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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've purchased a few items from Sweetwater, and their follow-up customer service is pretty good. One product I bought had an instruction booklet that was a bit confusing to me, so I called one of their tech experts who pretty much blew me off. I called back later and got a different expert who was not much better and suggested that maybe it was 'pilot error' and that maybe I should have gotten a less-complex device. I've been using all kinds of equipment for years, but this one has me flummoxed and the tech pros aren't exactly helpful in some cases. I've turned to other musician friends who have helped me muddle through to a point, and they agree that the user manual leaves something to be desired. That being said, I now wish I hadn't spent so much on the one I got, and maybe one with fewer features would have been a better choice.
Date of experience: September 5, 2017
I have to say, this company is pretty impressive. I cant believe the customer service, the speed, the thoroughness of every aspect of the ordering process. Just unbelievableI would recommend Sweetwater to anyone interested in the products they offer. Oh, did I mention price too?
Date of experience: November 10, 2017
I can't praise or thank everyone at Sweetwater enough for their help and expertise on every purchase I make. Andrew Plassman is a complete professional in every way and I'm so glad I have him in my corner... I'm a customer for life!
Chuck M.
Date of experience: August 17, 2019
Ordered a guitar in December and Now it's April and I still haven't gotten it. They keep blaming the manufacturer and passing the buck. They preach all this BS about being the best guitar buying experience ever but this has turned into a total clusterf**k
Date of experience: April 8, 2020
Truly a place you want to buy your gear. They make it a personal experience. They call you to thank you for order, let you know its been shipped. Great tech. Support, They even give you candy in your package... im a big kid at heart, so when somebody gives me candy... they have made a friend for life
HIGHLY RECOMENDED
Date of experience: April 13, 2018
The whole team at Sweetwater, has always had my best interest at heart. They treat me like a brother, even though, I live in another state. The people are the best, the gear is the best, the attitude and support are, top notch."Forget the rest; Sweetwater's the best!"
Date of experience: February 7, 2017
I asked questions about the type of equipment I was interested in and got quick detailed response. The Sweetwater team is knowledgeable about the equipment they sale in relation to the environment it will be used in.
Date of experience: June 12, 2017
I couldn't believe how on top of things the staff at Sweetwater were. As soon as I had ordered my product, I received a call of appreciation from Tyler who was personally letting me know that they had received the order and would ship it out immediately. When my package arrived, it was accompanied by a bag of lollies and a 'thank you' note. I was honestly in shock from the whole experience at how prompt and personable the whole experience was. On top of that, Streetwater's prices are almost always the most competitive. 10/10 would recommend
Date of experience: December 23, 2016
I have been using Sweetwater for many years now as we maintain an entire church of sound systems and gear. They have been super helpful offering suggestions and even install suggestions. FAST FREE Shipping and very comparable pricing.
Date of experience: March 13, 2018
I have bought several items from Sweetwater and all have worked excellent. The service is the best by far.
Even if you buy a $5 item or larger one, you get treated with the same excellent service. The prices are very competitive with the same quality.
Date of experience: November 10, 2020
Ordered off their website and they cancelled my order with an excuse that the product was sold out. They had the same product listed on four different websites. The product was listed for sale by Sweetwater Sound on EBay, Reverb, Amazon, and their home website. The product was in stock on every website. I ordered it at 6am/9am Eastern and they approved the transaction. Two hours later they cancel the order after they charged my credit card. I've ordered from Sweetwater before and this is trash customer service from them. I got a crappy "sorry, have a nice day" email with my cancelled order email. Sweetwater really dropped the ball on this one and I told the customer service rep I'd make a bad review for the crappy service and here it is. Well deserved.
Date of experience: August 30, 2023
I don't even remember how I first heard of Sweetwater, all I know is that I am glad that I did! Not to sound too hokey, but they have an incredible selection, great prices and their customer service is second to none. I have a great relationship with my sales guy Mark. He gives great advice when I have questions about equipment. Don't listen to the naysayers on here with their negative reviews. They are dead wrong. Sweetwater is the best!
Date of experience: May 25, 2020
I have been depending upon Sweetwater for over fifteen years. Tyler, my sales engineer, has given me some fantastic service; his pre-sales technical support is the most important reason why I will continue to be their patron. The 30-day (post-sale) price match is awesome too (which I leveraged for a 33% savings recently).
Anyhow, I just purchased a set of the Roland TD-50K V-Drums (especially for the 8 configurable direct outs!) and I am psyched to get the kit working with Superior Drummer. Last drum kit I bought from Sweetwater had a MIDI problem after about 11 months (the bass player tripped on the cable and tweaked the connector) and they took care of the whole problem without any cost to me.
