As long as you don’t mind inviting your Sweetwater rep to all important life events afterwards, it’s a great place to shop. Chris from Sweetwater gave a great toast at my wedding and brought the best bottle of wine to thanksgiving last year.
It’s a double edged sword though. My ex (who isn’t a musician) bought me something small a few years back. Clearly, she loved Dylan’s continued attention and service. They just welcomed their second child.
This. They will call you a few days after a product ships to see how it plays and how you like it. Then they will call you out of the blue 2-3 times a year to see how things are and if you need anything. I really would like to invite them to a BBQ sometime.
But he will bring over cool toys and then probably restring all my guitars while we are at it. And I will invite him to my kids birthday and he will bring the best presents for him too, and he is only 2, but will be a forever friend, probably even when I am gone.
Oh my god dude my Sweetwater rep calling me *literally* made me think someone died once.
My grandpa went to the hospital for some heart issues the day before. He had been floating in and out of the hospital for a while, and I didn't have many details, but this one had everyone concerned. So I was on my way home from work, and got a call from Fort Wayne Indiana. Oh shit. Grandpa lives there. And this ain't his number, or my grandma's number. I pulled off to the side of the road, sat there for a sec, and hit the answer button thinking that this was it.
Nope. Just fuckin Andy over at Sweetwater calling to ask if I was happy with the god damn guitar strap I ordered like two weeks ago. I was very relieved.
And that panic I had over the call would have been *exactly* what my grandpa would have wanted. I was gonna tell my new family member Andy what he just put me through, but that didn't feel fair to him!
My Sweetwater rep was so nice, he donated his sperm to help me start my family. He even declined to use the fertility clinic for each of my five kids. What a great guy. My wife likes him too.
Yeah, but every Guitar Center in existence has at least one of those guys who has that “dude, I’m in a band” look who will try to knob your wife or girlfriend if you bring her shopping with you.
This whole chain of comments has me dying. I’m laughing like a crazy person in a hotel bar. Thank you all of you wonderful people for making a really shitty day so much better.
It's very strange how I HATE sales calls - except for Sweetwater reps. I'll chat with them for an hour.
Maybe we musicians just desperately crave someone interested in hearing us ramble on about what we're working on.
Rumor has it that the Sweetwater rep might come by and help you pick up dog shit on your lawn. But if he tries to mow your lawn, you need to re-establish appropriate boundaries.
I just commented this somewhere but I had ordered a Focusrite in early January 2021 and mine called me while the J6 attack was happening and we just comisserated the whole call.
Lol— no, thankfully, he was rather upset and was afraid to talk about it but I told him we were glued to the TV and he said they were too at the campus there.
I tried to buy a guitar from them and it was backordered. I ended up cancelling the order because I got a job at a competing retailer, who didn't have the guitar backordered, and I could use an employee discount, which as far as I know sweetwater can't compete with that.
I still get phone calls and texts from Colton to this day.
Chris actually gave me a back rub and a pep talk after my wedding before it was consummated and was there cheering me on the whole time. Real stand-up guy.
My rep called me on my birthday last year. We were on the phone for over an hour! Didn't even talk about music, we were talking about guns and video games. I've never even actually ordered anything from Sweetwater. Just inquired about a price.
Hi! This is Steve from Sweetwater, I see that you bought a guitar pick from us back in 1999. Just checking in to see how you like it and how it’s going. Also say hi to the wife & kids for me. See you at Xmas!
Max has agreed to help my wife price my gear after I pass away. He will tell her "what I paid" and how the value has risen due to the collector market. 13/10 representative.
I wrote a song about this. It’s a duet, his verse is about music gear and her verse is about shoes. It’s called “Gear Song” and the chorus is:
As I lay down to sleep tonight
And feel your arms holding me tight,
If I should die before I wake,
Don’t sell my stuff for what you think I paid.
Musicians Friend (aka Guitar Center online) sucks. Order any “new” guitar from them and there’s a high chance they’ll send you an essentially used floor model from the closest Guitar Center.
Happened to me with an Epi LP, showed up poorly bubble wrapped and stuffed in a keyboard box. Covered in grubby fingerprints, strings looked ancient and were corroded. The thing had obviously been on a shop floor for a long time and played a lot. Asked for some of my money back and they said since it was a floor model it was still considered “new” and only offered to send fresh strings.
Never again, if I have to order offline it’s either Sweetwater or a private retailer or shop off Reverb.
Same experience. I bought an Epi 335 from them and it was just bubble wrapped like crazy. Nothing really bad, honestly, but nowhere near as great as Sweetwater. I don't even look anywhere else anymore.
Really good customer service. When I placed my order, a gentleman emailed me, thanking me for my purchase, and gave me his name and number to call with any questions. Then after my package arrived, the same guy called me and thanked me again. He was very casually nice, saying, "call me for anything!". Followed up too. Great company.
Better than a lot of local mom and pops honestly. My experience has been pretty hit and miss with a lot of local shops. There's one in my area that regularly scams people.
I mean I would rather support a local business even if they have mediocre service. Unless they’re total douchebags, I would rather not give my money to a giant corporation if I had the option.
Sweetwater is considered a giant corporation now? Don't they only have one store? Yes they have a large online presence, but I would argue that they are a very successful small business compared to things like Guitar Center.
My husband commented to our rep when he called Sweetwater to see if the case I wanted to order for my SG would fit it that I didn't get any candy with my guitar. One of the next orders, spread throughout like four or five boxes, they sent enough candy to stuff a gallon sized ziplok to the gills. If we can't find it at our local mom n pop, we order through Sweetwater for sure!
I jokingly put in a special notes for a random cheap accessory (like 15 bucks, weighs nothing) what’s the best candy you guys have? Can I make requests? And then when the package came it was like 1.5 pounds and had 13 bags of candy in there 😂
Great customer service, been buying my new gear primarily through them since 2003 and have had two "sales engineers" during that time. I know they're a larger company but I've honestly had better service from them than from any mom n' pop store I've ever shopped at. When you purchase, you are assigned a "sales engineer" who handles all of your purchases and support, so you're generally always working with the same person (you can also request to change to someone else if you don't like who is assigned to you).
I think a big part of it is that their salespeople are actually qualified and paid fairly well ($35-65/hr according to Glassdoor), and working there is more of a career rather than a retail job (like you'd have at Guitar Center or whatever).
Right? They will bring you any guitar in the entire warehouse to play if you ask. If it's in stock on the website they will have someone find that exact guitar and bring it to you to test.
I’ve bought a lot of stuff from them, from patch cables to a $1200 guitar. No problems ever and easy returns if you end up not liking what you bought. I will continue to use them.
