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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.
Tascam unit was priced right, have prev. Experience with the regular -008, wanted the EX features. Excellent unit for chorale recording, v. quick set-up, exc. Quality once you learn the mic level and placement tricks, not-so-easy editing but that's a TASCAM thing, not Sweetwater.
No need to say much else.
Date of experience: May 23, 2017
Just brought $700.00 worth of pedals My salesman Dan is very knowledgeable and gave me a pretty good discount on them. When I placed my order he spent over 1hr 30 min answering my questions. I was supposed to get a guitar a week later he said they were waiting for the order they did not come in yet he miscalculated so it will be another 2 week wait no big deal. I also returned one of my pedals a DD7 and was returned without incident. Overall a good experience and will use them again if you want to try out gear go to Guitar Center then buy it from Sweetwater as GC has screwed me and thousands of others
Date of experience: April 9, 2016
I ordered a guitar, it sat in their warehouse for 4 days before it was sent out, I called to cancel and was told it was shipped out days ago. I called Fedex they said "the label was created on Thursday, but they did not get it until Monday." So I thought I had learned my lesson, next order was on a Sunday night, I spent an extra $20 for two day shipping expecting the package by Wednesday. They didn't even ship it until after shipping hours Tuesday night. Fedex told me I would not get it until Friday, meanwhile I ordered something from Musician's Friend Monday night, via ground and received it Thursday. I will never order from Sweetwater again. It takes two days for Fedex to send something across the country, but it also takes them 2-4 days to be bothered to mail anything. Lazy, dishonest company that has officially lost my business.
Date of experience: July 8, 2015
2nd purchase in a year. Haven't had a negative experience to speak of, unlike other music retailers that will go unmentioned, but one of them has verifiable financial issues, not rumors. Very good selection, sales without gimmicks and a no-charge, 2 yr warranty.
But don't take my word for it. Or the word of someone who has had (numerous?), bad experiences. Personally, after one truly bad experience, I wouldn't go back.
Just saying. Listen to well known people in the industry. They're all over U-Tube.
Date of experience: May 24, 2018
I was amazed the first time I ordered from Sweetwater. I purchased a new rack mount case online and the next day I received a call from "Karl" just to thank me for my purchase and let me know that if I needed anything to give him a call. That's it. He was not trying to sell me anything... just called to thank me. That's customer service. Since that time, I have called Karl a number of times whenever I have a question about something. He's always helpful and Sweetwater is my first stop when I need new gear.
Date of experience: April 14, 2014
Because of the excellent service that I get from my sales rep Jared Kalish, I don't even consider buying music gear anywhere other than Sweetwater Sound. Don't even shop around for cheaper prices. Wouldn't be worth it.
Date of experience: December 15, 2019
I ordered a guitar with specific instructions that if the guitar is on backorder to REFUND my money immediately. After over a month of waiting I managed to get a call through to them and found out that it was indeed on backorder and would not be available for another month. Only after being told directly over the phone to refund my money was it mailed back to me. Refund checks are only sent out on Wednesdays so another week went by. Save yourself the wait and order elsewhere.
Date of experience: March 15, 2018
I started playing guitar again in our worship band a few months ago. Since I had gotten rid of most of my gear I had to rebuild my pedalboard. Sweetwater is where I got most of this done. They had everything that I was looking for and got it to me fast. I always received a follow up call to make sure everything was good with the order and it always was. As I continue to need things(endless tweaking), Sweetwater has more than earned my business.
Date of experience: June 12, 2021
I originally called Sweetwater for a 'deal' several years ago. I spoke to a rep, David M, who happens to be a great person and better rep. Since that initial purchase I have purchased a new recording setup for my acoustic piano, purchased a keyboard setup for my son, as well as getting the 'perfect' page turner for the music on my iPad. I should add that as a woman 'of a certain age' my knowledge of electronics consists of knowing how an on/off switch works. David's approach made my equipment basically and on/off system with AWESOME ease of setup, recording and playback. Heck, he even introduced me to a Rachmaninov Elegie which I will include in my next recital...
With David's experience and knowledge of available products I got PRIMO equipment within my fixed income budget. I heartily recommend Sweetwater for all your musical and electronic needs.
Oh, and the after sale support? Bravo!
Date of experience: July 14, 2018
I gave Sweetwater a 5 star rating.
I have dealt with Guitar Center, Reverb and Sam Ash Music,
But I believe Sweetwater is much more responsive, plus the free shipping
In most cases, makes pricing much more favorable.
I have never had to return any merchandise.
All have worked from the get-go.
Tip for consumers:
Always check out the videos, both at Sweetwater and
Youtube for comparison demonstration of the item you
are considering.
Date of experience: August 14, 2017
I'm about to drop over 3k in studio equipment and the sales rep hasn't returned my calls. I've called twice and it's been weeks. I guess they don't care for new customers. Now I'm going to soundpure since they have free 3 year warranty and I can try before I buy! I hope Sweetwater reads this. Good bye SW!
