Sweetwater

I am a professional filmmaker/audio engineer and hobbyist musician… I respect the knowledge of Sweetwater's employees and appreciate that my orders are always looked after by the same individual (Grant Vitek), but I especially love their service. I ordered a product on Friday and it arrived 3 days later! Exceptional service! Thanks.

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

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

Competitive pricing but customer service that blows everyone away and it is not even close! They also get things out quick. I live just one state away and usually receive things the following day. You can't beat that.

They also care about their customer. I thought I had already ordered a Christmas gift for my stepson and had not, so four days before Christmas, on a Thursday, they overnighted the item I needed and helped me out big time. Saved Christmas! They also called to check in when my package got delivered to the wrong address and I was panicing trying to figure out where it was. They go above and beyond!

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

Look sweetwater offers great products but this is about customer service. I was so pleased after placing my order because of how quick Nick Blough was to offer any assistance when needed. I have had issues with my Boss VE-20 vocal pedal, so I reached out to Nick. His response "you can just buy a new pedal." I laughed at first but this sort of response needs attention. Help out us independent artists spending hard earned money

I've been dealing with Sweetwater for several years now and have been generally satisfied with their service, however two orders that I have placed within the last few days were originally" all items in stock", one actually "ready for shipment" but for some reason now both orders are" waiting for items". Either they lied by saying all items were in stock when I ordered the stuff or their shipping system does not work. They tell you it's going to ship in a few days but then they stall you out for an undetermined amount of time. My only real gripe is they won't answer the phone or return emails. Customer service is not all that good if they won't return your call. My experience with the 2-year free warranty was not good either. When some headphones I had broke I called about their 2-year warranty but they never responded. And their prices are somewhat higher than other places anyway. The price of one item I purchased went up 25% in less than a month. I doubt I'll ever order anything from them again. I think they're heading the way of Walmart possibly, downhill.
Update: January 7th
I feel that I was somewhat hasty in making my judgment of what caused the change in the status of my orders. Perhaps they had a logistical problem. It could have of course been a computer glitch or a bookkeeping error. Whatever the case, there is no real excuse for not informing a customer of a change in the status of their order once the customer has placed the order and seen that all items are in stock and that the order is ready to ship. After all it is an automated system so it should automatically inform the customer of the change and give the customer the option to drop the backordered items or to back order them but in any case have the items that they have on hand shipped immediately. I am a working musician, when I order something I need it now. I can understand mistakes or other problems but not talking to the customer is unforgivable. I was a general sales manager in the Chicago area a number of years ago and my job was to ENGINEER logistical solutions to provide my customers with the products they wanted when they wanted them. Guys, you have an automated system so let's make it work to keep the customer happy.

I am blown away with sweetwater! I got a $10 part to fix a cable I had no idea it pretty much comes with a specialist! I can't believe it that now I have a number I can call or text for any help I might need I got Greag and he is awesome! Very helpful. I really am blown away with sweetwater. My sister needed some wireless mics and I insisted she use sweetwater and usually I don't like giving out my info but for her I told her to do so as so far that's my favorite part of this company. It's well beyond customer service you get an actual trained specialist! Everything about sweetwater is 5 stars!

Purchased a PRS from sweetwater and was assisted JD Shamoun, who is exceptional. I deal with a lot of sales people through my vendors, he has a drive and passion for sweetwater and the music industry that is seldom seen, and is very personable, which can't be taught. Absolute Rockstar. Subject matter expert on all the products I asked him about, you could tell he has actually used the gear as opposed to reading a spec sheet.

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

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

Have been a customer since at least 2016 or earlier. Made a large order and 3 items were listed on the site as "in-stock very soon", so I figured I had 6 weeks to wait, no big deal. 4 weeks go by, I send in an email asking for an ETA. Was told "late December/early January". Early January gets here, I send in an email. No response. I call Support to find out. Support then tells me that 2 of my 3 items were another month to 2 months out. The lack of warning or communication and the fact I had to be on the phone with Support for 45 minutes already frustrated me. They transferred me to another agent. This CS agent tells me they will credit my account instead of give me a direct refund after I ask to just cancel the items and return refund to the card I paid with. I say I need it on my card and let me them know I was charged the full amount and there was no "credit" issued to my account. They try to tell me I was not charged full amount and I was credited. The proof was in my AMEX statement. I told them this and the agent literally screamed at me and berated me for disagreeing. When I asked to speak to someone high up in management, they then screamed at me, "It won't do you any good. They're not going to do anything." After screaming and berating me some more, they finally transferred me to a very kind CS Manager that confirmed I was correct about my frustration and refund I was supposed to get. From there, I was issued a refund and an apology. I've spent a lot of money with Sweetwater over the years, it'll be a hard choice for me to do business with them again. Gave an extra star for the past good service, but this interaction has left me with a bad taste. Review your CS agents phone calls, and teach them patience and how to respectfully talk to people without raising their voice or personally attacking them. Sweetwater was in the wrong from the beginning here, still in disbelief how this situation was initially handled.

Update: The Customer Service Manager called me directly the next day to confirm with me that they listened to my phone call in question. They apologized profusely and even sent me a gift card, which they did not have to do. That went a long way with me.

