Black Friday 2024: feeling GASsy after Turkeyday? Music tech discounts curated
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Cyber Week, Prime week… there’s always a promotion somewhere. A Behringer K-2 for £114 inspires yet another link to discounts…
The consumer craze hype of Black Friday is usually best avoided, but some deals are worth being thankful for
- Thomann brings big discounts for popular tech
- Amazon tends to discounts on accessories and gadgets
- Main retailers get sucked in too, and is it time to upgrade your software?
At a glance – the deals I’ve found so far that I’d be snapping up myself…
- Behringer K-2 for £114
- Novation Circuit Tracks for £198
- Novation Circuit Rhythm for £198
- Behringer MS-5 for £389
- Arturia V-Collection X (full version, not crossgrade or upgrade) for £225 (normally $599)
- Arturia Pigments for £79
- Behringer RX1602 V2 for £81
Cyber week deals: real-world discounts, gear worth having
Pretty much every affiliate-earning blog or website going is going to have the hugest list of Black Friday deals being frantically updated to link to everything. I don’t care about doing that. I’m only listing bargains that I would buy myself, that are real discounts over prices I’ve seen during the year.
We all get itchy to buy tempting new gear when there’s so much push and marketing on (not just music gear, how many times do you consider upgrading your TV because of a deal?) – at these prices, you can justify the impulse purchase for the saving and in many cases, if the gear doesn’t work out after the return window is closed, you’ll still be able to resell it afterwards and not lose much money.
Buying tips for Cyber Week/Black Friday GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)
Buy stuff you already wanted, when it’s discounted, rather than just grabbing any gear – particularly if it’s not a brand you already trust (Amazon is full of discounted drop-shipped stuff).
For example, I’ve picked up the Behringer RX1602 V2 for £81 – people ask more secondhand, with postage, for the original one! It’s smaller and offers more channels than the RX1202FX I currently use with my analogue synths, and I’ve been shopping for a cheap used one without success for months.
You can get more savings when dealing with some online retailers using referral sites, such as TopCashBack – I’m recommending it because over the last year I’ve had over £200 cashback excluding any referral fees, just from needing new car tyres, car insurance and buying synths and stuff on eBay.
Not every retailer is on there, but PMT online (which as a bricks and mortar store I’ve used in the past, I rate highly) is offering between 2% and 5.25% cashback through TopCashBack as an example.
If you’re using finance, use PayPal Pay-in-3 where you can, or look at the interest-free deals often available from Andertons, PMT and similar real stores. There’s no sense snapping up a bargain when the only funds are high-interest credit cards.
Remember that instant gratification of clicking ‘checkout’ may not be instant, Amazon Prime generally offers free next-day/same-day delivery for its own items, but resellers may take longer (Thomann is based in Germany, so UK buyers can expect to wait a week or so – but don’t face additional charges other than £10 shipping on orders below £149).
Amazon also offers pay in instalments sometimes, interest free – these are not the same as the interest-attracting finance offered via Barclays. Look for ‘Pay in five’ or on higher-priced items, ‘Pay in twelve’ promotions. If it just stays ‘instalments are available’ then it’s likely to be third-party finance, with credit check and interest.
Deals roundup – Black Friday 2024
This is a quick page and I entirely blame Thomann for it, for offering a serious desktop analogue synthesizer for a bargain price. This website has no adverts or pop-ups, and costs me more to run than it will ever make back (let alone the time spent writing stuff, taking pictures, and money on kit!) but I wasn’t going to do a deals page until I saw this:
That’s the Behringer K-2 desktop synthesizer, a clone of the MS-20 that is pretty good in its own right. It has been refreshed with a Mk II model released earlier in 2024 which adds PWM, FM and sync for the oscillators, and V/oct CV support, but none of those changes make the original less appealing or useful. Thomann’s Cyber Week deal for 2024 makes the K-2 £114; I couldn’t resist and I already have too many similar synths.
It doesn’t help that used ones on eBay have been selling for slightly more – without the three year warranty Behringer offers on registration (or Thomann’s extended one).