Date of experience: October 5, 2018
Thoroughly satisfied with prompt shipping (most of website inventory always in stock), competitive pricing / great deals, most of all with the knowledgeable as well as completely-capable-and-eager-to-help staff in the entire organization.
Date of experience: January 5, 2018
I bought the Vista deer guitar. I also purchased some picks and a strap. Ben was nice enough to call me and let me know the strap was on backorder and it was holding up my order. He asked if I wanted him to send me pictures of other straps that were in stock. I thought that was so nice of him and really great costumer service. I was very impressed from the beginning first placing the order to receiving the order. Everything was very high quality. I will definitely recommend sweet water to all my music friends and family.
Products used:
Luna Vista deer guitar
Date of experience: January 26, 2021
As a music professional who graduated from Berklee College of Music, I always appreciate the fact that Sweetwater personnel can intelligently speak with beginners, or professionals about equipment, or figuring out a solution to an issue. That's why I keep coming back.
Date of experience: July 27, 2019
After getting hosed on a dream mic from a seller on eBay, I was Leary about shopping online. But decided to take a chance and I gave Sweetwater their shot to earn my present and future business. They overachieved. I love my new gear, (The Slate Digital VMS) and love the professionalism that Sweetwater demonstrated handling my order. I will be buying from them again.
Date of experience: April 5, 2017
I was contacted that my interface was on back-order (thanks Covid!) and the representative called and emailed my to ask if I was willing to wait the 1-4 weeks for re-supply, or if there were other options I wanted to look at. There was an offer to make like/appropriate suggestions for other options. Throughout the process, the rep was in contact with calls/texts/emails to keep me informed of order status and updates.
As a sales professional myself, I was beyond impressed with the communication and updates on my pretty low dollar amount order. Sweetwater has gained my respect and have created a repeat customer.
Date of experience: December 15, 2020
This is THE place to shop for all your musical needs. Customer service is 2nd to none. The store is amazing, the website is easy to navigate & order & their shipping is fast with very well packaged orders. You cannot go wrong! Give them your business & you will never regret it!
Products used:
Too many orders to list
Date of experience: August 18, 2023
Excellent service, very good product, for me one to two day shipping. And the best of the best sales engineer, Chris Sanders courteous, polite, and had a very good answer for every question that I had about any of the products that I bought and was thinking about. Thanks Chris Sanders and Sweetwater for a great buying experience!
Date of experience: April 21, 2017
With every purchase that I have made at Sweetwater my sales engineer Mike Bell has personally called me to make sure that everything was okay with my purchase. I recently purchased a long scale bass guitar and shortly after purchased two sets of strings. I found out that the strings I purchased were too short for my new bass. I contacted Mike Bell and he immediately shipped me the correct strings. I was going to return the wrong size strings but he insisted that I keep them and give them to a friend. He did not charge me for the new strings now that's what I call awesome customer service. The mistake was mine for ordering the wrong strings but he graciously sent me the correct ones. I wouldn't shop anywhere else.
Products used:
Schecter bass guitar, Gator padded gig bag, Ernie Ball padded strap, Ernie Ball bass guitar strings, Lava bass guitar instrument cable.
Date of experience: March 22, 2023
Wow! If the rest of the crew at Sweetwater music is anything like Codie Priester then you will never find better customer service! Won't bore anyone with details but while buying my first new guitar since 1990 their was a misunderstanding about the one I wanted, already paid for and shipped Codie fixed the problem before I even got him on the phone, I emailed him at 4:45 am and called at open, straight up 9:00, not only did he answer his extension that early but he already knew why I was calling and had fixed it, I was absolutely blown away at the care he genuinely had for me, met him on the phone two days ago, I'm sold, thank you Sweetwater
Date of experience: January 15, 2019
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. He speced the mixer, powered speakers, and sub-woofer and shipped them out. I hooked them up, realized I should have read the manual more than I did, and once I got it figured out, Holy crap! It might be a little bit of overkill, but it rocks better than I imagined it would. It sounds amazing. These guys know their stuff and really take care of you.
Date of experience: September 18, 2017
While searching eBay for a new Fender Strat I came across the one I now own. Before selecting Buy It Now I decided to call the seller (Sweetwater). I was connected with Brad Jahn whom I now consider my friend. He answered my questions in a very positive manner leading to the purchase of my now Stratocaster! Now two weeks later I have contacted Brad and purchased a new ESP. Some say keep it local but in this case better than my local Guitar Center hands down!
Date of experience: March 1, 2017
As always with Sweetwater they exceeded my expectations I had a problem with the first amp they had another amp in my house within a day... awesome. I work in the service industry Sweetwater's service is the best
Date of experience: December 29, 2016
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.
That is a beautiful guitar! Thank you for the amazing review, and the recommendations! Enjoy your new guitar!
- Zach Bloom, Customer Experience