I own 14 guitars and a hofner bass
You were the only people Who offered the exact product I wanted, and unbelievably a bus load cheaper than Amazon, that can't hold a candle to your inventory of equipment. You guys are so good God bless you all. Thanks for the sweetS too. I will be back always forever, I will never forget the cool
I will never purchase another item from this site. It seems like the sales person I had is only interested in making the sale, and not following up on an item I had to return. It takes forever and a day for tech support to respond back also. Typical sales jargon. All talk. I've had it with them. Do not order from Sweetwater. Give your money to Guitar Center.
I have never encountered any other business, either online or brick-and-mortar, that has provided me such fine service. I called Sweetwater after surfing the internet for PA gear. I talked to one of their design techs, told him the size of the room I had, and what it was primarily going to be used for.
Excellent prices and outstanding service! Sweetwater assigns you a rep when you place an online order. Nick, "my" rep, actually called me after I placed my first online order to be sure I was getting the right product.
This specific experience happened a couple of years ago, when I was too young to properly know where or how to review a product, but according to friends and the threads I've read through, the outstanding customer service remains the same. I ordered eight different guitar picks from a pack of shiny rainbow picks, and was called directly when they didn't have one of the colors I wanted (purple). I was completely understanding and said I only really needed the red and blue. The entire encounter was very friendly and the man I spoke with made absolute sure he understood what I wanted. I got eight blue and eight red, doubling my original order, along with a magazine of their wares and a couple of candies. I gushed about this experience to anyone who would listen. I still use those picks all this time later, and it's the fondest memory I have with any company. Highly recommended.
My Sales Engineer, Simon Whitehouse is terrific. He ALWAYS takes care of his customers and does it in a friendly, efficient, professional manner. Simon is great with suggestions. And it doesn't matter if you are buying a high end Taylor, a Gibson Les Paul or set of strings. Same customer service.
Sweetwater is truly the best place on the planet for musical gear and the employees are its biggest asset. Thank you Sweetwater!
I have been djing and doing sound work for well over 25 years in the last 6 years going from Sam Ash to Sweetwater I am so pleased to do business with Sweetwater. They have a phenomenal staff of technicians and each sales experience is a true WOW experience. Every one at Sweetwater will jump hoops above and beyond to ensure and provide you with what you need. I been referring all my friends and they agree Sweetwater is the bomb thank you for being truly professional and you made a strong impact on me. I am about six months away from finally opening my discotheque and I will let you guys guide setup and equipment from start to finish God bless all of the Sweetwater staff for their dedication and professionalism
Greetings,
Thank you Matt!
From hooking me up with the awesome gear! You were very professional and very experienced
Meeting all my needs, questions and excellent feedback...
If you are looking for gear and professional help
I highly recommend Sweetwater.
Each of their sales representatives are exceptionally knowledgeable and highly qualified!
It's been 13 years since I last played and recorded...
Now my new dream is unfolding right in front of me...
Thank you Matt and Sweetwater for being a huge part of the upcoming new project and music
Of
Me...
Thanx,
Paul Underwood Sr
Aka
The Native Axeman
Billings, Montana
Paul - Wow, what an incredible rig and thanks for sharing the photos. Looks awesome! I also appreciate the kind words for Matt and I'll be sure to share this message with him as I know it will mean a lot!
I ordered something for my teenage son from Sweetwater and wow! The customer service I have experienced is literally like none other. I ordered something rather small he asked for, I had someone personally contact me almost immediately (Ian) and he was the nicest person ever. He asked if I needed anything else or if there was anything he could help me with. I later sent an email to their generic email about my delivery. Ian called me within about 30 min with a response. I wish all companies had customer service like Sweetwater. It was very refreshing to know this type of service still exists.
Kristy - wow, thanks so much for the kind words! It truly means a lot and I'll also be sure to pass this along to Ian! I know him well and we're very lucky to have him on the team!
Terrific, honest company with great customer service. I ordered a monitor not realizing it wasn't a pair and got a call right away notifying me that I had only ordered a single, and making sure that's what I intended.
I also had an issue with shipping (not Sweetwater's fault) and Colton was helpful above and beyond.
I've been shopping with them for eight years, and it's always been a great experience.