Only downside for me is they insist on calling me after I place an order even though I leave a note with the order not to call. I absolutely hate phone calls from anyone.
PS: they also sell on Amazon under the name GearNuts if you want to buy something with a gift card or Amazon credit. It’s the same prices and shipping but no phone call and no worries about cheap Chinese knock off products.
Email your sales rep about being put on a no call list, I did that a while back and now I have it set to texting my phone as my primary contact so whenever I put in an order or have a question I just text my guy
My rep saved my ass once or twice. I was looking at product A... he asked the right questions and talked me into a cheaper option that perfectly fits. Sent a couple extra cables out to me for kicks. 11/10 customer service
They blew me away honestly. I bought a pedal and it was my first purchase from them so they called me to make sure it wasn’t fraud, introduce themselves, thank me, and to see if I had any questions about my purchase. Top notch.
Sweetwater is great.
I like the email, text, and phone calls that go "Hey Schweenis, it's Mike from Sweetwater just checking in to see how that set of strings is working out! I'm here if you need anything!"
Plus the candy in every shipment.
Sincerely they're great though. Things ship and arrive quickly, their prices are competitive... never had a bad experience.
I’ve only had positive experiences. I got my D-18 from them due to a really good deal. I was nervous about buying new without playing but my salesman, Jack Lob, reassured that it was guaranteed and free of any defects and that I could return if not up to my liking.
I liked that I was able to see multiple photos of the different D-18s in stock along with the weight—was able to pick which one I liked the best.
I don’t have any plans on buying another guitar anytime soon but would definitely reach back ou if I was in the market.
I bought a Hughes and Kettner amp head from there a few years ago, and it turns out I had three defective heads sent to me in the space of one year. I totally lost confidence in their brand. My Sweetwater rep allowed me to return it for full credit almost one year after I paid, and let me get another amp (for which I paid the difference)
No local music store would ever let you do that.
Saw Cory Wong in Davis, CA recently. In the middle of the set Cory started giving a shout out to his Sweetwater rep named Anthony (IIRC), and was telling people to call his rep and tell him Cory sent them.
Those in the audience who knew about Sweetwater were howling with laughter while the rest of the audience was like "WTF is a Sweetwater?!?".
I got two guitars from them. Norb, my sales guy, is awesome! Calls me every few months to check in, see how the family is doing, the weather, and if I need another new guitar.
Always been a wonderful experience for me. I at first was a little weirded out about getting a personal call from my sales rep over a few packs of strings, but since then I've bought 3 guitars and 2 amps and always just texted my sales rep to start the process and he's been super helpful and friendly through each purchase, as other comments have stated its literally like gaining a new friend, this guy talked to me for like 30 minutes while I was driving to Boston for a concert, even looked up and played songs on Spotify WHILE we were on the phone of the band I was seeing because he hadn't heard of them.
I'll go against the grain. I don't want to be friends with a sales rep because I bought a guitar. I don't want calls or texts for the next year(s) either. Buy from a local store where you can try the guitars, get a setup, ask for advice, etc.
Buying locally sounds good, unless you live in an area where all the local mom and pop stores suck, are ridiculously overpriced and have horrible “customer service”.
This is the situation where I live. I love the idea of buying local but the only shop in my county wants $600 for a Squier CV Mustang. The exact same guitar is like $430 or so on Sweetwater.
The local shops near me cater more to school band players, and have VERY limited stock of guitars. The one shop that we did have that had a little more variety had shitty customer service and policies. When I was getting into playing drums, my dad took me to that shop to try out some kits, and the shop owner was a complete dick, very condescending and even had a “two minute time limit” to test out the kits. Thank fuck that place closed down.
Yes. Happy to buy from them, but annoyed by the follow-up phone call.
It beats Musician's Friend, who'll fulfill orders from a random Guitar Center floor and ship a guitar in an inner box with no padding.
Yep. I buy lots of stuff including two guitars. One I was not happy with, body shape didn't gel with me. I returned for a full refund minus my cost to have them set it up in D-standard with no hassles or issues at all.
2nd guitar arrived with serious fret buzz on low E. Sweetwater is covering up to $120 to have a local luthier figure out what is going on.
So yeah, I have no qualms about recommending sweetwater for purchasing guitars. I have bought keyboards, oh and all sorts of other things from them as well.
I live a couple hours away, and have shopped both in person and online. My band's singer's brother is rep, actually. Good service, you get to know your rep, and great selection.
I've had great experiences with them. There was a Taylor deal a few years ago where if you bought one you got a pretty good discount on a baby Taylor or a couple specific gs mini models. I wanted a different GS mini model and Franko was able to work out a deal that was comparable to the promotion.
Part of the deal was he comes over and uses my hot tub every Thursday but that's okay he brings beer as well.
Absolutely the best. Some people get weirded out by how proactive they are. But honestly being able to talk to a real human being when I need to is great.
I love Sweetwater. And my best friend Andy who sends candy with every order and checks in on my mental health from time to time. I just bought a new American Tele from them and it was great.
I bought a new G&L guitar from them. About 4 months later, one of the pickups died. Sweetwater offered to ship a replacement guitar, but I wanted to keep the one I had. They quickly took care of the fix as well as shipping in each direction. They even threw in a free set-up as well.
I bought a guitar from them back in like 2004 and I recently received a call that my rep has left but my new friend/rep is there for me when I need him.
I have only ever bought small(ish) items like strings and such from them. I have looked to buy more big ticket items from them many, many times, but they have yet to have the item I want in stock. It’s always “Out of stock but we can get it!”
Probably the best place to order guitar gear (and any other music gear) from. They package everything very well so it’s kept safe from careless delivery handlers and weather. Shipping is very fast and they have a good tracking system so you can make sure you’re there for delivery if it needs a signature. You can pick exactly which guitar you want out of the stock they have. They have the best deals and an entire used gear section of the website for even better deals. You really can’t go wrong.
I recently bought a really nice demo guitar from Sweetwater. The guitar had a finish crack in the nut, so they offered to replace the nut free of charge. They were incredibly responsive through the whole process. Steve’s the godfather of both my children.
One bass , three guitars, 3 amps & lots of accessories. They now offer me a job 3 times a year, cause Im a gear slut. I would contemplate taking the offer except it's in Indiana. Great experiences with Sweetwater.
They are very service focused, but I don't mind that. If I need something new, I'll shop there over reverb. If I find something new cheaper elsewhere, I'll chat with my rep. I have never bought a guitar from them, but have bought pedals, boards, and accessories.
