Black Friday music deals 2026: Early deals and must-know information ahead of the big day

The vibe of a $4,000,000 Strat for just shy of $800? Yes please. Guitar Center has slashed $50 off the asking price of a highly rated Player II Strat dressed up to look like David Gilmour’s legendary six-figure Black Strat. Rolled fingerboard edges, stellar single-coils, and a killer look. What more could you need from a Strat? This is a limited-edition model, though, so we expect it to sell out fast.

This piano may look sleek and modern, but it’s not all style over substance, as this piano delivers more than just style in playability. Casio’s Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard feels incredibly responsive and offers a very satisfying playing experience, while the Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source delivers a massive range of tones. Save a massive $640 at Sweetwater.

UAD Mixtape: 10 plugins for $99
This bundle deal lets you pick ten of your most wanted Universal Audio plugins, all for the low price of just $99. It includes some amazing plugins like the Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor, API Vision Channel Strip, SSL 4000 G Bus Compressor, Manley Massive Passive EQ, and loads more, so if you need to stock up, this is the place to do it.

If you want to blast your guitar at home, a bigger studio monitor is always better. The KRK Classic 8 is a beast of a monitor with its 8-inch speaker, and will deliver your guitar tones with plenty of punch. They’re $199 each in the sale with a $50 reduction, so they will cost you less than $400 for a pair, which, if you ask any studio engineer, is really good value. They’ve got 1/4-inch and TRS inputs, so you can connect directly from your multi-effects or amp modeler, and there are controls on the back to adjust the sound if placed close to a wall.

It's a bit long in the tooth now, but that doesn't make it sound any less good. IK Multimedia's Amplitube 5 is just $29.99 at the moment, saving you a massive $170 on the regular price.

Boss’ Katana 50 is the new benchmark for modern practice amplifiers. It’s got more juice than a Sicilian lemon, more tone than 80s Schwarzenegger, and more versatility than Matthew McConaughey – thanks to its unbelievably-good digital modeling technology, including a Tube Logic modeling system that adds realistic valve-y feel to your chosen tone. Throw in some serious connectivity and you’ve got a beginner-friendly workhorse that’ll see you right through to thousand-cap venues.

Donner's Backbeat is by some distance the most expensive of its high-value range, and suitably feature-laden as a result, with touchscreen module, dual-zone mesh pads, Bluetooth connectivity, multi-track USB audio and its USP, snazzy customisable LED lighting on each pad and cymbal. It really does look the business.

My top deal of Sweetwater's Recording Sale sale is a nice $100 discount on the Universal Audio UAD Guitar Amp Plugin Bundle. It’s got four classic amp tones with Marshall, Vox, and two Fender amp simulations. I’ve been hands-on with all of these amp sims, and they really are fantastic quality. Plugged into an audio interface, you can get tube-like tones without spending loads, and there are a lot of powerful presets to get you started if you don’t have much experience dialing them in. For me, I love the UA stuff because it’s super simple to use and gets you a great sound quickly.

If you’re recording at home, you’re going to need an audio interface, and the PreSonus Quantum HD 2 is a great option for guitar players. In our PreSonus Quantum HD 2 review, my colleague Pete said, “It’s quite squarely aimed at us guitarists by virtue of its feature set and how the associated blurb reiterates PreSonus’ collaboration with parent company Fender. My approach was to consider this as a guitarist first, and within this context, it impresses.” It’s currently got a massive $175 price reduction in the Sweetwater sale, making it even better value for money than it already was.

If you want to blast your guitar at home, a bigger studio monitor is always better. The KRK Classic 8 is a beast of a monitor with its 8-inch speaker, and will deliver your guitar tones with plenty of punch. They’re $199 each in the sale with a $50 reduction, so they will cost you less than $400 for a pair, which, if you ask any studio engineer, is really good value. They’ve got 1/4-inch and TRS inputs, so you can connect directly from your multi-effects or amp modeler, and there are controls on the back to adjust the sound if placed close to a wall.

UAD Mixtape: 10 plugins for $99
This bundle deal lets you pick ten of your most wanted Universal Audio plugins, all for the low price of just $99. It includes some amazing plugins like the Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor, API Vision Channel Strip, SSL 4000 G Bus Compressor, Manley Massive Passive EQ, and loads more, so if you need to stock up, this is the place to do it.

89% Off: This huge suite of analog gear emulations, amps, effects. An exclusive collection for Plugin Boutique, it sports the vintage-flavored Amp Room: Vintage Suite, the unmistakable character of British Class A, and the punchy precision of FET Compressor Mk II.

