My experience with Sweetwater starts with a very small order, a pair of kid's guitar straps. Very popular straps which aren't carried by most music stores, they immediately are on backorder. After a week or two they arrive, no problem. Here's where the Sweetwater difference begins... as soon as I made the order, I recieved an email from James Lorann, informing me that he's been assigned as my Sales Tech, if I should have any question. He also asks how I heard of Sweetwater. I tell him it was via search engine and he replies. A week or two after my order arrives, he writes to inform me of a sale taking place. I reply with a short list and he returns a quote, with all items on the list generously discounted. I placed the order by phone. James is super freindly and polite, double-checking on availability on the spot, for all items prior to confirming the order. Some of the items are gifts, and he splits the order into separate shipments. Everything ships withing a day, and arrive in great shape. Wonderful! SO happy with Sweetwater and particularly James' previous service, a few weeks passed and I placed a guitar order, again contacting James to make the purchase. The particular guitar I was interested in features a distinctive wood top, which varies on each individual guitar. Sweetwater allows you to chose from their stock, providing Hi-res pictures of each guitar!! My guitar arrived in a state of readiness that only required a tweak of the tuners. Beautiful! On top of that - sales staff ability to make a deal, great customer service, an awesome hands-on 55-point check (that's remarkably close to a setup), the 2-year Sweetwater Warranty and free double-boxed shipping, Sweetwater has become my go-to for music stuff. Comparing that to a chain music store where they just point at the rack, or tell you it can be ordered when you inquire about an item, and I'll be checking Sweetwater every time. They seem to have found a way to really satisfy their customers without resorting to a chain of stores and all the inconsistency that produces. Way to go!! read more

Review of Martin D35 Guitar, Sweetwater, and Dan's Music Center: I was a bit apprehensive when I decided to buy my first Martin D35 acoustic guitar online. After reading the posted reviews of the various online guitar stores, I settled on Sweetwater (Fort Wayne, IN). When I called, I got Jesse Duquette. Jesse had previously owned 50 guitars and it was comfortable speaking with him. He answered my questions and opened my eyes to other facts and styles I needed to consider with the guitar. Most important is that Jesse indicated that there is a 2-year warranty on the guitar, and that he and members of the Sweetwater team will be there anytime should I have a concern. When the guitar arrived, I had to wait 24 hours for the package to become acclimated to the temperature and humidity before taking out the guitar. When I finally opened the box, pulled out and tuned the guitar, I was absolutely delighted with the mellifluous sound of the Martin D35. The action was low, which I desired, but I had a vibration when I played the 5th (A) string. Jesse suggested I take the guitar to a luthier who could adjust the truss rod and that Sweetwater would reimburse me for the cost. I took my Martin D35 to Dan's Music Center (Warwick, RI) where I was greeted by Dan Ryder the owner and luthier. Dan was about to have a bite to eat but stopped, so he could assist me. Dan took the time to adjust the truss rod which cleared up the buzzing. Dan charged me nothing to fix the issue for I could tell he understood and respected the quality sound that comes with the Martin D35 guitar. In summary, although I had initial trepidation with the online purchase of my guitar, I was extremely happy with the service I received at Sweetwater (Fort Wayne, IN) and at Dan's Music Center (Warwick, RI) - and would recommend both companies without reservation. I also would highly recommend Jesse Duquette (of Sweetwater) and Dan Ryder - the owner and luthier of Dan's Music Center (Warwick, RI). Finally, thanks to Martin & Co for making my beautiful sounding Martin D35 guitar. Len in RI read more