Working in customer service myself, I hear a lot of people say how fewer and fewer companies have good customer service like there used to be. I'm happy to be supporting a company that still values customer experience.
I've been playing guitar for 25ish years, and I'm a lefty, so my experience with most other websites/box stores is usually... Well...difficult. Ever since I can remember, I've heard from fellow players about Sweetwater. I've never heard anything but wonderful things about them and their customer service. My first experience did not disappoint. The level of service was EXCEPTIONAL. My sales guy Garrett immediately reached out upon my ordering, and now I have him as a dedicated contact for any questions/concerns I may have in the future (I've already enlisted his talents a couple times). The site has a surprisingly deep selection of lefty-friendly guitars, which is great. And the shipping turnaround was fantastic as well. To be fair, I live in Northeast Ohio, only about a 3.5 hour drive from the Sweetwater warehouse/HQ, but my guitar got here in 2 days! No additional expedited shipping charges or anything. Ordered Sunday night, got here Tuesday. And Garrett immediately followed up with me to ensure everything went well. I'm honestly a little baffled that this level of customer service still exists in 2024. Congrats on a new lifetime customer!
I have bought a few guitars from sweetwater and bought more than 15 thousand dollars worth of equipment from sweetwater and found that the returns only benefit sweetwater.if you play it and hate it or there is small problem you have to pay for the shipping. My other problem with sweetwater is they don't post honest reviews.they only post reviews that benefit sweetwater so buy local
Robert - thanks for your review and I'm very sorry to hear that your experience has been so poor. I'm also sorry to hear that a review may not have been posted, and we need to look in to all of this so we can better understand what happened. I can assure you, we want to be open and transparent when it comes to our reviews. Please feel free to reach out to me direction at justin_dunbar@sweetwater.com so we can try and make things right!
This was my first purchase from Sweetwater and I must admit, I was not expecting this level of service. I had some questions and then changed my mind toward buying a different guitar from the original one I had ordered. Erik Molenaar, my sales engineer, helped me out with everything and we had a fantastic conversation about guitars and life in general.
Delivery was quick and the guitar was absolutely beautiful. I have since ordered several other items and will only order musical related stuff from Sweetwater. No one else compares.
Sweetwater has become my "one-stop" shop for all of my music and recording needs. The personnel are always helpful and committed to customer satisfaction. After my on-line purchase, they called me to follow-up and see if I had any questions or issues. That certainly enhanced the customer experience.
The guitar I wanted was out of stock so I called to find out when they would be back in stock. My rep was honest with time frame and helpful. I received an email with pictures of my guitar when it came in to Sweetwater. They check it over before shipping. I received my guitar sooner than I expected. They follow up to make sure all is good with the guitar. I will buy from Sweetwater again and highly recommend them.
Thanks for being patient with us on out of stock items Diane! We try to keep up with our customers orders as much as possible, and we are thankful for understanding customers like yourself who are willing to wait for their amazing guitar! I hope you are having a blast with it, and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to reach out!
- Zach Bloom, Sweetwater Customer Experience
The information in Internet is confused. If you buy software they hidden important app formation so I can't use it and of course they don't give your money back. The only reason that I gave them 2 stars is because they have a good post sale service, and he tried to resolve my problem, but the only way is pay for another program. In the end of the day is best lost the money and never buy nothing to them again.
-Isidro, thank you for taking the time to leave this review. I am sorry to hear that your most recent purchase with us was less than ideal. I would like to opportunity to help make this right. Please email me directly alisha_hall@sweetwater.com
I live in San Antonio and we have a few little music shops in addition to Guitar Center which is the retail music store. After shopping Sweetwater, I will never shop the others again. Not only are the prices comparable, the customer service was phenomenal. I placed 2 orders and after each other, I was personally called by a Sweetwater rep confirming my order and letting me know the shipping details. I was kept updated via email on the delivery status. My order was delivered on time. I ordered a Boss pedal, Wah pedal, connector cables, 18" cymbal, and cymbal attachment, I was so impressed with the security of the packaging. I 100% would recommend Sweetwater to anyone looking to purchase anything music related. Thank you Sweetwater for making this Christmas purchase so easy and enjoyable.