Behringer K-2 (original) – £114 from Thomann
There’s a lot of fake discounting and pointless purchasing encouraged around this time of year, but for £114 you will not get a better true analogue synthesizer. It’s a great purchase for anyone who has kids curious about electronic music and creating their own sounds, as the MS-20 is not only a very capable synth, it was a cornerstone of teaching electronic music (the mods in the Mk II are taken from the ‘schools’ version of the MS-20, in fact).
While the K-2 is the best discount from Thomann on Behringer kit (and as far as I can see, reasonably-priced synths in general) there are a couple of others that got a price cut for this promotion, which runs until 2nd December 2024. If you do want the updated Behringer K-2 Mk II, the £163 price is still impressive value, but there’s no stock for a couple of months it seems.
New deal – 26th November – Behringer Solina String Ensemble for £155 – Thomann
Thomann are teasing another Behringer synth deal for Tuesday 26th November.
Looking at the blurred picture, I’m guessing that Yes, it’s the Solina String Ensemble. Currently £179, it’s reduced to £155 for the Cyber Week sales.
Novation Circuit Tracks for less than £200 – Amazon UK
- Two six-voice Nova virtual analogue synth engines
- A four-track, sample-flipping drum machine
- A MIDI sequencer and effects unit
This is a great pre-Christmas deal if you’re thinking of giving a groovebox. The Circuit Tracks is pretty cheap year-round, but Amazon’s Black Friday Week discount of 21% is a real-world saving, bringing the price of the two Nova engine, drum sample sequencer down to £198. It’s rarely that cheap, typically around £240-260 during the year.
At that price you’re getting a rechargeable, portable, all-in-one production tool and inspiration box that professional touches such as full-size MIDI ports, proper 1/4-inch jacks for audio in and out (plus separate 3.5mm headphone out) and an excellent web-based sound editor and librarian.
Unlike the Novation Circuit Rhythm, the Circuit Tracks’ audio inputs are not for sampling – but you can use your own samples with ease thanks to the micro SD storage. The inputs allow it to act as an effects processor for external signals, or just saving time if you want to use it alongside a keyboard or other instruments.
(If you want a sampler and more drum-focused machine, Amazon has 25% off the Novation Circuit Rhythm as well – it is also £198 for Black Friday Week. I haven’t used one, so I can’t be as enthusiastic as I am about Tracks – that’s mine in the picture above!).
The Novation Circuit is one of my all-time favourite cheap electronic instruments, an excellent learning tool, robust and kid-friendly as well with the rubber pads and plastic construction. With the slimmer, battery-powered and speaker-equipped revisions of the Circuit Tracks it’s an incredible, self-contained inspiration station that any kid you’d hand an iPad to will have no problem getting creative with.
Korg Nu:tekt NTS1 MkII digital kit – £130 on Amazon UK
The new generation of NTS-1 is more powerful, has a better keyboard, and much greater scope for synthesis and effects. It’s no harder to build, but the price went up – this deal brings it down to £130 from £164, though during the year it is often around £150 it’s still a saving if you were already considering this fun little gadget.
MS-5 – Roland SH-5 keyboard clone – £389
The Behringer MS-5 is a relatively new release, and it’s a clone of the Roland SH-5 synthesizer. That’s a powerful analogue monosynth with dual VCOs, two LFOs, two envelope generators (ADSR and AR, similar to the Odyssey and CAT), ring modulation and a robust wood and metal case. It’s a powerful, playable synth with a lot of modulation and sound shaping possibilities, easy interface, and a distinctive sound suitable for a wide range of genres.
Unlike the Oydssey, it does without a pattern sequencer. But the knobs and faders interface with footage range selection for oscillator pitch is more user friendly than the Odyssey’s full-range pitch sliders and thin faders for everything approach.
This is Behringer’s original analogue polyphonic synthesizer. It’s a six-voice keyboard a little like a Roland Juno in sound and feel, but with some original features. As a cut-down version of the 12-voice DeepMind 12, it’s not always good value, but with an 18% discount adding space between the models it’s a good keyboard for less than £400.
Not a discount – Behringer UB-Xa – £735
But the one that isn’t a deal, is the UB-Xa. The Oberheim OB-X clone with poly-aftertouch keyboard as £1199 originally – it’s now £735 for a polyphonic analogue synthesizer. I have no idea what the keyboard is like to play, but it’s bloody cheap for an OB-X recreation no matter how you look at it.