I have been a Sweetwater customer for over ten years but wanted to relate my recent experience buying a new instrument. It was outstanding in every way. My Sweetwater sales engineer, Chris McCown, was so helpful in answering my questions about the guitar I chose. He helped me understand what Sweetwater does to inspect and prepare the instrument before they ship it. Once I ordered he confirmed by email my order; made sure I knew the shipping schedule and when to expect it; he even sent high resolution pictures of my exact guitar for my records while I waited. The guitar was expertly packed (cased and then double- boxed) and arrived on the day promised. They even educated me (with a label on the shipment) about the need to wait 24 hours before unboxing to allow the guitar to acclimate to my home indoor temperature thus avoiding potential damage due to the winter weather. These guys know their products and sweat the details for their customers. My new Heritage H-535 is beautiful and plays wonderfully- the first guitar I have ever purchased in 50 years that will not need an immediate trip to a guitar tech for set-up! Amazing to me. Plus this is all backed by Sweetwater's free 2 year warranty and their commitment to make sure everything is right with my gear. The best is that I did not receive preferential treatment because I bought an expensive instrument. Sweetwater makes every order a priority and a success. Chris has given me this same wonderful experience when I just had a question with no order or was just purchasing a small item like a pedal or power supply. You will be glad you ordered from Sweetwater on something big or small. I cannot imagine I will order from anyone else if I can buy it from Chris and the team at Sweetwater. Thanks for being such a great company in a world that has largely forgotten personal customer service and attention to the details. -William P. read more

Thanks again for the help with choosing and buying equipment for our church. I just got home from our first drive-in service using the JBL One Pro and the Sennheiser mics. Everything worked great. Using Bluetooth for music the JBL has more than enough power, even outside. Also sounds really good. The hand-held sennheiser works great also, no feed back even when volume at max and standing right on top of the JBL. Also, like the JBL itself, really sounds good. The lapel and headset also work well but with both of them you do have to keep some distance from the JBL to avoid feedback. Not a big problem, but singers or speakers will need to watch proximity to the PA if using at fairly high volumes. One thing that could be better.....the power on-off/pairing/battery life indicator on the sennheiser receiver is on the bottom (can't see it) when plugged in to the JBL. I don't think we will ever push the limit on the battery life of the receiver but if we thought we might (maybe on a float in a Christmas parade) I would pack a small square mirror to lay under the controls so one could see the indicator if it went red. Over all if rating up to five stars.............. Your help........................................Five stars Sweetwater's service and price......Five stars JBL Eon One Pro............................Five stars Sennheiser hand-held package......Five stars Sennheiser lapel package...............Four stars (still worth the money) Head set..........................................Four stars (still worth the money) Thanks again Yours Musically in Christ Our Lord read more

Noah is the man. I order a lot of stuff, online, and there are only 2 companies that have this level of customer service. I have been a sales manager for over 15 years, and 1 of the first things I teach new employees, is "Do not lie to the customer. If you do, and they know it, you will lose their trust and business." I contacted Noah, one Friday, itching to buy some kind of vocal processor. I asked about a few I had been researching, that Sweetwater carried, and was totally ready to drop some cash on some new gear, even though I was, and still am, weeks away from recording vocals. Noah asked me a few questions, and steered me in a different direction, Meladyne. He even told me to not go 'all-in' and try out the cheaper version of the software, before I spent hundreds. That's what's up. He listened to me, realizing that I didn't need something right then, and protected me from an impulse buy. He rocks. Now, when I have ordered gear from Sweetwater, no matter how big, or small the order is. I get email notifications on the status of the order. AND...get a personal phone call when it ships out, which is 9/10 times, on the same day I ordered. NOT TO MENTION......The very 1st order I placed with Sweetwater, I goofed, and ordered the wrong part. Totally my fault. When I called, he walked me through the process of returning the incorrect part, but went ahead and shipped me the correct one, at no extra shipping, before they received the return from me. I honestly, check Sweetwater.com, to see if they have what I need, every time. If they don't, or I find it used somewhere, it's ok. But, if they have it, I am def 100% ordering from Noah, and the gang at Sweetwater. Somebody give that man a raise. read more

