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Sweetwater has a rating of 3.4 stars from 1,193 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 2nd among Music Equipment sites.
This company responds to reviews on average within 4 hours
Sweetwater's customer service is phenomenal! They have a good range of products and with good prices. The guitar we bought was affordable and great quality. It arrived quickly with no damage - it was packed well. I was surprised and impressed to get a call from Sweetwater just a few days after the guitar was delivered. They were just making sure everything was good. That's great customer service!
Ordered some products then the next day A representative reached out and said they were sold out & products would not be available till January and wanted to know if I still wanted them. I let them know I did. They reached back out two days later saying their was a glitch in the website and I could not have the products for the price I purchased them for. I was fished to their website to buy the products on a sponsored advertisement from Google. False Advertising is Illegal. My Wife has got me gear from these guys for years. I have advised her and she will no longer make purchases through them.
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.
Date of experience: November 29, 2017
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.
Products used:
Guitar picks
Date of experience: May 14, 2023
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!
Date of experience: February 3, 2020
I am Jim W6LG, YouTube ham radio Elmer and I have 45,000 subscribers. My Sales Engineer at Sweetwater is absolutely the best. His name is Jonah Gordon, *******700 ext 3807. If you need some advice, he is the guy to call. I do not work for Sweetwater. I have no connection with Sweetwater. I paid full retail for both devices. By the Sweetwater had the lowest price and free shipping! If for you ham radio station you need something, call Jonah. He had relatives with a license and so he understands our needs. Thanks for reading this and 73 from Jim W6LG near Sacramento.
Products used:
Mic Stands
Date of experience: October 17, 2023
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
Tip for consumers:
Technician very knowledgeable of sound and needs
Products used:
Crown Amps
BBE sound processor
Dbx
Behringer
Date of experience: April 10, 2021
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
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.
Date of experience: August 20, 2023
-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
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
Date of experience: May 14, 2022
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!
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.
Tip for consumers:
Checkout the sweetwater card if you want to start practicing but are still trying to save up the cash for your instrument.
Date of experience: January 14, 2022
When the other two guitar shops that I contacted either just wanted to sell out of inventory or were not interested in processing a custom order request my Sales Tech (Adam Hunter)@ Sweetwater Music "got the job done". Sweetwater should have been my first call and not last. It won't happen again!
A stunning acoustic guitar was ordered from the Martin Custom Shop to honor the memory of my Mom who passed away August one year ago.
Also, the relationship that my wife and I have established with Adam@ Sweetwater over the past few years is greatly appreciated.
Products used:
Guitar & related accessories
Date of experience: September 29, 2023
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
Tip for consumers:
They don't post honest reviews only reviews that benefit sweetwater
Products used:
None guitar don't tune properly and other issues so it sits in case .
Date of experience: June 16, 2023
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.
Date of experience: October 13, 2020
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.
Date of experience: January 13, 2017
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.
Products used:
Guitar
Date of experience: April 11, 2021
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
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
Products used:
Guitar stand.
Date of experience: April 13, 2021
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 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.
Products used:
Boss pedal, wah pedal, cymbal, cymbal attachment, pedal cables.
Date of experience: December 26, 2022
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!
Products used:
Guitars, Keyboards, Marshall Amp
Date of experience: January 7, 2022
I highly recommend Sweetwater for all your Musical and Electronic purchasing needs. They truly stand behind their Customer Service for their customers. Not only do they have a huge selection to choose from, but they also Educate you on the products they offer. I learned a lot through their videos, which helps me pick the right products for my personal needs.
Date of experience: September 14, 2023
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
Date of experience: April 27, 2022
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!
Date of experience: August 22, 2017
I had many options when buying my new PA system, but I decided to give Sweetwater a try because of the current promotion they were running. I'm so glad I bought with Sweetwater, I've never experienced such amazing customer service. Thanks all!
Date of experience: April 20, 2017
I have been a customer of Sweetwater for over 30 years. They have been my "Go-To" source for developing, upgrading and maintaining my home recording studio. After 30 years of working with Sweetwater, I can confidently say they are the best in the industry. If they don't have it, you don't need it. The technical support and customer service is world class. If every company treated customers like Sweetwater does, it would be a nice world to live in. My sales engineer follows up with me consistently throughout the year and has been incredibly responsive. After investing tens of thousands of dollars over the years into my studio, I would not even consider going to anyone else for my recording studio and music gear needs.
Date of experience: December 5, 2017
My experience with Sweetwater has always been very positive, from back when I was ordering equipment for Drew University, to my post-retirement personal needs now, the qualities which stand out: Always generous with time, Rapid response to questions. Super shipping process. In a word, Cool.
Date of experience: April 28, 2017
I brought a Fender Deluxe Reverb limited edition amp. There tracking is a joke, they claim it will be delivered in 4 days. I view thru there tracking my Amp has been in another state with no updates for 5 days now. If it don't arrive today I will not accept it. Go buy where you are treated good.
Date of experience: December 28, 2017
Awesome website, very easy to find what I am looking for, searching by categories and price range makes my life super easy. Gear works and feels great, got some fuzz pedals for my bass, considering buying a new bass too, they seem trustworthy to handle my needs.
Date of experience: November 19, 2018
I'm a hard working musician that has very little money but lots of talent and Sweetwater gives me credit Which means I can get the gear I need to perform and backs me up with service and tech support.
I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but I can cut a steak and sweet water makes it possible for me to eat,
Date of experience: June 9, 2020
Sprawling megastore featuring high-quality musical instruments & studio recording gear.
How do you go from a portable 4-track recording rig in a Volkswagon bus to being the nation's leading retailer of professional recording and music equipment?
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.
James - Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We appreciate your business and look forward to continuing to be here for you!