Effects pedals and outboard Cyber Week Deals 2024
IK Multimedia Tone X – £249 from Amazon UK
In a similar manner to the Eventide H9, the Tone X ecosystem offers smart guitar pedals that work with Amplitube amp, effects and cab models from IK Multimedia . The Tone X Pedal has an RRP of £425, and while it may have discounts during the year regardless the Black Friday Week offer from Amazon UK is very appealing.
Checking the other dealers, the nearest new offer is £339 (also discounted for the annual consumer frenzy), and if you want to save even more Amazon Warehouse offers start from £232 for used – like new (usually product returns).
Behringer RX1602 V2 mixer – £81 from Thomann
This is not an expensive item normally, though Thomann’s price of £99 is probably the cheapest of all the music retailers with most UK dealers sitting around £125. Used values of original, rather than V2, RX1602s aren’t much lower than the current £81 deal though!
The RX1602 is a 16-channel (8 stereo pairs) line mixer in a 1U package. No bells or whistles, just simple mixing that is ideal for synthesizers, drum machines, computers and guitar/bass processors like the Tone X above. It’s a good return bus if you run a lot of effects and want to record, and naturally it’s a really space-efficient submixer.
Which is why I bought one – I use an RX1202FX which has effects and long-travel faders, takes up 3U of space, and only offers 12 channels. It’s both limiting and overkill for what it does. Used sellers really don’t seem to keep up with new prices well…
For the small synths I’ve got some of Behringer’s £17-on-Amazon MicroMix 400s but those are just four mono channels into one. From Thomann the MX400 is £21… by the time I’ve bought 16 channels of them… I’ve paid for an RX1602V2 with better preamps and rackmounted convenience.
Software upgrades and expansions – November-December 2024
A random selection of software deals, frankly, and I can’t keep up with the discount plugin places so these are either from stores, or direct from the publisher.
Arturia – Black Friday deals
- Most plugins or collections are 50% off
- Existing users get discounted upgrades and crossgrades
- Some prices depend on what existing products you have registered
(Arturia’s website was down when I wanted to do this at first!)
There’s one distinctive hardware offering from Arturia getting a discount – the Thomann 70th anniversary MicroFreak, £249. This limited edition with unique graphics gets a small extra discount, but if you’re buying from Thomann, the price for Arturia V-Collection X is also pretty good, at £225. That’s not an upgrade, it’s for new users too, so quite a discount from €/$/£599.
Existing customers get promotions to upgrade or crossgrade – as a V-Collection 9/X and FX Collection 4 owner I saw FX Collection 5 for $49 (but the upgrade extras really weren’t worth much more than that anyway, since a couple of bundles also included FX plugins I had). Upgrading V-Collection 9 to X plus Synthx-V was offered for $169 before Black Friday deals were a thing – the Synthex emulation was the main reason for upgrading for me and it isn’t a regular part of V-Collection X.
Pigments 5 – £79 from Thomann – $99 on Arturia, normally $/£199.
(Buying from a retailer is still an instant download, not boxed software).
Existing Arturia customers often get deals on Pigments, but if you don’t own anything from this brand yet and you want a powerful, versatile and easy to use software synthesizer with an impressive sound library, Pigments is hard to beat.
With selectable oscillator models and flexible routing, all visually mapped out with animations that make it clear at a glance what you’re creating (it is an excellent learning tool as well), it would be fun even if it sounded terrible. But it doesn’t. The Pigments sound engine is really impressive, capable of matching pretty much any hardware synth from the 1970s to the 21st century.
In a rational world you’ll buy it, learn it, and use multiple instances to make almost anything. But since when have humans been rational.
Eventide plug in deals for November 2024
The stand-out deal for this year is the full H9 plug-in suite for $199. This is a great bundle if you don’t already own any effects software, the H9 is an excellent pedal but having the algorithms in the box is even better and cheaper, in many ways.
You may already have some plugins from Eventide from past deals – I do, and the offer was $149 as an upgrade/crossgrade (I have Blackhole already, which may be a factor). Very tempting…
I will add more genuine discounts and deals as I find them – this page will not just be a link to every promotion by any means, only the things that I know are real discounts and products or upgrades worth having at the price.
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