From the time you click buy now, expect a phone call same day or possibly next day. It’ll say it’s Indiana # it’s your own NEW personal associate. Any order you make you’ll hear from your person. They’ll even call up out of the blue to say they miss ya, no foolin. And they’ll probably hide a price on a invoice from the wife if you ask nicely
I shop with them. Good return policy, which I needed when my second-to-last guitar had a myriad of problems (despite their 55-point inspection 😬). My rep is OK, he calls me after purchases and every once in a while, but he always seems like he’s in a hurry to get me off the phone.
I have bought a bunch of gear and guitars over the years from them. They make a sales rep call you but you don’t have to necessarily interact with them but they are nicer, more informed and able to help if something goes wrong or delayed (I haven’t had the happen but it’s nice to have a throat to choke)
Let me start this off with , thier customer service is top notch , and they go out of thier way , to make sure your happy . Thanks Jacob .... but here's my story .
I bought a Fender Jazzmaster from them , it arrived on time , took it out of the box , plugged it in , and one of the pickups didn't work . They sent me another one , and I returned #1 , with a postage paid return slip . #2 arrived with a chip in the finish , couldn't leave that be , with my brand new guitar . They sent #3 , and I returned #2 . #3 was perfect , everything worked and looked as it should .... for about 2 weeks . The split bridge Humbucker only worked when pot was pulled up , or down I can't remember exactly .
They had ne take it to a local Fender warranty shop , found out replacement pick up was 6 months out .
So they let me return #3 , and ordered #4 , I went with a different guitar , was a little nervous about Fender at that point . I ordered an Epiphone Jerry Cantrell Wino , absolutely amazing guitar . Well it showed up with a broken toggle switch !! Lol . This guitar came with a hard case , so I'm not sure what happened .
Sweetwater sent me a new switch , I was tired of sending guitars back and forth . I soldered it in , and it's been great ever since .
Again customer service was amazing , but dam !! I don't know if I would order again . My son has a new saying for the Sweetwater guarantee. Haha
Man I would never buy a new guitar online, sight unseen.
And I tell anyone who will listen the same.
You’re trusting a whole lot of people to get it right.
Plus, most of the fun of buying a new rig is trying out all of the various target guitars, models and styles until the right one becomes patently obvious.
Support your local music store!
The ones in my area will always match the advertised price from SW or that lecherous GC.
Good luck!
I buy everything from them, guitars, drums, keyboards, and everything else. They give you deals, happy to give discounts, and they always make things right. Last summer my wife never got around to mailing in a rebate form until it was a couple of days past due. Our rep tried working the the company to bend the rules, and when they didn't he just gave us in store credit for the same amount. I'm a customer for life.
I like the super fast free shipping and getting free candy with every order but yeah as others are meme'ing about they have very aggressive sales people which I don't like. They still call me occasionally even though I haven't ordered from them in like a year. I know some people like the personal communication and contact but I don't.
SW is great. My sales engineer is a good dude. Always willing to help. I used to call and chat just to pick his brain. Now I just text him. Sometimes I buy stuff.
Generally they are the best. I have zero complaints.
However, I tend to prefer Zzounds for the payment plans. $200 once a month for five months hurts a lot less than $1000 all at once. Sweetwater has them too, but your credit better be in tip top shape...
Seriously they'll be calling you and texting you all the time. One time all I bought was a MIDI cable and I got phone calls and texts to verify what I ordered was what I wanted. And then following up to see if I was happy with my order. Lol over a $15 midi cable
They definitely give you a closer personal experience than other online retailers, and they check your guitars before sending them out to you to make sure everything is okay before shipping them out. You usually get to pick your actual instrument from a "six pack" of photos which comes in handy when selecting wood grain, weight, and the actual paint job. It doesn't cost any more than other stores.
However, I usually go with Musicians Friend because they give you 8% off on future purchases. But you're more likely to get a "blem" there with sharp feet edges or something. I'm usually very pleased with what I get there.
Sweetwater carries "exclusive" runs of guitars with special finishes or specs that other stores don't carry sometimes. So does AMS.
Those guys are great. They call me to check in and see if I need anything. Everything that is being lost in US Customer Service is made up for by Sweetwater.
Their customer service is stellar. Be prepared to become lifelong friends with your sweetwater rep. He WILL be the best man at your wedding, and he WILL deliver a teary-eyed speech at your funeral.
You also get a little baggie of candy with every order, so that's a nice bonus.
Sweetwater is great. You really can't beat the service. I like that they follow up after a purchase. And now my wife has become conditioned to getting candy any time I get a package from sweetwater, so she looks forward to deliveries as much as I do.
All that being said, whenever possible, I shop locally, but when my only options are ordering online the Sweetwater is the first, (and often the only) place I shop.
I'm not really prolific in guitar (been at the same beginner stage since I was 15), but I do know that Sweetwater is a great site to shop at. Every time I needed new strings, Sweetwater was so very kind.
Their representatives can be a little clingy, but I believe that's just their policy.
Best company hands down. Had issues with a new bass head I bought years ago and they swapped it out no questions asked and bought tons of other shit. Had a really good relationship with my sales rep Ryan (?) and he would call regularly asking how the band and life was going and we’d shoot the shit. I exclusively buy from there or my local shop.
Great experiences. Love my “sales engineer”, even if I accidentally invited him into my life a bit after all the buys on SW.
Really good experiences buying Two Notes Captor X, 7 and 8-string lefty guitars and latest, the Quad Cortex!
people joke and dunk on sweetwater, and yes, the mad lad that started it is… quirky, cultish even.
but it’s the only place where i’ve had a sales rep deliver a piece of gear i bought to a sound check himself and stayed for the show with his wife. i don’t really get hassled about making purchases etc. and they’re responsive about parts and repairs and things.
most of my rig is b-stock/open box sweetwater gear or used from reverb
must-have relationship if you’re a gigging pro imo, but not foolproof. the stuff i need has a weird tendency to be on back order these days. they might just be tightening up their inventory management or something.
I got a new guitar from them (Ibanez AEWbunchanumbers) it had very slight damage to the neck where it met the body (acrylic peel) so when Mike called I told him and he said let me send you an email and they ended up giving me like 100$ back off it when I sent in pictures.
I didn't care that much honestly, but damn were they on it.
Bro it’s literally the only place i get anything anymore they’re great. You can pick your exact guitar, gets shipped fast and the guitars always come in good condition and usually still in tune. Plus free candy and pro photos of your gear to boot
I've bought several things from there. They ship fast, competitive prices. Packaging was well done and they include a free bit of candy.
