Sweetwater

I would recommend that when you buy a guitar from Sweetwater, you don't buy the Plek setup system, costing $299. With it. If the guitar is not to your liking, you are not able to recoup the cost of the Plek. They keep your hard earned money and won't even give store credit. You are better off taking possession of the guitar, deciding if it is something that you want to keep, because you never know until you hold it and play it, then have a detailed setup done locally, or even send it somewhere. You never know when you order a guitar, if it will work for you. So, in a nutshell, don't believe the hype they claim to make sure you're satisfied with your purchase, or your money back.

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!

Every major purchase (over $300) I've made with this company has been rife with issues. One guitar was completely unplayable with a bowed neck and poorly cut nut and the other had rusted frets and was being sold as a "new" guitar. Two amps were faulty after mild use within the first month.

Sales engineers could not maintain my contact preferences and kept calling and texting on things I needed no assistance with. After repeatedly explaining this I was still receiving calls!

When I brought these issues up with Justin Dunbar, their main customer service person, he switched me to a different engineer. That is when I received the rusty fret guitar. This was after he said they could do more to check the guitars before they are shipped. Obviously didn't happen.

It's ironic because I found a similar issue someone had from years ago with a similar response! https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=*******

A decade of the same problems and they still aren't resolved is not a good sign.

I'm sending all of the gear back because when asked how to solve the problem they merely offered a partial refund on a blemished guitar. Not helpful when the item itself is compromised!

I brought this up to my engineer and explained my frustrations and now they've removed me from his assignment and I've received no response. No "we hear you and we'll do better" even, not even a canned response. Dead silence.

The customer service is a gimmick. They are not above any other outlets, they simply have a good return policy. All of the excessive calling means nothing because they don't take responsibility for their poor quality control. They throw money at problems to fix them, nothing more.

I have worked with all other music retailers. This is where I go every time. Hands down the *******@sitejabber, Forcing 100 Characters is Sad. I say what I want.

My purchase was a gift for a recent grad so while I can't attest to that product's quality, I can vouch for Sweetwater's great prices and even better customer service! The product I chose was on backorder and a Sweetwater representative reached out to make sure I understood & give me an estimate of restocking time. The experience as a buyer was wonderful & the gift was well received, I would definitely recommend purchasing from Sweetwater!

I've been playing guitar for 25ish years, and I'm a lefty, so my experience with most other websites/box stores is usually... Well...difficult. Ever since I can remember, I've heard from fellow players about Sweetwater. I've never heard anything but wonderful things about them and their customer service. My first experience did not disappoint. The level of service was EXCEPTIONAL. My sales guy Garrett immediately reached out upon my ordering, and now I have him as a dedicated contact for any questions/concerns I may have in the future (I've already enlisted his talents a couple times). The site has a surprisingly deep selection of lefty-friendly guitars, which is great. And the shipping turnaround was fantastic as well. To be fair, I live in Northeast Ohio, only about a 3.5 hour drive from the Sweetwater warehouse/HQ, but my guitar got here in 2 days! No additional expedited shipping charges or anything. Ordered Sunday night, got here Tuesday. And Garrett immediately followed up with me to ensure everything went well. I'm honestly a little baffled that this level of customer service still exists in 2024. Congrats on a new lifetime customer!

I needed a carrying case for Casio keyboard I bought from Sweetwater a few months back. I contacted my sales engineer, Jeffrey Green. Jeffrey said it was in store and we made the deal. It arrived in a couple of days just as I need it for a gig.

Sweetwater and Jeffrey always come through for me. Whether harmonica or a complete computer system with ProTools.

Stan Pethel

We placed an order and had to make changes the same day. The rep we spoke with was accommodating to the change. 4 weeks later, however, we haven't received any merchandise and we're only given updates about our order when we call after being promised follow-ups. I wouldn't even bother leaving a review if the rep who we initially spoke with reached out to us at least once after we called in several times asking for our own updates about shipping and ultimately receiving the items we were looking for.

My last purchase was a hi- hat and a ride. They all had surface scratches all over them.
I wish someone would have done some quality control before shipping or sold them to me at a used/ damaged rate.

Ordered a players Strat brand new from Sweetwater.The guitar was not playable due to sharp frets and bad intonation.
I let it go and paid my luthier to set it up.
I then purchased a Taylor 214 ce plus.
1.5 years later changing strings I noticed gouges that followed the wood grain. The damage was between the pick guard and first circle of the sound hole.
I explained to SweetWater that I never used a pick.
They still said it was " normal wear and tare"
They would do nothing at all for me. Even when I told then my luthier with 45 years in the business said it was a defect from manufacturing.They still would do nothing at all for me.
I now have contacted Taylor Guitars.
Word of advice never ever purchase an instrument from Sweetwater music.
If there is an issue with your instrument it will be you fault.BUYER BEWARE
I have owned over 20 acoustic guitars in my lifetime. Most I okayed with a pick. NONE OF THEM had gouges like this after less than a year and a half.
Bottom line is Sweetwaters quality control sucks badly.

