MusicRadar deals of the week: The official Black Friday sales are rolling in – save hundreds off everything you need to make music

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We've uncovered the very best offers on a range of music-making gear from the likes of Yamaha, Squier, Korg, Alesis, Slate Digital and more

Deals of the week
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Welcome to MusicRadar's deals of the week, where we'll share with you the very best offers from around the web on some of our best-rated musical equipment. As the name suggests, we'll bring you a new batch of exciting discounts every week, so be sure to check back regularly to see what we've uncovered and stay ahead of the game.

As we edge ever closer to the end of November, the Black Friday music deals are rolling in thick and fast. Guitar Center is kicking things off with up to 50% off in their massive Black Friday Sale. This mega sale also includes up to 40% off Alesis and Simmons electronic drum sets, up to $800 off Roland products and 20% off Yamaha. 

Meanwhile, Sweetwater's early sale, which features up to 60% off, continues. There are currently over 500 deals available, and more are being added daily. Lastly, Thomann has just announced its early Cyberweek sale, featuring massive reductions of up to 70% off big-name brands and popular products. 

UK Editor's picks

Slate Digital ML-1: Now £287 at Thomann

Slate Digital ML-1: Now £287 at Thomann
Slate Digital’s ML-1 has nearly 50% off the regular price. It’s a modelling mic that can imitate eight different legendary microphones, and expansion packs can increase that number. From the U-47 to the Sony C800G, the ML-1 can perform a variety of other roles thanks to its brilliant modelling tech, making it a great shout for someone who needs versatility but doesn’t want to buy loads of different mics.

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Squier Contemporary Starcaster: £439, now £299

Squier Contemporary Starcaster: £439, now £299
With a cool £140 discount, this Squier Starcaster is an awesome early Black Friday deal if you're after a great value guitar that looks a little different from your average Strat copy. Despite the old-school looks it's got two active SQR pickups, so delivers a very modern sound.

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Korg LP380: £738, now £664

Korg LP380: £738, now £664
Compact, stylish, and brilliant sounding, the LP380 is a stellar beginner digital piano delivers outstanding performance without breaking the bank - and better yet, you can save £74 at Andertons. 

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US Editor's picks

Alesis Strata Prime (expanded): $4,449, now $4,149

Alesis Strata Prime (expanded): $4,449, now $4,149
The Alesis Strata Prime Expanded Electronic Drum Set is as extra as it sounds - ‘expanded’ relates to the additional tom and cymbal you get in the box. This version is a seven-piece kit with 6 cymbals (hi-hat inclusive), and a supremely powerful touchscreen module with an incredible library of BFD-derived sounds and kits. For us, this is the be-all end-all e-drumming solution, with I/O to die for. Usually $4,449, this premium piece of kit has a generous $300 discount over at Sweetwater right now.

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Rode NT5 Matched Pair: Was $429, now $369

Rode NT5 Matched Pair: Was $429, now $369
Perfect for drum overheads, the Roland NT5 Matched Pair offers super high-quality sounds at a very reasonable price. A $60 discount in the Sweetwater sale takes them well below the $400 mark, a worthy investment if you want to improve the quality of your recordings.

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Yamaha P-125 B: $819.99, now $699.99

Yamaha P-125 B: $819.99, now $699.99
Yamaha's P-125 was most definitely one of the most popular beginner pianos on the market and one of our favourites for newbies and more experienced players. Read our glowing 5-star Yamaha P-125a review to see why we love this piano.  

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PRS SE CE 24
PRS SE CE 24: was US$699 now US$594.15 at Musician's Friend

One of our favourite guitars we've reviewed this year, the PRS SE CE 24 has got over $100 off the price at Musician's Friend. It's a brilliantly versatile guitar that comes with that well-known PRS build quality and stunning good looks.

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Looking for more bargains? Check out more recommended sales below:

How we choose our deals of the week

Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear-related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our deals. 

Our mission is simple - to help you make the best buying decision, find the right gear at the right price, to make the best music you can. 

For us to recommend a deal it has to be a product we rate that’s been reduced to a genuinely great price or part of a truly fantastic bundle. It’s also important that we only recommend retailers that we trust. 

You can see more of our product recommendations in our buyer's guides and reviews.

Why you can trust our choices

Our editors and writers are all experienced musicians and experts in their fields. They have a deep understanding of the categories that they cover, which means that you can trust their choices when it comes to recommending products. 

We pride ourselves on the independence, quality and reliability of our testing processes and the reviews it produces. It’s what has made us the world’s leading music-making publishing company. You can find more details on how we test some specific key product categories, but the principles apply across the board, rigorously assessing build quality, functionality, playability and, of course, sonic performance.

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 of 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.

Where are the best places to shop?

Online shopping is definitely a lot easier and more secure than it used to be, and we like to recommend a small handful of online retailers who have a sterling reputation and offer fantastic benefits like fuss-free returns, great customer service and, in some cases, full checks and setup of guitars before they are dispatched. So, all the deals we’ll recommend on this page are from retailers that tick these boxes. 

What sort of deals should I look for?

Great deals come in all shapes and sizes. There are a few key types to look out for:

  • Single item - A single product with a great discount
  • Site-wide discounts - A single discount percentage on a large range of products across a site
  • Discount codes - Load your basket to a certain value and redeem a discount code for money off your basket contents
  • Added value deals - These include multi-buy discounts, or additional products or software for free when you buy certain items
Daryl Robertson
Daryl Robertson
Senior Deals Writer

I'm a Senior Deals Writer at MusicRadar, and I'm responsible for writing and maintaining buyer's guides on the site - but that's not all I do. As part of my role, I also scour the internet for the best deals I can find on gear and get hands-on with the products for reviews. My gear reviews have been published in prominent publications, including Total Guitar and Future Music magazine, as well as Guitar World.com. I've also had the privilege of interviewing everyone from Slash to Yungblud, as well as members of Sum 41, Foo Fighters, The Offspring, Fever 333 and many more. 

I have a massive passion for anything that makes a sound, particularly guitars, pianos, and recording equipment. In a previous life, I worked in music retail, giving advice on all aspects of music creation and selling everything from digital pianos to electric guitars, entire PA systems, and ukuleles. I'm also a fully qualified sound engineer who holds a first-class Bachelor's degree in Creative Sound Production from the University of Abertay and I have plenty of experience working in various venues around Scotland.