 3 Series Delay
JHS 3 Series Delay: was $99 now $79.20 at Sweetwater Sound

For those after a simple or first-time delay pedal, you can’t go wrong with the JHS 3-Series Delay. It beautifully bridges the gap between analog and digital delay sounds and while it may not have the bells and whistles of other more complex units, at this price you can’t really complain. With $19.80 off it’s well below the $100 mark, superb value for a delay pedal which are usually quite a bit costlier.

J. Rockett Blue Note OD
J. Rockett Blue Note OD: was $229.99 now $129.99 at Sweetwater Sound

If you're looking for a good quality low gain overdrive, I think the J. Rockett Blue Note OD is a hugely underrated option. It's got a massive $100 discount at Sweetwater at the moment, so whether you want to use a pedal to push an amp harder, or add something into your gain stack to really deliver some satisfying saturation, the Blue Note OD is an excellent choice that will save you a lot of money.

Mesa/Boogie Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five
Mesa/Boogie Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five: was $1,359 now $999 at Sweetwater Sound

There are also some select deals on guitar amplifiers available at Sweetwater too, and my head was instantly turned by a massive $360 discount on this Mesa/Boogie Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five. It may only be 25 watts but it still packs a huge punch, and its handy lunchbox head size makes it much easier to carry around to shows than a regular tube head. You can even dial it back to 10 watts when the engineer asks you to turn things down, making it super versatile for gigging musicians.

Memorial day sales

Matt McCracken
Junior Deals Writer

Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at MusicRadar. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on audio interfaces, studio headphones, studio monitors, and pretty much anything else home recording-related. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars and has written for various music sites including Guitar World, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog. A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and producing bands, he's currently studying Sound Engineering and Music Production at Spirit Studios in the UK.

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