Waves plugins: Spend $50 get 1 free
Waves plugins are some of the most popular plugins of all time, making them a great place to start your plugin collection or stock it up. With an excellent selection of plugins available you can get 1 plugin free when you spend $50, or 2 free plugins when you spend $80.

An AI-driven noise removal tool built for vocal isolation and cleanup. It strips background noise while keeping the voice intact, making it valuable for producers who rely on samples, field recordings or less-than-ideal takes. A genuine time saver for anyone handling spoken or sung audio.

A specialist tool that automatically removes or reduces breaths in vocal recordings. Perfect for podcasters, narration producers and vocal-heavy mixes where cleanup usually eats time. Set it, fine tune it, move on. Not glamorous, but absolutely essential once you’ve used it.

Whether you use this AI-powered beast as the starting point for your mastering journey, or just let it handle the whole thing, you'll be more than satisfied with its punchy results - which offer ample room for fine-tuning

I've used the Scheps Omni Channel on pretty much every instrument at some point, whether adding a light touch of vibe or totally transforming the properties of an audio source. It's a 5-module channel strip that features preamp, EQ, de-essing, compressor, and gating, making it a proper Swiss-army knife tool for your productions. There are loads of great presets built into it that make a good starting point for beginners, and if you know your stuff, plenty of options to tweak and shape your sounds.

With Casio's multi-dimensional AiR processing, 88 scaled hammer action keys, 26 additional tones and a very accessible playing action, this is a superb option for beginners and intermediates, and with $1159.01 off, you really can't go wrong.

If the RP701 is an attempt to deliver a relatively affordable, feature-rich family starter piano, Roland would appear to have hit the nail squarely on the head. Priced to account for its - admittedly minor - limitations compared to the more expensive HP702, it looks classy, sounds great, plays well and has a large repository of excellent onboard tones.

This piano may look sleek and modern, but it’s not all style over substance, as this piano delivers more than just style in playability. Casio’s Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard feels incredibly responsive and offers a very satisfying playing experience, while the Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source delivers a massive range of tones. Save a massive $640 at Sweetwater.

The vibe of a $4,000,000 Strat for just shy of $800? Yes please. Guitar Center has slashed $50 off the asking price of a highly rated Player II Strat dressed up to look like David Gilmour’s legendary six-figure Black Strat. Rolled fingerboard edges, stellar single-coils, and a killer look. What more could you need from a Strat? This is a limited-edition model, though, so we expect it to sell out fast.

With electric guitar prices rising over the last few years, it's refreshing to see a company offering affordable alternatives to the increasingly out-of-reach boutique builders that dominate this corner of the guitar market. Save 20% now at Amazon

With a huge 38% reduction, Positive Grid's intuitive guitar practice tool is sitting at $99, making it one of the best value-for-money headphone amps for guitar available right now.

Boss’ Katana 50 is the new benchmark for modern practice amplifiers. It’s got more juice than a Sicilian lemon, more tone than 80s Schwarzenegger, and more versatility than Matthew McConaughey – thanks to its unbelievably good digital modeling technology, including a Tube Logic modeling system that adds realistic valve-y feel to your chosen tone. Throw in some serious connectivity and you’ve got a beginner-friendly workhorse that’ll see you right through to thousand-cap venues.

Steve Vai is such a huge fan of Positive Grid’s mini practice amp that he designed his own version, complete with four presets that meet his exacting tonal standards. It also looks the part, boasting a unique burgundy tolex and mandala grille, and comes with a custom-weave burgundy cable. And, of course, it packs all the other Spark Mini features, including Bluetooth audio streaming, AI tones, app tone tweaking, and sound far bigger than its size. You can get the regular Spark Mini for $81 less, but the aesthetics and onboard tones make this our favorite edition of the award-winning mini amp so far.

Right now, you can score the best-value offer of the year on our number one online lessons platform for guitarists. For only $99, you'll get a full access subscription, plus a fantastic beginner bundle, including a custom lesson plan, a beginner bootcamp, the 100 Essential Licks series, a guitar setup guide, and loads more. For the full package, you'd usually pay $899, but it comes out to just $8.25 per month. Can you put a price on quality education? Actually, you can when it's this cheap.

The above Strata Core offer is great, however it doesn’t come with a hi-hat stand of bass drum pedal as standard. You may have those bits of hardware at home already, but if not Sweetwater has upped the ante with this great deal that bundles the Strata Core with a DW 3000 Series hi-hat stand and BD pedal, giving you everything you need to start playing as soon as our new kit arrives.

Donner's Backbeat is by some distance the most expensive of its high-value range, and suitably feature-laden as a result, with touchscreen module, dual-zone mesh pads, Bluetooth connectivity, multi-track USB audio and its USP, snazzy customisable LED lighting on each pad and cymbal. It really does look the business.