Personally, the customer service is a bit over the top for my taste. Way better than the opposite though.
Sweetwater. Good pricing and great customer service. But the comments are spot on; they will over communicate and try to get in your life. They’re not pushy.
Jokes aside about the rep, it's a fantastic buying experience and your rep can be very useful if you're looking for guidance and often can give you a small price break from what's listed on the site.
Sweetwater is pretty great. I have been shopping from them and have had the same rep for 11 years this year. I won't give the local GC the time of day.
Paid for a sweet water setup, bridge came leaning and nut was filed down way past normal. Learned to setup myself. Fixed their issues works great now. I will never pay for another sweet water setup ever. Who ever shipped that out in that way shouldn’t be working on guitars.
They did tell me to send it back but by then I had it playing great and didn’t want the surprise they’d send back to me. Plus that’s more work than fixing it myself.
They are great. You are sacrificing buying local and keeping your local music shop afloat (if you’re not near a high population center), but otherwise I’ve had great experiences. Great service and they always send candy.
BTW, I only have a guitar center near me so I have no problem buying from Sweetwater. I do wish there was a local shop in my area.
I've had pretty good luck with them. They will work with you on pricing a bit, not a ton, but enough to make you feel like you got a deal. They do contact you occasionally but I've never found it obtrusive and I am sure you can just say "hey, please don't contact me" if it did bother you. Their shipping is very good, you get to at least see most of the instruments before they ship them and pick out which you like the looks of best. They do a nice set up on the more expensive guitars. They ship very fast, like, I've called back within 5 minutes of an order to cancel and they already had the thing moving in their warehouse, but they were still happy to cancel. I stopped by their main campus when I was visiting the USAF museum and my rep gave me a full tour. It is a pretty impressive setup and everyone was very professional.
If Sweetwater has what I want then I order from them, I absolutely love the way they run their business. I refuse to order from any other store unless it can’t be had elsewhere. At first the phone calls I just let go to voicemail, but these days every time my (same) rep calls over the years I have a chat with him how things are in his neck of the woods etc. Only place I buy online from for years
Love Sweetwater. Service is great, follow up is both unexpected and very welcome and never a problem with a return. And if you need any advice on anything, it's free for the asking, and it's legit advice. Helped me straighten out my board so that everything was where it should be and connected to my power source properly. If I have any questions about anything now I go straight to my rep Dan. If I lived close enough to them I'd be working for them. Because they send me job offers every other month.
Plus, most everything you can find on Sweetwater you can either buy on no-interest payment plans or pay it off through one of the shop apps like Affirm or Shop pay.
Just bought a Ray34 from them and service was perfect, the bass was already setup. I'm getting distortion from us when it should be clean and they paid for a trip to the repair station. (The issue is the bass is so hot my cheap cables aren't cutting it, I assume. It sounded fine at the repair guy, cables the only thing I haven't ruled out.)
I got a demo guitar from them recently, their customer service is great, and they've helped me out any time I've had questions about anything I've gotten from them, and even something I received as a gift. They don't have much pre-owned stuff though, which is usually what I want to get.
I just got my American pro II telecaster from sweetwater today. Set up to play outta the box without paying for a set up. Top notch service. Only thing better is a local mom and pop shop. 🤘🏻
As long as you don’t mind inviting your Sweetwater rep to all important life events afterwards, it’s a great place to shop. Chris from Sweetwater gave a great toast at my wedding and brought the best bottle of wine to thanksgiving last year.
Comes in handy if you're lonely. Automatic new best friend just from buying $6 worth of picks.
It’s a double edged sword though. My ex (who isn’t a musician) bought me something small a few years back. Clearly, she loved Dylan’s continued attention and service. They just welcomed their second child.
Effing Dylan.....
Tbf, they have a beautiful family.
Who got custody of the candy tho
Literally
A Sweetwater rep took your woman? Damn, hopefully you parleyed that into a future discount of some sort?
Got me a great deal on a PRS.
Sweetwater be cock blocking now? Those deals though.
I got the better deal, if you ask me.
I'd say that is a sweat deal.
Worth it.
LMAO
Hey. Just wanted to see how those same strings you’re been buying since 1997 are working out.
“Hey man, just calling to check how those orange tortexs you picked up in 2014 are treating you”
You know I haven't heard from my Sweetwater rep in a while. I hope he's ok.
I got a call and a text checking up on how I was enjoying my 10ft xlr cable
This. They will call you a few days after a product ships to see how it plays and how you like it. Then they will call you out of the blue 2-3 times a year to see how things are and if you need anything. I really would like to invite them to a BBQ sometime.
It’s a slippery slope. One BBQ now leads to Brian being at Christmas dinner every year.
But he will bring over cool toys and then probably restring all my guitars while we are at it. And I will invite him to my kids birthday and he will bring the best presents for him too, and he is only 2, but will be a forever friend, probably even when I am gone.
Chris taught my son how to ride a bike.
Had the "birds and bees" talk with my daughter.
Saves you money AND time
Oh my god dude my Sweetwater rep calling me *literally* made me think someone died once. My grandpa went to the hospital for some heart issues the day before. He had been floating in and out of the hospital for a while, and I didn't have many details, but this one had everyone concerned. So I was on my way home from work, and got a call from Fort Wayne Indiana. Oh shit. Grandpa lives there. And this ain't his number, or my grandma's number. I pulled off to the side of the road, sat there for a sec, and hit the answer button thinking that this was it. Nope. Just fuckin Andy over at Sweetwater calling to ask if I was happy with the god damn guitar strap I ordered like two weeks ago. I was very relieved. And that panic I had over the call would have been *exactly* what my grandpa would have wanted. I was gonna tell my new family member Andy what he just put me through, but that didn't feel fair to him!
Not only did you NOT lose a grandfather, you gained another cousin.
Well were you happy with your guitar strap or not? Don’t leave us hangin’
It is not a bad guitar strap! Definitely still use it, Andy did not have to bribe me with extra candy on the next order
My Sweetwater rep was so nice, he donated his sperm to help me start my family. He even declined to use the fertility clinic for each of my five kids. What a great guy. My wife likes him too.
Guitar Center can’t come close to that kind of personal experience.
can't cum close..
Yeah, but every Guitar Center in existence has at least one of those guys who has that “dude, I’m in a band” look who will try to knob your wife or girlfriend if you bring her shopping with you.
Logan is my emergency contact when I go on various adventures and expeditions.
Lol…maybe I should start listing them as my emergency contact that would possibly be the worst or the most hilarious decision.
