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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 bought a $4 pair of drum sticks and the whole experience felt like I was buying a $40,000 Birkin bag!
Products used:
Drum sticks
Date of experience: September 23, 2022
It was awesome! Spent over 4hrs on the phone with Sam Hillman. He was patient and knowledgeable. Very personable too!
Date of experience: February 12, 2019
Love dooing business with them. I get all my equipment and software from them because of the great technical support.
Date of experience: May 17, 2017
I like buying from small and medium American businesses they have good products, they call you, the shipping is fast and the prices are competitive.
Tip for consumers:
Check here before buying from Amazon because shipping is usually faster.
Products used:
Vibes Earplugs and Yamaha Flute Kit
Date of experience: January 7, 2023
5 years with you guys and 0 complain! Costumer service is like family…
Thank you for everything
Att m0stwanted__
Date of experience: March 7, 2023
Received obviously used, slightly damaged gear instead of new gear I ordered. ISP Theta X preamp. Order number *******
Date of experience: September 17, 2018
Customer service was excellent from start to finish. Got a great deal and couldn't be happier with the service.
Date of experience: June 13, 2018
What can I say about SWEETWATER, It's one of the best companies to buy musical equipment online... Order is always correct,
the delivery is Always Prompt... Nothing bad to say 5 stars.
Date of experience: October 21, 2023
I have used SweetWater for years now. Always professional and courteous. Great customer service and guarantees. Answers questions and helpful.
Products used:
Mic system
Date of experience: January 14, 2022
Ben your awesome love my j45 email me and kept me updated on item and when it was going to ship thank you
Tip for consumers:
Best there is
Products used:
Gibson j45
Date of experience: October 19, 2021
This guy personally called me to tell me that he has package my item and shipped it. He also put candy In my shipment. I love you guys
Date of experience: October 11, 2017
I am very impressed
I have unsubscribed to all the other music catalogs, I have consistently found the lowest priced in the best customer service at Sweetwater!
Date of experience: March 16, 2018
Sweetwater does it again! A company made of a spectrum of different professionals including different types of engineers modified this Marshall Origin50 Combo with a 12" Celestion 65 Cream Back Speaker. Sweetwater replaced the stock 12" Celestion Midnight 60 Speaker (a bit brighter) with the Cream Back speaker allowing the Origin50 Combo to produce an even warmer Classic Style British Amp. On playing for the first time, I immediately thought of the band - The Who. The "Classic 60's Rock" sounding amp from across the pond is back again, this time in the USA. It really is an incredible sounding amp. And, then adding a Blues Pedal in front of the amp allows to play warm Blues Tones with that "Marshall Sound". If you're looking for an amp with that 60's Classic British Sound, then this is a sure winner. Sweetwater offers this amp with either the Celestion Midnight 60's Speaker or the Celestion 65 Cream Back Speaker at the same price! Sweetwater does not charge extra for swapping out the speakers. After four years of continuous purchasing of Sweetwater products, whenever I see the term "Sweetwater Special" my eyes and ears perk up because I know that the product truly is a "Special-Upgrade" at a great price by Sweetwater created only by Sweetwater's many professionals and finest.
Tip for consumers:
Look, whether you're shopping for someone else or yourself, Sweetwater will help you make the correct decision based on your needs & budget. Don't make the mistake of shopping at a "chain store". Give Sweetwater a chance to prove themselves to you. I've certainly never regretted it & look forward to continue to shop via Sweetwater as my needs grow. You've got everything to gain & nothing to lose. So, why not try Sweetwater?
Products used:
All my products - nothing wasted.
Date of experience: January 10, 2018
Supposed to charge three separate payments. Took all three at once. Empty apologies. Still no refund.
Date of experience: December 22, 2015
Always a super transaction! With every order, you get helpful technicians and always they give 110%!
Date of experience: October 21, 2017
Received a defective audio amplifier from manufacturer. Sweetwater sent overnight a replacement to ensure zero downtime.
Date of experience: August 31, 2018
Thank you Sweetwater, and especially Dave for such an awesome experience! You guys Rock! Thanks again!
Date of experience: May 27, 2020
Something went wrong with my order I was devastated, but Sweetwater made it right.
Thanks Sweetwater
Date of experience: April 1, 2020
I ordered a guitar and some gear from Sweetwater. My sales engineer " mistakenly," cancelled my order, then tells me I have to wait another month for a new shipment to come in for the guitar. Not responding to repeated inquiries. Bad service. Disgusted! I won't even buy guitar picks from these clowns.
Date of experience: February 26, 2020
Working Las Vegas musician, begging you to not order through this company. Worst experience ever. Over priced. Botched order. They actually held up an epiphone $800 guitar because they didnt have a foot switch in stock. Yeah, foot switch was only $35, but it was on back order and the wouldnt send epiphone guitar $800 without the $35 footswitch. Just wrong. I called to to cancel the foot switch portion of the order and just send the guitar. They promised then would ship the guitar to be delivered on Sunday, so i could be home for delivery. It is being delivered to vegas, summer, hot, and could not sit outside. But i got notice it would be delivered on wednesday... 3 days after promised. Then, i was home on wed, taking a half day off work... but the fedex delivery person just dropped a note at the door statong i was not home. No doorbell ring. I was sitting omly 3 feet from my front door expecting amd waiting for this delivery. In the end, i had to wait another 2 days to go to a fedex pickup delivery point, taking half day off work... ti get my guitar. I paid $800, waited 3 weeks, took 2 days off work, to finallt get a guitar that has a $#*!ed up knob. Yep... knobs are $#*!ed up. DO NOT ORDER. Go to guitar center. Order, have them deliver to store, pick up. Easy. I messed up and gave this company 2 chances. Please dont waste your time
Date of experience: September 5, 2019
Sweetwater simply offers professional service with a wide selection of gear, through the support of competant sales professionals.
Date of experience: August 1, 2017
Reason just keeps stepping up the game. Love the plug-ins and really works well via rewire in protools.
Date of experience: August 28, 2017
Took money from my account and received no order after canceling an order before it shipped. Bad purchase
Products used:
Guitar long time ago
Date of experience: April 22, 2023
Chase - thanks so much for posting this review and I'm so sorry to hear about this poor experience. I'm not sure what happened, but would love to dig in. Please reach out to me at justin_dunbar@sweetwater.com and we'll do everything we can to get this solved!
These guys are awesome! Everything you need here! Guitar Center won't be in business long with these guys around.
Date of experience: October 29, 2020
Have only bought guitar strings, but great company!
Always sends a treat and a follow up call!
Outstanding company
Date of experience: November 4, 2019
Bag has very good protection and is comfortable to handle. My uke is happy. Would recommend this shop.
Date of experience: February 19, 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.
Thank you for the review, Michael! That guitar sure is a beauty!
-Stacia Brinneman, Sweetwater Customer Experience