Been with Sweetwater for many years and it's my first choice every time. Great service and support.
Look forward to many more years to come.

My review is based on the following story. I started making ukulele's after a trip to Hawai'i years ago. I never played but enjoyed working the wood and giving them out as gifts (concert ukes). Back in October I started to learn how to play the concert ukulele that I got as a gift. It sounded different than the ones I made. Long story short; I am a recreation therapist at a nursing home and I play light tunes during my men's group on the memory unit. Never got much response until a month ago when I purchased a Luna Tenor Ukulele and a Baritone ukulele. Both seem to spark a positive response. But the Baritone really gets the conversation going. That stated, both instruments have a very smooth tone, comfortable neck fit for reaching the frets smoothly and for me; a real comfortable feel overall. I love these models and Sweetwater service. Excellent team, communicative and genuine concern. Top notch outfit that I'll use again. Thanks Sweetwater!

I just needed a harmonica for my son. Not only was the price totally comparable to amazon and brick-and-mortar stores, but a sales rep reached out to me via text and telephone to check if I had any questions or needed additional information. I did not, because the website was clear and easy to use. I was overall very impressed with the friendliness and ease of this shopping experience. My son was thrilled with the small bag of candy in the shipping box, also! I will remember this experience for my next musical purchase. Thank you, Sweetwater!

I'd like to take time out to thank Sweetwater Sound for helping me develop my Studio Atlas North Studios here in Cleveland Ohio. Such a Beautiful State. James Masterson is my sales person - I would like to recognize him for his professionalism. He has a great understanding of Technical applications which determine the best tools for any given situation. His knowledge of equipment is critical and calculated with regards to consumer needs. I hope all of you Musicians can meet Him. I've known him for several years and he is my first go-to in the ever expanding criteria of building a on going studio... call James Masterson

I got provided a quote, in which 15% was knocked off the price, however closer inspection revealed that the sales rep, jacked the retail price up before doing so, essentially negating the savings, bit of a sly trick. Will not trust Sweetwater again. Check your quotes thoroughly before signing off on them

A once great company which now ships products slow & can't keep any inventory in stock. So very sad.

Just sick and insane. This kit can do anything you want. The sound is unreal. I can know play may different styles with very few tuning changes.

I've only just begun working with Sweetwater. I've placed one order for headphones and two others for small items. Each order is treated like it's a big money order. After the first order shipped, my sales engineer, Jason called to let me know it had shipped. The package came with a brochure thanking me for my order and telling me about Sweetwater. To my surprise, there was a little bag of candy with a thank you printed on the bag, It's little things like this that tell you they care about their customers!

I haven't bought instruments or amplifiers from Sweetwater but I've gotten just about everything else there. They always deliver on time as promised, have free shipping and offer a good return policy which makes shopping with them fearless. Thankfully I've never needed to return anything. Oh yeah, the old fashioned candy in your package is a nice touch.

I purchased a set of two studio monitor stands. One of the stands arrived with a broken knob. I contacted Sweetwater and they immediately shipped me a new set and did not require me to return the original set. The second set was packed carefully with bubble wrap and had expedited shipping. Awesome company!

Joel McCaan, from Sweetwater, was amazing. He was on top of the order immediately after I placed it with communication from the start, until I received my package. And, followed up to make sure my new gear was working the way I expected. Keep up the great work Joel!

The first time I called sweetwater for help, I was hung up on in the middle of my sentence. Called again. Nobody picked up. I finally get thru and ask for a supervisor hung up on.again. 4 emails and 5 phone calls later and no response. This from a company who promotes their 24 hour award winning customer service.
I'm done with them. And that personal associate to help you they offer, I never spoke or heard from anyone there the whole time I was a customer. Must just be more "advertising" from a company that doesn't deserve your business/

I've been a Sweetwater customer for several decades. Recently, I purchased a wireless headphone system. Recorded some overdubs with it and then, 30 days after expiration of the return period, I needed to use it in a mix and discovered that it was a mono-only system. I did not request a refund, only a full credit. Sweetwater acknowledged there was nothing in the description or specs posted on their site about the limitation to mono, but refused, saying the product worked as intended. Evidently my expectation that a system designed to work with stereo headphones would output stereo sound was rash. I hate to leave Sweetwater. They've been very helpful over many years. I don't know what other customers experience, but loyalty was apparently not high on their list in our final transaction.