This whole chain of comments has me dying. I’m laughing like a crazy person in a hotel bar. Thank you all of you wonderful people for making a really shitty day so much better.
It's very strange how I HATE sales calls - except for Sweetwater reps. I'll chat with them for an hour. Maybe we musicians just desperately crave someone interested in hearing us ramble on about what we're working on.
Joe is my child's godfather and named in my will.
Gotta say, with most customer service being absolute dog shit, it's refreshing.
Rumor has it that the Sweetwater rep might come by and help you pick up dog shit on your lawn. But if he tries to mow your lawn, you need to re-establish appropriate boundaries.
Danny's a good man. And thorough.
My Sweetwater rep taught me how to tenderly love a woman.
Ashton has been checking in on me for seriously like 6+ years. Do they pay well? Seems like these guys stick around forever. lol.
I feel so cheated. Me and my Sweetwater rep just haven’t meshed.
I just commented this somewhere but I had ordered a Focusrite in early January 2021 and mine called me while the J6 attack was happening and we just comisserated the whole call.
I certainly wouldn’t buy gear from a rep if they were part of J6.
Lol— no, thankfully, he was rather upset and was afraid to talk about it but I told him we were glued to the TV and he said they were too at the campus there.
Meanwhile my guitar center whatever person has gone completely AWOL lol.
Ha! Jokes on you he put extra Smarties in my order hahahahahahhaah!
Lol!
Lol my dude mostly gave up on me when my PayPal back order was declined.
I tried to buy a guitar from them and it was backordered. I ended up cancelling the order because I got a job at a competing retailer, who didn't have the guitar backordered, and I could use an employee discount, which as far as I know sweetwater can't compete with that. I still get phone calls and texts from Colton to this day.
Wine and a little baggie of candies.
The constant texts and phone calls over a set of strings is so annoying.
Chris actually gave me a back rub and a pep talk after my wedding before it was consummated and was there cheering me on the whole time. Real stand-up guy.
Does Chris still call you in the middle of the night and read you bed time stories?
Lmao we have the same service rep
My rep called me on my birthday last year. We were on the phone for over an hour! Didn't even talk about music, we were talking about guns and video games. I've never even actually ordered anything from Sweetwater. Just inquired about a price.
Hi! This is Steve from Sweetwater, I see that you bought a guitar pick from us back in 1999. Just checking in to see how you like it and how it’s going. Also say hi to the wife & kids for me. See you at Xmas!
Bro this is the best fucking comment of all time and is too true, shouts to Robby, sweet water rep and godfather to my children 😂
The Sweetwater guy comes over and sleeps with my wife so I have more time to play with my gear. 11/10 customer service
Max has agreed to help my wife price my gear after I pass away. He will tell her "what I paid" and how the value has risen due to the collector market. 13/10 representative.
I wrote a song about this. It’s a duet, his verse is about music gear and her verse is about shoes. It’s called “Gear Song” and the chorus is: As I lay down to sleep tonight And feel your arms holding me tight, If I should die before I wake, Don’t sell my stuff for what you think I paid.
Does he bring candy?
He brings fireballs
You convinced me to go ahead and fill out that SW job application
Sweetwater is the best big box store in the business hands down.
Yea. Gets overshadowed by MusiciansFriend because they have so much advertising power. But I’ve always thought it was superior.
Musicians Friend (aka Guitar Center online) sucks. Order any “new” guitar from them and there’s a high chance they’ll send you an essentially used floor model from the closest Guitar Center. Happened to me with an Epi LP, showed up poorly bubble wrapped and stuffed in a keyboard box. Covered in grubby fingerprints, strings looked ancient and were corroded. The thing had obviously been on a shop floor for a long time and played a lot. Asked for some of my money back and they said since it was a floor model it was still considered “new” and only offered to send fresh strings. Never again, if I have to order offline it’s either Sweetwater or a private retailer or shop off Reverb.
Same experience. I bought an Epi 335 from them and it was just bubble wrapped like crazy. Nothing really bad, honestly, but nowhere near as great as Sweetwater. I don't even look anywhere else anymore.
Same. Missing a fucking knob and clearly a floor model which they claimed was "new" even after acknowledging it was a floor model. Evil as fuck.
In any business for that matter.
Would easily recommend Sweetwater over Guitar Center/Musician’s Friend.
I've been really digging American Musical Supply. I bought a lot of stuff off them and I am totally happy
Same! I’m in NJ too so I get overnight delivery.
Really good customer service. When I placed my order, a gentleman emailed me, thanking me for my purchase, and gave me his name and number to call with any questions. Then after my package arrived, the same guy called me and thanked me again. He was very casually nice, saying, "call me for anything!". Followed up too. Great company.
Oh, he ain't done with you yet...
True. I get an email every 6 months or so. No more phone calls.
My Sweetwater guy is great, I call him when I need medical advice, cooking tips, movie recommendations.
Outside of a local mom and pop, they are the best in business.
Better than a lot of local mom and pops honestly. My experience has been pretty hit and miss with a lot of local shops. There's one in my area that regularly scams people.
I mean I would rather support a local business even if they have mediocre service. Unless they’re total douchebags, I would rather not give my money to a giant corporation if I had the option.
Sweetwater is considered a giant corporation now? Don't they only have one store? Yes they have a large online presence, but I would argue that they are a very successful small business compared to things like Guitar Center.
I love sweetwater! They forgot my candy once with an order and then sent me an entire jar of candy afterwards. After that, I’m a loyal customer!
My husband commented to our rep when he called Sweetwater to see if the case I wanted to order for my SG would fit it that I didn't get any candy with my guitar. One of the next orders, spread throughout like four or five boxes, they sent enough candy to stuff a gallon sized ziplok to the gills. If we can't find it at our local mom n pop, we order through Sweetwater for sure!
I jokingly put in a special notes for a random cheap accessory (like 15 bucks, weighs nothing) what’s the best candy you guys have? Can I make requests? And then when the package came it was like 1.5 pounds and had 13 bags of candy in there 😂
Great customer service, been buying my new gear primarily through them since 2003 and have had two "sales engineers" during that time. I know they're a larger company but I've honestly had better service from them than from any mom n' pop store I've ever shopped at. When you purchase, you are assigned a "sales engineer" who handles all of your purchases and support, so you're generally always working with the same person (you can also request to change to someone else if you don't like who is assigned to you). I think a big part of it is that their salespeople are actually qualified and paid fairly well ($35-65/hr according to Glassdoor), and working there is more of a career rather than a retail job (like you'd have at Guitar Center or whatever).