I've shopped with all the biggest online retailers of musical supplies, Musicians Friend, Guitar Center, Amazon; Sweetwater is absolutely the best! They show you the exact weight and a pic of the guitar you're looking at- no one else does that on so many instruments. They also take extra care in shipping your items- I've had things that could easily be damaged get sent by some of the other sellers in just an envelope w/ the bubble wrap crap.. Not Sweetwater- you always get the appropriate amount of protection and CANDY! And perhaps the most important part, the sales engineers are fantastic- I've only ever spoken to the guy assigned to me Tyler, and I really like that. It's kind of hard to speak candidly and trust what someone tells you unless you know them and I feel like I know Tyler as a friend and he has always put forth the effort to be kind and helpful, he even remembers what we talked about from previous conversations. So unless I got the best employee in the whole company- Sweetwater does a great job at training their people. I would recommend if you are someone who is new to music, or someone experienced that isn't up to date on the latest gear, definitely give your sales engineer a call they are so much help. And most relevant to me- Sweetwater now has a deal going with Behringer where all their guitar and bass pedals are super cheap! Anywhere from $20-$40, which is insane when every other worthy brand of pedal out there is at least $50-$150 each. I've sold off 3 of my old pedals and now I'm running thru 6 Behringer pedals and a Ditto+ looper with the same money and getting a way better sound. Sweetwater rocks!!! read more

I originally provided a review here to express my frustration regarding a problem with the software portion of a product purchased through Sweetwater Sound, Inc. and the rather extensive course of time necessary to try and resolve the problem through a collection of technical support divisions of companies all having some interest in the product's manufacture or sale. I wish to step forward at this point in editing this review to highlight the fact that Sweetwater Sound came through by owning this problem so that it did not result in becoming my own and through their technical support team, programmed a replacement product themselves and tested it to make certain that if functioned as advertised and swiftly sent it to me. As stated in several other reviews, I consider myself rather demanding when problems occur and yet Sweetwater Sound never once deviated from their professional stance and courtesy in staying the course until the matter was resolved to my satisfaction. So I'm here to now state that if you need musical equipment and want the comfort of knowing that a company has your back if and when something goes wrong or that you're not satisfied for any other reason, first contact the folks at Sweetwater Sound before you look elsewhere. Any company willing to stand by a product so intensely as they did where my issue was concerned is the place I want to do my shopping. A big thanks to everyone in tech support at Sweetwater and everyone else who pitched in to make certain I came away entirely satisfied. read more

I'll be honest here: I am a long time GC shopper. In recent spurts, during the phases of building a studio and performance rehearsal facility, I spent (what was to me) quite a bit of money with them. During those spurts, I worked very closely with some excellent persons who were very helpful. Then months later, all those familiar faces who used to greet us because of the work we did together were gone. Maybe it's just me, but I missed that recognition and camaraderie. It was not an impediment, i just missed it. I also made some small purchases from Sweetwater some time ago, and was assigned a sales engineer (Stephen Oppenheim) who religiously emails and phones me to keep me advised of sales, product information, and sometimes just calls me to see what I am up to. Stephen even proactively called me with some critical information on a product that I had purchased 24 months prior, knowing that an OS upgrade would cause a driver issue with a critical studio component. Who does that? There has been no change or turnover in my sales team in some 6 years. Same guy. During this whole time, customer service off the charts. Long story short, given the opposing scenarios I just described, who would you rather give you business to? Makes me regret ever even doing business with the other guys, and thankful that I have pulled my head out and begin an exclusive relationship with a sales team and company that really care about me. Seriously, Thank You Sweetwater! I hope you know that you are awesome! read more

