2025 Black Friday Deals
Guitar Center and Sweetwater Music

It’s the week of Thanksgiving! Which means the stretchy pants are out and I’m looking through Black Friday deals on gear that I 100% don’t need.

So I thought I’d share some of the sales I’ve been seeing on Sweetwater and Guitar Center’s website this weekend.

If you click the links and buy any guitar (or even something else) it helps support my bluegrass content via a small commission at zero extra cost to you. Thanks so much ahead of time, enjoy!

My string of choice, StringJoy Foxwood coated mediums are on sale on Sweetwater for the next week for $16.99, which is about ~$2 less than I’ve ever seen them. 

However, honorable mention to GC’s sale on the Elixir 3 pack. This sale puts each set at $14.99 a pop; not bad at all since these strings are typically pricey. When I used Elixirs, these were the sales I’d take advantage of.

Guitar Packs/Bundles

If you, or someone you know, is just getting started on acoustic guitar, you’ll undoubtedly come across a few of these convenient beginner starter packs. 

My advice?

You’ll find tons of options out there with different price points, but I’d go with the name brands (Martin, Yamaha, Fender). Not only will the sound and build quality be better, but the real perk is higher re-sell value when and if it comes time to sell it.

Here are two slightly different options from Martin and Yamaha. These are great for players of any age, but perfect in my opinion for kids or grandchildren who are just starting out. These will come with everything you need to start playing.

Guitars

It’s hard to find a new all-wood martin for under $1000, but GC’s got one in stock this Turkey Day. The caveat here is the back and sides are made out of Sapele, which is a close cousin to Mahogoney, but not typically found on their pricier guitars. That said, it’s stable, durable, and sounds surprisingly close to true mahogany.

My main guitar is a 2023 Martin D-18. The 2024 models are on sale for $2599.99. This is about as ‘classic dreadnought’ as they come, and they don’t call them workhorses for nothing. Spruce top with mahogany back and sides. 


Martin D-18 Guitar Center $2599.99 (regular $2799.99)


The one thing I hear most often about smaller-bodied guitars is that they’re more comfortable to play, especially compared to the dreadnought.

I believe it. Dreadnoughts sound great and are authentically bluegrass, but can be burdensome on the shoulder and back over time. 

This OM Style body Martin is on sale at Sweetwater. This one’s got a Spruce top with HPL back and sides, and comes with a pickup/electronics. 

This little gadget has been a game changer for practice sessions.

At least for me, it’s made a big difference in practice comfort because it helps me put my body in a more natural playing position. By raising one leg, the guitar sits higher and closer to me, which is more comfortable and more ergonomic for my fretting hand. Not technically on sale, but worth it in my opinion.

Guitar Center’s running a sale on all their house brand powered speakers.

Here’s the thing…I can vouch for these.

I’ve been using 2 of the 10-inch models for all my solo live shows for the past two years now with no hiccups. Trust me when I say I’ve used and traveled and played with them ALOT, through all kinds of weather countless screwed up solos.

Because of my setup, I choose to run them through a mixer (Harbinger brand as well) but you COULD use 1 of these with a guitar + microphone and be absolutely fine for small room solo gigs as as a small PA.

As you can see above (note: this is the 2410 model…others may differ, so double-check your model), you can plug in both a guitar and vocals (it accepts quarter inch and XLR), and even connect a device via Bluetooth. I like to use this before gigs to set the mood with my own playlist, especially if the house music isn’t cutting it.

Let’s be honest…it usually isn’t.

I’ve used these as monitors, and even as computer speakers. All in all a great experience so far.

Each model is on sale for Black Friday.

I’ve been using the same SM58 for almost eight years, and it’s survived every fall, drop, and bar-stage mishap I’ve thrown at it.

It just keeps working.