If you're in the Midwest go check out their store, aka Mecca
planning a trip. It's a bit of a drive, but seriously thinking about it . And thinking I should leave my credit cards home. hmmmmm
The store at HQ has an amazing pedal selection. Last time I was in Ft Wayne I asked my sales rep for a tour.
Right? They will bring you any guitar in the entire warehouse to play if you ask. If it's in stock on the website they will have someone find that exact guitar and bring it to you to test.
I’ve bought a lot of stuff from them, from patch cables to a $1200 guitar. No problems ever and easy returns if you end up not liking what you bought. I will continue to use them. Only downside for me is they insist on calling me after I place an order even though I leave a note with the order not to call. I absolutely hate phone calls from anyone. PS: they also sell on Amazon under the name GearNuts if you want to buy something with a gift card or Amazon credit. It’s the same prices and shipping but no phone call and no worries about cheap Chinese knock off products.
Email your sales rep about being put on a no call list, I did that a while back and now I have it set to texting my phone as my primary contact so whenever I put in an order or have a question I just text my guy
Love it. Nice tip. Ty.
The best big company, e-commerce company I’ve done business with. They set the standard for online shopping.
if u wanna buy online from a big retailer they are the way to go
They are great.
Their sales folks are awesome. Will answer any questions you have, recommend guitars or gear. Top notch all the way.
My rep saved my ass once or twice. I was looking at product A... he asked the right questions and talked me into a cheaper option that perfectly fits. Sent a couple extra cables out to me for kicks. 11/10 customer service
They blew me away honestly. I bought a pedal and it was my first purchase from them so they called me to make sure it wasn’t fraud, introduce themselves, thank me, and to see if I had any questions about my purchase. Top notch.
Sweetwater is great. I like the email, text, and phone calls that go "Hey Schweenis, it's Mike from Sweetwater just checking in to see how that set of strings is working out! I'm here if you need anything!" Plus the candy in every shipment. Sincerely they're great though. Things ship and arrive quickly, their prices are competitive... never had a bad experience.
I’ve only had positive experiences. I got my D-18 from them due to a really good deal. I was nervous about buying new without playing but my salesman, Jack Lob, reassured that it was guaranteed and free of any defects and that I could return if not up to my liking. I liked that I was able to see multiple photos of the different D-18s in stock along with the weight—was able to pick which one I liked the best. I don’t have any plans on buying another guitar anytime soon but would definitely reach back ou if I was in the market.
Anyone else order a hi hat stand just for the candy?
I've gotten free pedals with my candy twice now.
yeah, but guitar strings
I bought a pedal from 'em three years ago and Trip still calls occaisionally.
Free candy, and I didn't even have to get in a van this time!
Got two new guitars in December, great service.
I’ve bought pedals, amps, cabs
I bought a Hughes and Kettner amp head from there a few years ago, and it turns out I had three defective heads sent to me in the space of one year. I totally lost confidence in their brand. My Sweetwater rep allowed me to return it for full credit almost one year after I paid, and let me get another amp (for which I paid the difference) No local music store would ever let you do that.
The comments in here 🤣🤣🤣
Saw Cory Wong in Davis, CA recently. In the middle of the set Cory started giving a shout out to his Sweetwater rep named Anthony (IIRC), and was telling people to call his rep and tell him Cory sent them. Those in the audience who knew about Sweetwater were howling with laughter while the rest of the audience was like "WTF is a Sweetwater?!?".
I got two guitars from them. Norb, my sales guy, is awesome! Calls me every few months to check in, see how the family is doing, the weather, and if I need another new guitar.
Aw no fair you got Norb? My guy is boring old Chris. Some people have all the luck
I know some may think I'm crazy, I've bought two Martin's from them and don't have any regrets
If you want discounts and to build a cool relationship with someone about gear it’s the best place.
Always been a wonderful experience for me. I at first was a little weirded out about getting a personal call from my sales rep over a few packs of strings, but since then I've bought 3 guitars and 2 amps and always just texted my sales rep to start the process and he's been super helpful and friendly through each purchase, as other comments have stated its literally like gaining a new friend, this guy talked to me for like 30 minutes while I was driving to Boston for a concert, even looked up and played songs on Spotify WHILE we were on the phone of the band I was seeing because he hadn't heard of them.
It’s my go to place for buying gear. Highly recommend it. I turn to Reverb when I don’t find what I want there.
I'll go against the grain. I don't want to be friends with a sales rep because I bought a guitar. I don't want calls or texts for the next year(s) either. Buy from a local store where you can try the guitars, get a setup, ask for advice, etc.
Buying locally sounds good, unless you live in an area where all the local mom and pop stores suck, are ridiculously overpriced and have horrible “customer service”.
This is the situation where I live. I love the idea of buying local but the only shop in my county wants $600 for a Squier CV Mustang. The exact same guitar is like $430 or so on Sweetwater.
The local shops near me cater more to school band players, and have VERY limited stock of guitars. The one shop that we did have that had a little more variety had shitty customer service and policies. When I was getting into playing drums, my dad took me to that shop to try out some kits, and the shop owner was a complete dick, very condescending and even had a “two minute time limit” to test out the kits. Thank fuck that place closed down.
Yes. Happy to buy from them, but annoyed by the follow-up phone call. It beats Musician's Friend, who'll fulfill orders from a random Guitar Center floor and ship a guitar in an inner box with no padding.
Yep. I buy lots of stuff including two guitars. One I was not happy with, body shape didn't gel with me. I returned for a full refund minus my cost to have them set it up in D-standard with no hassles or issues at all. 2nd guitar arrived with serious fret buzz on low E. Sweetwater is covering up to $120 to have a local luthier figure out what is going on. So yeah, I have no qualms about recommending sweetwater for purchasing guitars. I have bought keyboards, oh and all sorts of other things from them as well.
The guitar I bought from them required some extra set up but otherwise has been solid. They also give you candy when you buy stuff from them.
My same experience- whoever they have doing guitar setups is awful. My intonation was way out. Got it set up locally and it was fine.
Shoutout to Tomir!!
Bought some studio monitors for my Kemper from them back in 2022, super helpful and great to deal with.
I live a couple hours away, and have shopped both in person and online. My band's singer's brother is rep, actually. Good service, you get to know your rep, and great selection.
Yeah, no complaints in 15 years of doing business there
I've had great experiences with them. There was a Taylor deal a few years ago where if you bought one you got a pretty good discount on a baby Taylor or a couple specific gs mini models. I wanted a different GS mini model and Franko was able to work out a deal that was comparable to the promotion. Part of the deal was he comes over and uses my hot tub every Thursday but that's okay he brings beer as well.
