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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.
Customer service was rude and I received a product that didn't work. Over 1000$ I can't get back. Will never use this company again.
Tip for consumers:
Don’t use this site.
Products used:
None because they didn’t work
Date of experience: October 18, 2022
Ryan was a great help! Gave me options discuss the differences and I got the stage box with 3 days. Excellent in all aspects!
Date of experience: January 27, 2022
Always have what I need. Customer service is the best. I've been a customer for about 8 years and can't see ever going someplace else.
Date of experience: June 18, 2020
They took a personal interest in my needs. Called just to verify address, and shipped the same day I ordered. The equipment is perfect also.
Date of experience: February 8, 2023
Customer service was great! I just received my Es 335 it was setup and ready to play right out of the box. Good job guys!
Date of experience: March 19, 2019
Phone calls and emails to assure a smooth transaction... the item ordered arrived damaged, Sweetwater had its replacement in the mail that same day.
Date of experience: April 9, 2018
We brought a keyboard stand from sweetwater I honestly love it the price and quality was great definitely will be ordering from them again
Products used:
88 key keyboard stand
Date of experience: April 2, 2023
Loved the personal touch...Great Company, Great Service, Great Product! Every promise was kept, no detail was left out!
Products used:
Guitar Pedal
Date of experience: December 30, 2023
Sweetwater is by far, the best company, I have ever dealt with!
They are totally awesome, and I would recommend them to anyone!
Date of experience: March 15, 2020
I ordered some cymbals and still have not received them. It has been over a month. Not even an update on my order.
Date of experience: July 14, 2020
I've used Sweetwater for my past two purchases of Finale and have found them very helpful throughout the purchase and installation process.
Date of experience: July 31, 2017
They had a guitar in stock on-line when a competitor of theirs didn't. Very friendly associates and fast shipping!
I recommend them!
Date of experience: November 3, 2020
I have ordered an upgrade for Reason 10. I paid via PayPal and received the code in one minute. Can't be better!
Date of experience: January 18, 2018
I would recommend this Business to everyone I know. They have been doing a very great job. Thank you for your service
Date of experience: May 2, 2020
For a great product I am very satisfied, Chris was very good at working with me on my purchase. Thank You!
Date of experience: August 4, 2017
Just what I wanted, got it before they said it would arrive and sounds good! Great company
Never had any problems.
Date of experience: February 1, 2021
Short, sweet, and to the point! I like it! Glad your experience has been great with us so far!
- Zach Bloom, Customer Experience
I downloaded pro tools with their amazing customer service! They stayed on the phone with me until it was all done!
Date of experience: September 4, 2020
Sweetwater has legendary customer service for a reason: they take care of you at point of sale and afterward as well.
Date of experience: September 3, 2019
Have been a customer since at least 2016 or earlier. Made a large order and 3 items were listed on the site as "in-stock very soon", so I figured I had 6 weeks to wait, no big deal. 4 weeks go by, I send in an email asking for an ETA. Was told "late December/early January". Early January gets here, I send in an email. No response. I call Support to find out. Support then tells me that 2 of my 3 items were another month to 2 months out. The lack of warning or communication and the fact I had to be on the phone with Support for 45 minutes already frustrated me. They transferred me to another agent. This CS agent tells me they will credit my account instead of give me a direct refund after I ask to just cancel the items and return refund to the card I paid with. I say I need it on my card and let me them know I was charged the full amount and there was no "credit" issued to my account. They try to tell me I was not charged full amount and I was credited. The proof was in my AMEX statement. I told them this and the agent literally screamed at me and berated me for disagreeing. When I asked to speak to someone high up in management, they then screamed at me, "It won't do you any good. They're not going to do anything." After screaming and berating me some more, they finally transferred me to a very kind CS Manager that confirmed I was correct about my frustration and refund I was supposed to get. From there, I was issued a refund and an apology. I've spent a lot of money with Sweetwater over the years, it'll be a hard choice for me to do business with them again. Gave an extra star for the past good service, but this interaction has left me with a bad taste. Review your CS agents phone calls, and teach them patience and how to respectfully talk to people without raising their voice or personally attacking them. Sweetwater was in the wrong from the beginning here, still in disbelief how this situation was initially handled.
Update: The Customer Service Manager called me directly the next day to confirm with me that they listened to my phone call in question. They apologized profusely and even sent me a gift card, which they did not have to do. That went a long way with me.