I ordered just a few things from Sweetwater for the very first time. Not only do they have an INCREDIBLE selection of just about ANYTHING you can think of, but their prices are, flat-out, unbeatable! They ALSO offer free shipping on most orders! I placed my order online, and the NEXT day, I received a phone call from Brian, who works at the store, and not some guy with a heavy middle eastern, or asian accent called, "Steve". (Looking at you EVERYONE ELSE). Brian told me that one of the guitar cables was not in the color that I requested, so I got the green one instead. In the past, when an order I placed at a different store, was not in stock- I would wait for days, before finally calling THEM, only to find out that it wasn't in stock, or whatever. Brian took the initiative to call me, and make sure that I was up to speed with my order, and that I was completely satisfied. He told me exactly when my order would arrive- and sure enough it arrived on time! Once the box was open, I found everything that I ordered- all present and accounted for. There was also a full size catalog, that has everything that they have to offer! To add to all this wonderful service, I found a small bag of my favorite candy! How did they know I loved Bit O' Honey!!??? I am absolutely AMAZED at how awesome Sweetwater is!! I will MOST DEFINITELY be ordering from them exclusively, from now on! Seriously- they are bad-to-the-bone! You and ALL your friends need to know about this place!! read more

Although normally I am a Guitar Center customer due to the physical locations, after much research, I decided to do business with Sweetwater. It absolutely was the right choice and I couldn't be happier with the customer service. I requested a Martin guitar that was on back order and was told it likely would be several months. After only a few weeks I was contacted and told they had come in early and one was reserved for me. I ordered the guitar but had some billing issues that played out over several days due to a new debit card being issued. Although solely my fault, they held my guitar for me. After receiving the guitar, it had some buzzing coming from inside the guitar due to the electronics. I could have easily fixed the issue but it also had a small cosmetic issue that most would never have noticed. I am a very attention to detail person so I was not happy with it. I contacted Sweetwater and after sending some pictures, they stated they were more than happy to send me a new one. Also, I was told to keep the defected one and play it while the new ones came in, which of course was on back order also. After several weeks, they sent me a new guitar and I returned the defected one in the same boxes. I can't say enough about Sweetwater's team from sales, tech support to returns! All very helpful and professional. I also like how they make their senior staff's contact info available on line! Considering a defective guitar, all around great experience!! read more

I don't often take the time to write reviews, but this "glowing review" for my Sales Engineer, Stephen Oppenheimer, ...well, he deserves every bit of praise I have written here. We experienced some "challenges" caused by third parties. I was a frustrated customer, but he kept a positive attitude through the entire process, and could not have provided better customer service. I will just highlight a couple of the issues. There were actually more My guitar was out of stock at the time I ordered it. I pressed Stephen hard for accurate delivery information, as I have experienced longer that quoted delivery times from other vendors. He did a little digging and gave me an exact date they would receive the guitar, and a date when it would be shipped. the dates were correct - I loved it. The guitar arrived via FED-EX with a small puncture wound in the carton, and the wound punctured the top of the case. Thankfully, no damage to the guitar. Stephen immediately shipped a new case. Unfortunately, the second replacement case, which was packaged from the manufacturer in an interior carton, shipped in a second padded carton had a manufacturing defect that was not caught - a crushed hinge. Stephen sent me a third replacement case which was fine, and FED-EX picked us the damaged cases today. Sweetwater is a great company, represented by terrific Sales Engineers like mine, Stephen Oppenheimer. Their system really works!...I'll be back! Thanks so much, Stephen! read more

If you value excellent, caring, attentive customer service (in addition to a great product selection and competitive prices), then look no further. I happened to stumble on Sweetwater while looking for some podcasting equipment that wasn't available locally, and I'm so glad I did. They were one of several companies that I reached out to while searching for this equipment. None of them had the items I was looking for on hand, and like the others, they invited me sign up for an automated email alerting me when the equipment was in stock. About half of the companies I contacted followed through on that alert (including Sweetwater). I got the alert from them, but wasn't able to place the order until the next day. And by the time I did, they were out of stock again. Sweetwater wasn't able to fulfill the order right away due to the understandable disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they reached out to me via email -- proactively -- to ask whether I wanted a refund or to wait for their inventory to be resupplied. I was kind of surprised at that. I've grown used to dealing with companies that don't pay attention to their customers until you bug them. I decided to wait, they checked in every few weeks (again, proactively), and eventually they fulfilled the order, packaged it with great care, and shipped it out. It arrived last week and I couldn't be happier. And kudos especially to Nate who was my main point of contact. read more