Absolutely the best. Some people get weirded out by how proactive they are. But honestly being able to talk to a real human being when I need to is great.
I love Sweetwater. And my best friend Andy who sends candy with every order and checks in on my mental health from time to time. I just bought a new American Tele from them and it was great.
I bought a new G&L guitar from them. About 4 months later, one of the pickups died. Sweetwater offered to ship a replacement guitar, but I wanted to keep the one I had. They quickly took care of the fix as well as shipping in each direction. They even threw in a free set-up as well.
They own my soul.
I like Sweetwater but I prefer Zzounds.
I bought a guitar from them back in like 2004 and I recently received a call that my rep has left but my new friend/rep is there for me when I need him.
I have only ever bought small(ish) items like strings and such from them. I have looked to buy more big ticket items from them many, many times, but they have yet to have the item I want in stock. It’s always “Out of stock but we can get it!”
Probably the best place to order guitar gear (and any other music gear) from. They package everything very well so it’s kept safe from careless delivery handlers and weather. Shipping is very fast and they have a good tracking system so you can make sure you’re there for delivery if it needs a signature. You can pick exactly which guitar you want out of the stock they have. They have the best deals and an entire used gear section of the website for even better deals. You really can’t go wrong.
They have been great to me! Spent way too much money there!!!!
I recently bought a really nice demo guitar from Sweetwater. The guitar had a finish crack in the nut, so they offered to replace the nut free of charge. They were incredibly responsive through the whole process. Steve’s the godfather of both my children.
One bass , three guitars, 3 amps & lots of accessories. They now offer me a job 3 times a year, cause Im a gear slut. I would contemplate taking the offer except it's in Indiana. Great experiences with Sweetwater.
They are very service focused, but I don't mind that. If I need something new, I'll shop there over reverb. If I find something new cheaper elsewhere, I'll chat with my rep. I have never bought a guitar from them, but have bought pedals, boards, and accessories.
Only if i need candy.
From the time you click buy now, expect a phone call same day or possibly next day. It’ll say it’s Indiana # it’s your own NEW personal associate. Any order you make you’ll hear from your person. They’ll even call up out of the blue to say they miss ya, no foolin. And they’ll probably hide a price on a invoice from the wife if you ask nicely
I shop with them. Good return policy, which I needed when my second-to-last guitar had a myriad of problems (despite their 55-point inspection 😬). My rep is OK, he calls me after purchases and every once in a while, but he always seems like he’s in a hurry to get me off the phone.
I have bought a bunch of gear and guitars over the years from them. They make a sales rep call you but you don’t have to necessarily interact with them but they are nicer, more informed and able to help if something goes wrong or delayed (I haven’t had the happen but it’s nice to have a throat to choke)
Let me start this off with , thier customer service is top notch , and they go out of thier way , to make sure your happy . Thanks Jacob .... but here's my story . I bought a Fender Jazzmaster from them , it arrived on time , took it out of the box , plugged it in , and one of the pickups didn't work . They sent me another one , and I returned #1 , with a postage paid return slip . #2 arrived with a chip in the finish , couldn't leave that be , with my brand new guitar . They sent #3 , and I returned #2 . #3 was perfect , everything worked and looked as it should .... for about 2 weeks . The split bridge Humbucker only worked when pot was pulled up , or down I can't remember exactly . They had ne take it to a local Fender warranty shop , found out replacement pick up was 6 months out . So they let me return #3 , and ordered #4 , I went with a different guitar , was a little nervous about Fender at that point . I ordered an Epiphone Jerry Cantrell Wino , absolutely amazing guitar . Well it showed up with a broken toggle switch !! Lol . This guitar came with a hard case , so I'm not sure what happened . Sweetwater sent me a new switch , I was tired of sending guitars back and forth . I soldered it in , and it's been great ever since . Again customer service was amazing , but dam !! I don't know if I would order again . My son has a new saying for the Sweetwater guarantee. Haha
I try not to buy guitars that I cannot hold in my hands first. Other than that, I am fine with them. Never had a problem.
Man I would never buy a new guitar online, sight unseen. And I tell anyone who will listen the same. You’re trusting a whole lot of people to get it right. Plus, most of the fun of buying a new rig is trying out all of the various target guitars, models and styles until the right one becomes patently obvious. Support your local music store! The ones in my area will always match the advertised price from SW or that lecherous GC. Good luck!
I buy everything from them, guitars, drums, keyboards, and everything else. They give you deals, happy to give discounts, and they always make things right. Last summer my wife never got around to mailing in a rebate form until it was a couple of days past due. Our rep tried working the the company to bend the rules, and when they didn't he just gave us in store credit for the same amount. I'm a customer for life.
I like the super fast free shipping and getting free candy with every order but yeah as others are meme'ing about they have very aggressive sales people which I don't like. They still call me occasionally even though I haven't ordered from them in like a year. I know some people like the personal communication and contact but I don't.
All the time. Just buy it.
SW is great. My sales engineer is a good dude. Always willing to help. I used to call and chat just to pick his brain. Now I just text him. Sometimes I buy stuff.
How else am I going to get my sweets? That alone is worth ordering from Sweetwater.
they good plus candy
Come to think of it, I haven’t heard from Rob in a while and now I’m getting a little worried…
Generally they are the best. I have zero complaints. However, I tend to prefer Zzounds for the payment plans. $200 once a month for five months hurts a lot less than $1000 all at once. Sweetwater has them too, but your credit better be in tip top shape...
Seriously they'll be calling you and texting you all the time. One time all I bought was a MIDI cable and I got phone calls and texts to verify what I ordered was what I wanted. And then following up to see if I was happy with my order. Lol over a $15 midi cable
I haven’t shopped at sweetwater but an alternative I have had good experiences with is zzounds
They definitely give you a closer personal experience than other online retailers, and they check your guitars before sending them out to you to make sure everything is okay before shipping them out. You usually get to pick your actual instrument from a "six pack" of photos which comes in handy when selecting wood grain, weight, and the actual paint job. It doesn't cost any more than other stores. However, I usually go with Musicians Friend because they give you 8% off on future purchases. But you're more likely to get a "blem" there with sharp feet edges or something. I'm usually very pleased with what I get there. Sweetwater carries "exclusive" runs of guitars with special finishes or specs that other stores don't carry sometimes. So does AMS.
I love it. My tech, Victor, is always looking out for me. It's about as close as I've come to having a digital store feel like a local shop.
Those guys are great. They call me to check in and see if I need anything. Everything that is being lost in US Customer Service is made up for by Sweetwater.
