This really has been a vintage year for musician-friendly Cyber Monday deals. Whether you’re a guitar player, producer or drummer, there have been some genuine bargains around, from amazing plugin bundles, to products that have never been on sale finally getting the discounts we deserve.
The MusicRadar team has been recommending loads of cut-price music gear over on our Cyber Monday music deals page, but for this round-up we wanted to share our personal picks - the items we've genuinely purchased this year, or where we’re hovering perilously close to the ‘checkout’ button. In other cases these are products we've reviewed, or we already own and have had a good chunk of time to decide whether we would recommend them or not.
Our crew is comprised of guitar players, drummers, piano players, home producers, DJs and more, and these choices represent our personal tastes. We’ve all been covering Cyber Monday for years now too, so as well as knowing our gear, we know a bargain when we see one too.
Will Groves, Editor-in-chief
I'm head of the editorial team on MusicRadar, and also the site's least proficient instrumentalist; drums are my thing, and my style can most charitably be described as 'enthusiastic'. Other relevant adjectives are 'out of time', 'limited' and, luckily, 'persistent'. As a drummer often confined to the spare room, e-kits have been a godsend. I currently abuse a Roland TD-1KV set-up, augmented with extra cymbals, pads and a TD11 module, but have been looking for an excuse to upgrade, hence these choices...
Rob Laing, Guitars Editor, MusicRadar
I'm Guitars Editor for MusicRadar, handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site, and everything in between. Before MusicRadar, I worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including Editor of Total Guitar. I've currently set aside any pipe dreams of getting anywhere with my own songs and am enjoying playing covers in function bands.
Ben Rogerson, Deputy Editor
I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, which means I write and commission all kinds of ‘content’, testing some great gear along the way. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years.
Simon Arblaster, Video & Reviews Producer
I look after the Reviews section on MusicRadar and am a bit partial to writing the odd guitar, drum, synth and general techy review every now and then. I'll review the lot, me.
Matt Mullen, Tech Features Editor
I cover music technology here at MusicRadar, working on everything from artist interviews to tech tutorials. Though I have been known to dabble in the instrumental world, my primary focus is the weird and wonderful sounds made by electronic musicians and the ever-widening array of tools we use to make them.
Chris Barnes, eCommerce Editor (Music)
I'm MusicRadar's eCommerce Editor. It's my job to manage the buyer's guides on the site and help musicians find the right gear and the best prices. My first love is playing the drums - I spent 7 years as Editor of the UK's best-selling drum magazine Rhythm - but I also play a bit of guitar.
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.
Matt McCracken, Junior Deals Writer
I’ve been a musician for well over 20 years in a variety of different bands playing everything from djent to jazz. As an intrepid explorer of sound, I’m always seeking out new gear for my own projects whether it be new pedals or plugins. In my role as Junior Deals Writer my job is to review and recommend products to our readers, as well as find the best deals possible on all kinds of gear.