Date of experience: August 3, 2016
I bought a drum set from Sweetwater and they will not resolve my problem by taking it back I used to drum set for X in the piigs keep coming out of my floor. I will never buy anything from sweetwater again. They sent me junk. Now I'm stuck with this drum kit
Date of experience: September 27, 2017
If you are a musician or want to learn to play, Sweetwater should be in your favorites list. I am an experienced musician, know the biz well. If you are looking for a killer deal, likley they have it! Customer service and sales engineers will bend over backward for you... I am proof.
Date of experience: November 12, 2019
Very disgusted with sweetwater right now i applied for there credit card and was denied now that would be understandable if i had bad credit but i dont! 745 credit which is more then respectable i have no problem getting cars other credit cards etc. im disgusted with sweetwater right now what do u have to have a credit score of 800+ to get approved for a 400.00 purchace shame on u guys
Date of experience: September 19, 2018
The most helpful people for live sound - One call to the guys at Sweetwater and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. These people actually use the gear they are selling so they call tell you anything you want to know and the customer service is second to none.
Date of experience: February 2, 2009
This was my first order with Sweetwater and could not have been more please. From my one on one with a sales engineer to the quick shipping. My only bad experience was with the slowness of the USPS which is no fault of Sweetwater. Would recommend them to everyone.
Date of experience: March 28, 2018
Ordered drum heads mid March roughly. Sales rep said some were not in stock and there would be a "slight delay". A follow up email a few day later from a different rep informed me my order would be delivered "sometime in April". What? If I would have been informed of this firstly I would NOT have even placed the order! Contaced Musicians Friend and they had ALL the heads in stock and free shipping at the same price. Hmmm... Yes the sales reps are generally excellent but...I'm unfortunately sceptical now...and NO offer to remedy my situation by a set of free drumstix or something to keep me as a customer. Odd...
Date of experience: March 23, 2023
I've been ordering from Sweetwater since the 1990's. This company is very well supervised and if one representative doesn't have the answer, it's always simple to find someone who does. It's wonderful how vast a selection of products they offer and service. The company president Chuck Surack founded this company himself and built it into the gold standard of musical instrument supply in this country. I couldn't recommend Sweetwater higher.
Date of experience: November 12, 2014
Ordered acoustic foam. Sweetwater took my money. Sweetwater then told me to call them for shipping. I called Sweetwater and they said they were out of stock, after taking my money. Lousy ethics; lousy customer service. Just lousy overall!
Tip for consumers:
Caveat Emptor! Watch out!
Products used:
Cancelled order. Will re-order from another business.
Date of experience: March 3, 2023
I called them twice for the same product (universal audio Apollo Twin), the first "sales audio engineer" didn't know how the product or offer works. I called them a second time, thinking was just that sales agent, but the second time was the same bad experience. Very disappointing, it used to have a better quality of services.
Date of experience: November 10, 2022
Getting into recording great prices on gear when you get it on sale. Can't wait for next sale. I just don't know what I would do if not for sweetwater, I just love how fast everything ships really fast
Date of experience: April 3, 2017
Sweetwater has a great selection of products to chose from and they are priced right.
Prompt delivery. And the staff is very pleasant and helpful in getting the right product.
I buy things for our son and he recommended I go to sweetwater because he felt they were the best place to get the things he wanted.
Date of experience: December 17, 2018
Super service. I bought a new set of headphones a while ago. One side developed a loose connection. I called and they were immediately replaced. I just bought a Roland FA-08. The research and advice done to help me make a decision on the right keyboard for my needs was right on spot! I live on a lake in rural Wisconsin and do not have local access to evaluate my equipment needs. Sweetwater is the one vendor that has a sales staff dedicated to provide knowledgable and honest insights into equipment and that is very important to me.
Date of experience: August 23, 2017
These guys are awesome. I bought a few items from them (mic and interface). They shipped immediately, and followed up with a phone call and a number to text them with any questions. I have texted them MANY times - they respond within minutes and they are always knowledgeable, professional, friendly and extremely helpful.
Date of experience: May 16, 2022
Thanks Pat, really appreciate the kind words! Glad to hear your experience has been so positive. We'll look forward to working with you again!
Please no one believes these offers because they are false because I bought a guitar takamine tc132sc. The real price is 1549. 99 and the offer price is 1399. 99 and the offer was there. When I opened a new cadet from synchrony bank, the two of them cleared the offer and deleted the offer and said we have no offers. Please believe me and do not go for this false offer
Date of experience: June 11, 2021
Hi Ghazwan,
Thank you for providing your review of Sweetwater. We take customer feedback, such as this, very seriously. I am so sorry that there was miscommunication over what was being offered. After spending yesterday, digging into your feedback, we discovered that someone on our team made a mistake about the terms of the offer. This has been addressed, but we want to make sure that we take care of you. As a result, we are going to honor our commitment and process the refund back to your account. Again, I'm very sorry for our mistake and thank you for your patience with Sweetwater. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at justin_dunbar@sweetwater.com.
Justin Dunbar
Director of Customer Experience
justin_dunbar@sweetwater.com
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.
David, I am so happy to hear that we were able to get you all the equipment you needed, in a timely manner! Thank you for your review, loyalty to Sweetwater, and your trust in our business! We strive to make every experience as great as yours! We cannot wait to serve you in the future!
- Quincee Musselman, Sweetwater Customer Experience