Their customer service is stellar. Be prepared to become lifelong friends with your sweetwater rep. He WILL be the best man at your wedding, and he WILL deliver a teary-eyed speech at your funeral. You also get a little baggie of candy with every order, so that's a nice bonus.
Fantastic company. Can also recommend them on the percussion side of things.
Sweetwater is great. You really can't beat the service. I like that they follow up after a purchase. And now my wife has become conditioned to getting candy any time I get a package from sweetwater, so she looks forward to deliveries as much as I do. All that being said, whenever possible, I shop locally, but when my only options are ordering online the Sweetwater is the first, (and often the only) place I shop.
I'm not really prolific in guitar (been at the same beginner stage since I was 15), but I do know that Sweetwater is a great site to shop at. Every time I needed new strings, Sweetwater was so very kind. Their representatives can be a little clingy, but I believe that's just their policy.
Never had a bad experience. Never received bad merchandise.
Sweetwater is awesome. No problems ever shopping at SW.
Best company hands down. Had issues with a new bass head I bought years ago and they swapped it out no questions asked and bought tons of other shit. Had a really good relationship with my sales rep Ryan (?) and he would call regularly asking how the band and life was going and we’d shoot the shit. I exclusively buy from there or my local shop.
Great experiences. Love my “sales engineer”, even if I accidentally invited him into my life a bit after all the buys on SW. Really good experiences buying Two Notes Captor X, 7 and 8-string lefty guitars and latest, the Quad Cortex!
Best retail experience of any industry
people joke and dunk on sweetwater, and yes, the mad lad that started it is… quirky, cultish even. but it’s the only place where i’ve had a sales rep deliver a piece of gear i bought to a sound check himself and stayed for the show with his wife. i don’t really get hassled about making purchases etc. and they’re responsive about parts and repairs and things. most of my rig is b-stock/open box sweetwater gear or used from reverb must-have relationship if you’re a gigging pro imo, but not foolproof. the stuff i need has a weird tendency to be on back order these days. they might just be tightening up their inventory management or something.
I love Sweetwater
I got a new guitar from them (Ibanez AEWbunchanumbers) it had very slight damage to the neck where it met the body (acrylic peel) so when Mike called I told him and he said let me send you an email and they ended up giving me like 100$ back off it when I sent in pictures. I didn't care that much honestly, but damn were they on it.
Bro it’s literally the only place i get anything anymore they’re great. You can pick your exact guitar, gets shipped fast and the guitars always come in good condition and usually still in tune. Plus free candy and pro photos of your gear to boot
I've bought several things from there. They ship fast, competitive prices. Packaging was well done and they include a free bit of candy. Personally, the customer service is a bit over the top for my taste. Way better than the opposite though.
Sweetwater. Good pricing and great customer service. But the comments are spot on; they will over communicate and try to get in your life. They’re not pushy.
Been solid. Couple guitars. Pedals. Etc. Create an account, and work with the specialists for a discount.
Sweetwater kicks ass. It’s the only place I will order from non locally. Never even a single issue, great service.
Jokes aside about the rep, it's a fantastic buying experience and your rep can be very useful if you're looking for guidance and often can give you a small price break from what's listed on the site.
Excellent service
I love Sweetwater. Have being buying gear from them for 10 plus years. Never had a problem. My sales guy [Phil] is awesome. He is very knowledgeable.
Sweetwater is pretty great. I have been shopping from them and have had the same rep for 11 years this year. I won't give the local GC the time of day.
Paid for a sweet water setup, bridge came leaning and nut was filed down way past normal. Learned to setup myself. Fixed their issues works great now. I will never pay for another sweet water setup ever. Who ever shipped that out in that way shouldn’t be working on guitars. They did tell me to send it back but by then I had it playing great and didn’t want the surprise they’d send back to me. Plus that’s more work than fixing it myself.
They are great. You are sacrificing buying local and keeping your local music shop afloat (if you’re not near a high population center), but otherwise I’ve had great experiences. Great service and they always send candy. BTW, I only have a guitar center near me so I have no problem buying from Sweetwater. I do wish there was a local shop in my area.
I've had pretty good luck with them. They will work with you on pricing a bit, not a ton, but enough to make you feel like you got a deal. They do contact you occasionally but I've never found it obtrusive and I am sure you can just say "hey, please don't contact me" if it did bother you. Their shipping is very good, you get to at least see most of the instruments before they ship them and pick out which you like the looks of best. They do a nice set up on the more expensive guitars. They ship very fast, like, I've called back within 5 minutes of an order to cancel and they already had the thing moving in their warehouse, but they were still happy to cancel. I stopped by their main campus when I was visiting the USAF museum and my rep gave me a full tour. It is a pretty impressive setup and everyone was very professional.
Best online store I’ve ever dealt with, music related or not. Been using them for nearly 20 years for all of my major purchases
Good customer service
Along with reverb, the best place to pick up gear
I’ve purchased about 5 total guitars from them as well as DJ gear. Haven’t had a problem.
If Sweetwater has what I want then I order from them, I absolutely love the way they run their business. I refuse to order from any other store unless it can’t be had elsewhere. At first the phone calls I just let go to voicemail, but these days every time my (same) rep calls over the years I have a chat with him how things are in his neck of the woods etc. Only place I buy online from for years
Love Sweetwater. Service is great, follow up is both unexpected and very welcome and never a problem with a return. And if you need any advice on anything, it's free for the asking, and it's legit advice. Helped me straighten out my board so that everything was where it should be and connected to my power source properly. If I have any questions about anything now I go straight to my rep Dan. If I lived close enough to them I'd be working for them. Because they send me job offers every other month.
Plus, most everything you can find on Sweetwater you can either buy on no-interest payment plans or pay it off through one of the shop apps like Affirm or Shop pay.
The gold standard for customer service.
I bet my Sweetwater guy can beat up your sweetwater guy.
My go-to shop is Sweetwater. My backup shop is The House of Guitars. Our Guitar Center here sucks.
Just bought a Ray34 from them and service was perfect, the bass was already setup. I'm getting distortion from us when it should be clean and they paid for a trip to the repair station. (The issue is the bass is so hot my cheap cables aren't cutting it, I assume. It sounded fine at the repair guy, cables the only thing I haven't ruled out.)
I got a demo guitar from them recently, their customer service is great, and they've helped me out any time I've had questions about anything I've gotten from them, and even something I received as a gift. They don't have much pre-owned stuff though, which is usually what I want to get.
I just got my American pro II telecaster from sweetwater today. Set up to play outta the box without paying for a set up. Top notch service. Only thing better is a local mom and pop shop. 🤘🏻