I've ordered a few items from Sweetwater.com and every purchase was smooth and painless. My most recent purchase was a Martin guitar, and while several months passed between me placing the order and finally receiving my new guitar, I understood that was entirely due to manufacturing issues with Martin and was nothing against Sweetwater. The Sweetwater team were actually outstanding during this time, and I would receive an email or even a phone call from Gage or one of his team if they had an update on the estimated delivery date. The guitar was shipped to Sweetwater in Indiana first, where they inspected it, made sure it was still in tune, then repacked it incredibly carefully before sending it on to me. And I do mean 'carefully'! My Martin came in its own padded gig bag which was carefully re-packed inside the box from Martin, and Sweetwater's team packaged that box inside another, larger box, along with foam padding to minimize movement and protect everything during the week-long journey from Sweetwater to me. Despite taking so long to get to me, the Sweetwater team packed everything so well that the guitar was still perfectly in tune after I (very carefully ;) cut open the two boxes and removed it from the gig bag. As I said at the start of this review I've now made several purchases from Sweetwater, and the experience has been so positive that I WILL be making more purchases from them in the future. read more

A friend of mine in Memphis suggested Sweetwater. I live in a rural area with no music stores close by. He and I always went guitar store hopping when we got together in Birmingham or Memphis. My mail orders usually came from a major competitor of Sweetwater (don't know if I'm allowed to mention the name). Anyhoo, my friend kept going on and on about how much better Sweetwater was than all the others. I thought, "They can't be all that good." Now I know that, if they were a restaurant, their food would make you want to slap your mama. They're that good. Soon as you express an interest in ordering, they assign you a personal sales rep. Mine emailed and called me on the phone, even offered to text if I wanted. No pressure, all he wanted to do was offer his assistance for whatever I wanted BEFORE I ever ordered anything! Who does that? On my first order, they included a little pack of candy. I'm told they do that all the time. There were follow up emails to make sure I was happy with my purchase. All this for spending less than $200 on some odds and ins I needed. Will I shop elsewhere? Are you crazy or something, heck no I won't shop elsewhere! As long as their prices and products are similar to others, I'd be a food to shop elsewhere because they include an unsolicited warranty on nearly everything they sell. Personally, I think they're insane but it's a happy insanity. read more

Both Chuck and Ben are sound professionals. The staff at Sweetwater really know their field. My dad was a sound professional for over 30 years and spoke highly of them. I shipped this order to another country through a friend and had to get specific advice from Sweetwater, which each staff member answered, including advice on my sound equipment questions. Not only that, they found me the highest quality for my budget and were not afraid to recommend the bargain brands, and I did not feel pressured into buying the most expensive like some retailers often do. They showed expert knowledge and also were awesome guys to talk to with great personalities, which was very encouraging. I had a great time using Sweetwater, so I turned around and bought another sound product the next week. 5 star service, above and beyond the competition. I heard about this service through one of staff member Ben's main clients, and they spoke well also about this company. Chuck was awesome and got me everything I needed; Ben even helped me with a shipping situation due to the current environmental challenges. The company even put a gift in the package for my wife! She and I were very happy with that. Now I can't help but give these guys an outstanding review, because this just doesn't happen as smoothly with bigger retailers. Sweetwater, you guys rock and I want people on the net to know it! Will be back for sure. read more

