Black Friday/Black Week/Cyber Monday/Week/Month/whatever gets overwhelming. But here’s a selection of genuinely impressive discounts, on gear like Ableton Move and Push, Moog, Sequential, Erica Synths, Polyend, and even a couple of favorite Eurorack modules. I keep an eye on a couple of selections that might make good gifts, too.
Plus, this is not written with any AI, so everything here comes out of my head. You can even argue with me, and unlike AI, I might even argue back! Enjoy!
Best of the best
Torso S-4 Sculpting Sampler, really my device of the year with its 2.0 release, is on sale for $849.15 from Perfect Circuit. Macro controls, varispeed, and other features, atop the already stunning granular features and unique boutique design, make this an ideal live instrument and the one I can’t let go of in 2025. See my writeup on the OS update this year that made it come into its own.
Their awesome T1 sequencer is also 25% off, for $524.25.
Moog Spectravox for $289 / 298€ including VAT at Thomann. Moog’s filterbank/vocoder, the last of this wonderful set of compact desktop instruments, totally flew under the radar and it’s seriously credit card-threatening at this price.
Thomann also has Sequential Fourm for 899 € including VAT / $877 US. You might also consider the desktop Take 5 module for 999 € / US$969. This is almost a scary price to bring some Sequential magic home.
Moog Messenger is $639. Come on. That even makes a certain low-price synthmaker look almost, like, expensive. Messenger is complete genius. It’s also your chance to pick up the genius analog Moog Grandmother for $1022 while it’s still around.
If you want to splurge, Sweetwater has the Moog Matriarch, still my favorite Moog of the modern era, and a free copy of the coffee table-worthy, sound-inspiring Patch & Tweak with Moog from Bjooks, for $1899.
Melbourne Instruments Delia poly keyboard is $1399 instead of $2699. Delia deserved better! Motorized knobs meets unique hybrid design and sound architecture. At Perfect Circuit at “Crazy Eddie” pricing. Check all of Perfect Circuit’s Melbourne Instruments offerings, actually.
I didn’t expect to see Ableton hardware at Thomann, but it’s there and with a rare discount — typically the Ableton stuff is only full-freight. Think Push 3 standalone for $1477 / 1.519 € (down from 1.899!), $738 for Push https://clickfi.re/YK1W8Bhk3 controller and the adorable Move for $399 / 399 €. Move is another I use every day; it’s always next to my machine.
Updated: check Reverb’s shops for even more Push deals! That includes even lower prices on factory-refurbished Push 3 (and even Push 2); for instance, here in Europe, I’m seeing Push 3 refurbs standalone for €1,191.19 including VAT, or $1439 in the USA for a brand-new unit.
Universal Audio SD-1 mic with hemisphere modeling, $219.12 at Sweetwater. Start with a design that can replace the podcasters’ fave SM7, but add modeling and better instrument performance and great Universal Audio integration, all in a really nice, luxe-feeling package.
Black Corporation has KIJIMI MK2 at their lowest price ever.
TR-1000 envy? No more!
Here are three excellent drum machine choices for a fraction of what the new Roland box costs, if that’s too rich for your blood.
Erica Synths PĒRKONS HD-01 is bigger, more brutish, and now substantially more affordable at $1,656.75, a full 25% off, over at Perfect Circuit. Still one of the best drum machines of recent years.
Want something just as mean, but smaller and more affordable? The LXR-02 Drum Synthesizer is the other drum machine on my top list. It somehow sounds bigger and more violent than the HD-01, but it’s the size of a shoe. $479.25 and you can afford some nice sneakers to go with it!
Lots of other Erica stuff is on sale or just at its usual competitive price at Perfect Circuit, including that drool-worthy Hexdrums which might be fighting TR-1000 for drum machine of the year.
And then there’s the Roland TR-8S for $699. You can have mine when you pry it out of my cold, dead fingers! It’s the TR-1000 for the rest of us — still with the best digital voices (including FM), excellent classic TR models, and one thing the mighty TR-1000 doesn’t have — it functions as a multichannel audio interface without drivers. So there. Plus none of your friends will complain that you’re rich, like if you had a TR-1000. You’ll feel okay taking it on the road and into grungy situations. You’ll set yourself apart by just wailing on it. My love is forever.
Keyboards and controllers
Akai MPK mini mk3 black and white – $49. I actually really love these little keyboards — they’ve got tons of controls and now a display and are surprisingly useful, and this price means they can even be a stocking stuffer gift for someone. Limited stock (apparently b-stock) at Guitar Center. Europe, Thomann has a pretty attractive deal, too, though not in the cute color scheme above.
Akai’s MPC Key 37 standalone is a full $200 off, plus has an $880 software bundle, all for $699 at Sweetwater. Blinding bright red color: priceless.
For keyboardists and someone wanting a home digital piano, both the Yamaha P-45 and Roland FP-10 are on sale for $399 at Guitar Center. (Well, there is no Keyboard Center; sorry.) Either of those makes a great choice for pianists wanting an 88-key digital piano in a small space; that’s the lowest I’ve ever seen the Roland.
There are also some surprisingly steep discounts on flagship synth workstations.
Oberheim OB-X8 for $1000 off (uh, Santa, that makes you able to get one to me, right?)
Yamaha Montage M8x for $500 off
Perfect Circuit has the Faderfox UC4 universal MIDI controller. I use the living daylights out of these boxes, so when they’re available, they’re worth grabbing – here at a slight discount.
Osmose is on a Cyber Week sale for $1699 at Thomann. And you can also look up refurbished Osmose at the Expressive E shop on their Black Friday/Cyber Week sale.
Modules
ALM/Busy Circuits’ 8-channel SQUID SALMPLE (actual spelling) is an unsung monster of the deep, and it’s currently $80 off at Perfect Circuit.
Alright Devices Chronoblog 2 Stereo Delay is kind of my favorite Eurorack delay module, now 20% off. (I’m addicted to this in VCV Rack, in fact!)
Ready to go Buchla? Check the steep discounts on the already nicely-affordable Tiptop Audio Buchla line, like the Buchla 259t Complex Waveform Generator for $489 ($70 off).
Plus if I made you run out of skiff space, the Tiptop Audio Mantis is still the case to beat if you want to travel and don’t necessarily need a dedicated 1U row. On sale now at Perfect Circuit.
Black Corporation’s Deckard’s Voice is an astonishingly affordable way to get that Deckard’s Dream sound in Eurorack. I’m surprised it never caught on, because it’s an exceptionally packed little set of HP — maybe people just assume everything from Black Corp is spendy. On sale at $599 (or $849 bundle), it’s pretty irresistible. Direct from Black Corp.
More gifts for newcomers
Obviously, those digital pianos, controllers and keyboard controllers, and mic all make great gifts. So does Ableton Move. I’ll add other ideas here as they occur!
It’s always hard to find a first audio interface for someone new, but the current-gen Focusrite Scarlett Solo, $129 at Guitar Center does the trick. It boasts a decent little software bundle, USB-powered, nice controls (I use the higher-end version of this every day), and a good mic pre and Hi-Z instrument input. Focusrite also supports loopback setup for recording internal audio. And it’s
Roland AIRA S-1 tweak synth is another nice little stocking stuffer at $189.99, via Perfect Circuit.
Just want to get some inexpensive but nicely-performing, rugged studio headphones for someone? The Audio-Technica ATH-M20x do the trick. You could even really DJ with these in a pinch. $49 from Sweetwater. They have the higher-end models there, too, if you want to trade up.
That’s it for now on the hardline side. What did I miss? Looking for more gift ideas? Shout out in comments.