Tip for consumers:
Double check ETA prior to purchasing something that says it isn't in stock but will be very soon. Check your invoice and what your payment method tells you - be firm, ask for higher management if CS agent is being unhelpful or rude.
Products used:
Drum heads/accessories and sticks
Date of experience: January 4, 2023
From my own experience, I can say that the sales end of sweetwater is very good, with good customer service, deals, and finance options.
Unfortunately, for me that is where the positive experience ends. Sweetwater claims to have the best support and repair team in the industry, with "the fastest turnaround time".
Nothing could be farther from the truth. After the hardware they sold me spontaniously blasting static white noise after 9 months, I payed $27 to send it to their repair crew.
After a few weeks, they send me an email saying they werent actually qualified to fix the device like they had advertized, but needed to send it to actual experts at the manufacturer.
2 full months pass! No calls, no emails, and the support line is unreachable, leaving messages useless. I was not offered any substitute hardware.
Finnally, I became so fed up with waiting that I called a manager to complain. I told him I had read the 2-year all inclusive warranty information and wanted to know how many more weeks of waiting i had to expect.
After that he appologized and offered me a full refund on the devise (although not the shipping fee for the now useless repair ticket). I agreed and proceeded to start waiting 3 days for that to show up.
In conclusion, don't use sweetwater's bulls**t repair, just demand a refund from a manager.
Date of experience: December 4, 2013
Hands down, this was the BEST EXPERIENCE I've ever had when purchasing a guitar. Got a "like new" (in my opinion) demo model at a great price, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Literally an hour after my online purchase I got a telephone call from the sales engineer that handled my order thanking me and telling me my order is being shipped as he speaks and if there were any questions or concerns, he would personally take care of me. Then, he emailed professional-quality photos of my actual guitar so I could show it off to my buddies, and also let me know my guitar underwent a 55- point Evaluation. Then, my guitar arrived at my doorstep the VERY NEXT DAY! To top it off, a few days after its arrival, the President and Founder of the company sent a Thank You email along with all the Department Head contacts (including his) in-case I had any questions, comments or concerns! WOW! Nobody, I Mean NOBODY takes care of a customer like that, and this is why Sweetwater is simply The BEST! I really felt like I was important, and my purchase was truly appreciated! Oops, almost forgot to mention the little bag of candy sent with the guitar - a nice touch too! THANK YOU SWEETWATER!
Date of experience: December 20, 2018
Never had a worse experience with a company.
During black Friday we ordered a guitar for my daughter, who has been saving for years for this special event. The company took our order and our money but nothing came. This is a very expensive guitar and case! I got a call from a guy saying well they were out of stock. Then another call with the excuse that they had to verify my CC. I use it all the time for online and jumped through ridiculous hoops. He said the guitar would be here in 2 days. My daughter literally waited by the window for nearly 2 weeks. We planned to order several years worth of savings in music live sound and band equipment for Christmas and had decided to order it all from Sweetwater. We hesitated when they gave us such a run around for one simple order of a guitar. We missed other company's black Friday deals and Christmas coupons while Sweetwater took their Sweet time. I left messages and finally emailed the guy I had jumped through hoops for before. They were out of stock but he still said I should send a wire transfer to them! I have loved Musician's Friend and Guitar Center in past and never had a single problem ordering from them. My friend who orders a lot from Sweetwater for their bands talked me into using Sweetwater. I know they used to have a good reputation in the past, but these guys are dishonest, and nothing more than a scam company now. I hope you don't risk your money with them. Initially we thought it was worth it for the better deal they had on a warranty. Now that I've asked around I've learned that a warranty from Sweetwater is worthless anyway. I will never risk ordering from these guys again. Stick with someone safe like Musician's Friend or Guitar Center.
Date of experience: December 11, 2014
Sweetwater goes above & beyond to make people happy. I was very satisfied with my dealings. Thanks. Sweetwater for life
Date of experience: October 26, 2020
I enjoy shopping with Sweetwater, everything is excellent about them. Price, product range, customer service, shipping. All is first class.
Date of experience: November 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.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Julian! When you have a moment, could you please confirm your order number? We'd like to look into this for you as soon as we can. You may email our Customer Service team directly at WeCare@sweetwater.com. Thanks again for reaching out!