I just want to share about some INCREDIBLE customer service that I received lately.  I was having some issues with a software license that I had purchased through Sweetwater Sound, and I could tell that Sweetwater's support team had their hands tied by the software developer and were just as helpless as I was. Just when it looked like all was lost, I took one final look at my customer invoice and couldn't help but notice the email address of the president of the company right there on the invoice!  The email address was accompanied by the following note: "I want to take the time to personally thank you for your business with Sweetwater. I am so grateful for every customer, and I encourage you to continue to pursue your love of music.  I want you to know that your satisfaction is our first priority." This right here is leadership.  A company president who is so confident in the excellence of his customer service team that he would put his own contact information on an invoice.  I have to suspect that he rarely, if ever, gets an email - his company's customer service team is really that good!  But in this case, I did send an email, and within an hour I'd received a response. You can't go wrong with Sweetwater Sound.  I'll keep going back to them again and again.  And I hope that my own professional processes and service standards will measure up to even just a fraction of theirs! read more

I recently purchased a guitar on-line from Sweetwater Music. My first ever on-line guitar purchase. After, I received the guitar, aesthetically I did not like the guitar as I'm super picky. Therefore, I contacted Sweetwater and spoke with the sales engineer assigned to me who assisted me in selecting another guitar of the same kind form their vast collection. He also connected me to the customer service department and we made the arrangement for return and an exchange. Subsequently, I saw another guitar listed in their gallery, and I decided to choose that one instead. I called back and my sales engineer as well as the customer service representative both had already left for the day. Therefore another sales engineer assisted me and kindly secured the guitar of my choice, and sent an internal memo to the customer service representative requesting the change. All of the aforementioned activity after the initial receipt of my purchased guitar and returning it, took place in less than a 24 hour period including the shipment of the replacement guitar which I received the next day! As a result of this experience with Sweetwater Music, I know for a fact that they provide more than an excellent service to their customers, and the company with it's dedicated employees really stand behind the fine products that they sell! Thank you to everyone at Sweetwater Music! read more

sweetwater sound is simply the best musical gear retailer. as a direct result, i have been a very loyal customer. why? many reasons: they have the best customer service-hands down. stores like guitar center completely suck and in fact they're probably going bankrupt because of it; for many reasons like: the "i only work here" attitude. [never] the case at sweetwater. there's always someone who's knowledgeable. if 1 person doesn't know an answer, you're quickly referred to another rep who does specialize in whatever piece of gear/dept. to fulfill your individual need. everyone's extremely polite, patient and honest. they re not used car salesmen. they're pretty much all musicians or sound techs or people like me who've worked in the music industry as well. sweetwater stands behind what they sell. if you ever have an issue with anything [say it's electronic or something] their tech support is bar-none. if somethings ever wrong, they make it right. if ever anythings defective in the slightest, they promptly email you an rma label. other chains don't do that -seriously. when shipping... it's lightening-fast. often same day [especially when you're a long-time customer] that's 1 thing about them.... they value loyalty ...and reward you for it. i'm speaking from many years of experience as a sweetwater sound customer. i'm eternally grateful to this company. read more

Luke Bassett is awsome to deal with. he's very sincere, knows the music field and products well. i for years have delt with musicians friend, so everytime i needed gear i just automatically went to their site. alot of it small orders. this was a big order for me so i shopped around. with the extra questions i had about the various things i noticed that musicians friend was using a call center and not dedicated to just them, i called from musicians friend site and was being answered like i had called from the guitar center site - strike 1. didnt offer to give me a good price only saying they would match another sites price - strike 2. not that personal and friendly -strike 3. didnt have the kit in stock - strike 4. when i had a question on getting a extra drum with this tama kit, they never got back to me like in 2 weeks. i called tama myself and had a answer in less than 24 hrs. - strike 5. and i could go on. Luke and sweetwater on the other hand answered all my questions, gave me a price i couldnt believe without me even asking for one, didnt have the limited edition set with 1 floor tom i wanted but instead sold me the same kit with 2 floor toms for the same price. so im very happy with every aspect of dealing with sweetwater and will remain with them for any future purchases. told my band people and they're switching too. read more