I purchased an XCG4 guitar stand from sweetwater in 4/2021. The rubber security strap broke within 3 days. I contacted Sweetwater, asked them to send me a replacement rubber strap within a few weeks. Instead they replaced the entire stand, including shipping, at no cost to me.
Bonus points: they were the low-cost vendor, they include a small pack of hard candies in the shipping box, and I got a personal post-sales call from a sales rep.
They are now my go-to music supplier.
A Nashville banjo player
Sorry to hear about your guitar stand! Also, thanks for giving us a chance to make it right, and for making us your go-to music store! We look forward to helping with any of your music needs!
- Zach Bloom, Sweetwater Customer Experience
I've been dealing with Sweetwater Sound for the past couple of years. I have purchased all kinds of equipment and there has never been a problem with any products. But that's not the best part. Their customer service and staff are what makes this company #1. The Sound Engineers are top notch and professional. I highly recommend!
I had a great experience. I googled guitar strings ended up going with sweetwaters store to purchase from. My order was shipped fast, i got a personal text message asking me if i got my tracking number and was told if i had any issues i could contact him back. When i got my order i even got a little bag of candy my kid enjoyed that... so needless to say i will be recommending and buying here again. Thank you joel for all your help
My online experience with Sweetwater was excellent. Easy to use website, shipping was very prompt and follow up from representative checking on my satisfaction. I will definitely shop at Sweetwater again!
Overview
Sweetwater has a rating of 4.1 stars from 1,195 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with Sweetwater most frequently mention customer service, sales rep and free shipping. Sweetwater ranks 1st among Music Equipment sites.
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- Fort Wayne, IN, United States
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Business History
Chuck founded Sweetwater as a recording studio in Fort Wayne in 1979. The business was first located in his home on Getz Road, then moved to a subsequent home on Bass Road. Initially the fledgling company focused on providing recording services to local and national artists and businesses.
Two things prompted the leap from recording studio to music retailer. The first was Chuck's frustration with being unable to find a reliable, knowledgeable music technology retailer. Prices were outrageous, and after-sale technical service and support for the sophisticated electronics he used in his studio were non-existent.
Then, in the early 1980s, the revolutionary Kurzweil K250 appeared. This groundbreaking keyboard gave musicians and composers access to realistic orchestral and other sounds, opening new possibilities for music composition and performance. Chuck created his own sound library for the keyboard, and quickly gained a national reputation as an expert at programming the instrument. Renowned musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, and other top names began consulting with Chuck, purchasing K250 factory options and upgrades through him. Recognizing the industry's need for a new, dependable, customer-oriented approach to the musical instrument and professional audio sales channel, Sweetwater became a Kurzweil dealer to fulfill these requests.
As Chuck's expertise became known and the industry grew more sophisticated, those original K250 customers returned again and again for product advice. The company began representing more product lines, and rapidly developed and implemented its unique philosophy of relationship-based selling — treating customers as friends —and unmatched pre- and post-sale customer service.
Sweetwater's primary emphasis quickly shifted from recording studio to music retailer. A new building was constructed on Bass Road and was expanded four times to keep up with the skyrocketing growth of the company. But even that wasn't enough, as the company quickly grew to nearly 220 employees. In late 2005, Sweetwater began the process of moving to their new headquarters, located at the intersection of Kroemer Road and U.S. Highway 30. The location's 38,000-square-foot building will be expanded to a total of 150,000 square feet with the addition of a 40,0000-square-foot state-of-the-art distribution center, a rich-media auditorium and recording studios designed by world-renowned acoustician and studio designer Russ Berger, and a technical training center on a 44-acre property that will allow plenty of room for Sweetwater's massive projected growth: 175 additional full-time employees and $150 million in annual sales by 2009, and $180 million in annual sales and 450 total employees by 2010. Most recently, $1 billion is annual sales and over 2000 employees by 2020.
Today, Sweetwater is recognized as one of the most successful and fastest-growing music retailers in the nation. The company has been named to Inc. magazine's list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies three years in a row, and has received the Music Inc. magazine REX Award for excellence in retailing.
Company Representative
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- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
John, thank you so much for choosing to do business with Sweetwater! We are grateful that you are with us, and that you truly understand the Sweetwater Difference! Make sure you send us pictures of your discotheque when its set up, we would love to see it!
- Zach Bloom, Sweetwater Customer Experience