I just want to call out one particularly incredible Sales Engineer, Jayden Brown! He recently helped me through some research I had been doing on new equipment and really built my confidence I was putting together exactly what I need. He then even went beyond that to share several online resources to get even more out of my gear. He took the time to listen, really evaluate what I need, and make recommendations towards future additions I might find value in without being pushy. This is my first interaction and purchase from Sweet Water and because of Jayden, I'll be doing a lot more business with them. Bottom line, if you need anything in the audio, visual, or musical production arenas, Sweet Water will have what you need and if you call Jayden, you will get top notch expertise and service! Jayden's work line at Sweet Water is *******176 if you want to get directly to this top notch professional.

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

I have received a replacement amp. I will leave the original review posted and describe what happened after receiving the damaged amp. This way people can see everything.
The day after receiving the amp Ispoke to my sales tech. I had already texted him the pictures I posted here. He was able to see them when I called. I described what was wrong with the amp and he agreed it should be replaced. He transferred me to another department. They also had access to the pictures. I told this person I did not want a refund. I wanted a replacement amp. He said no problem and it would ship 2 day FedEx and I would have it on Friday. The Friday he referred to was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. I altered my work schedule so as to be able to pick it up at a local FedEx drop off point at a nearby grocery store. I don't have things like this shipped to my house in case of bad weather. On Friday I still had not received a tracking number so I called my sales tech. He looked it up and said "bad news, it won't arrive till Monday". Even though it was sent 2 day it still took 5 days to receive the replacement amp. I had changed work schedule for nothing. I have now picked up the amp and it works perfectly. It was also packed VERY well. The original Fender box containing the amp was placed in a bigger box with 2 inches of high quality bubble wrap on all sides. Inside the Fender box, the amp had been packed properly and is in showroom condition.
A few more notes…
I mentioned an envelope that had been opened and was empty with the original amp. The exact same envelope was with this amp. The power cord had been secured into a loop and was then placed into that envelope. One end of the cord was attached to the amp then the cord went into the envelope. The envelope was then sealed around the cord. The padded envelope prevented the cord from damaging anything inside the amp during transit.
I had been under the impression that the Jensen speaker was an upgrade installed by Sweetwater. This is not the case. On the original box the with the damaged amp and on the box with the replacement amp there was a sticker that reads BLUES JR LTD C12N 120V. The C12N means that the amp ships from Fender with the Jensen speaker.
I had originally thought that someone at Sweetwater opened the box, installed the speaker and then did poor job of repackaging the amp. This is probably not how it happened. I now believe this amp had been shipped to a customer who then returned it with the power cord removed from the protective envelope, the speaker unhooked, the protective plastic bag stuffed into the box beside the amp instead of around the amp and the styrofoam packing blocks damaged.
The 3 Sweetwater people I spoke with about this were all sympathetic and my sales tech and the man who arranged the shipping of the replacement amp were very helpful. I work at a very large company and I'm aware that not everything happens as it should. What really matters is remedying a problem. This has been done.
I have changed my rating to 3 stars. It'll stay at 3 for the following reasons.
Sweetwater definitely had the first box open. They put Sweetwater literature and candy in the box (which was not included with the replacement amp). Whoever had that box open must have seen the condition of the amp and packing materials. It should never have shipped like that.
Sweetwater is a high volume shipper. The man who arranged the shipping of the replacement amp should have known I wouldn't get it till after the Thanksgiving weekend. I changed my work schedule based on incorrect information from him. And he never sent me the tracking number. I had to call my sales tech to get it.
Having written all of that, I must also add this…the American Professional ii Telecaster and the Fender Blues Jr amp with the Jensen speaker are AWESOME! I'm very pleased with this combo. I'm also pleased Sweetwater taking care of the problem.

My order included an American Professional II Telecaster and a Fender Blues Jr with a tweed cabinet and a Jensen speaker.
I have not received the Telecaster yet.
The Fender amp arrived with multiple problems. It had the upgraded Jensen speaker installed. But when the amp was put back into the box for shipping, the plastic bag that should have covered the amp was instead stuffed into the box beside the amp. None of the styrofoam packing blocks were intact. They were all broken and laying loose in the box. The amp was loose in the box and moving around. The white smudges that are visible on the amp in the pictures are from the lack of the plastic bag around the amp during shipping. Those smudges are areas where the styrofoam from the packing blocks has been ground into the tweed cabinet. It won't rub off. The Jensen speaker has not been hooked up. It has been installed, but the cable coming from the speaker is dangling loose in the cabinet. There is a large envelope inside the cabinet that has been torn open. The envelope is empty. I don't know what is supposed to be in the envelope, whatever should in it is missing.
I believe the condition of this amp is entirely the fault of Sweetwater. They definitely had the box open because there was Sweetwater literature and candy in the box. The employee who installed the speaker and repackaged the amp simply doesn't care about the quality of their work. Nor does that employee care if customers receive a product that is in new condition. I spoke with customer service immediately. I told him that I want a rma for this amp and I want another amp sent to me. He told me I'd have to speak to another department to complete the swap. He also said that if he forwarded my problem to them, it would be a few days before they get in touch with me. He said to get prompt service I should call them directly. They were gone for the day when I spoke with customer service.
I am giving Sweetwater a 2 star review at the moment. If and when this situation is resolved, I will adjust my rating up or down accordingly. The customer service agent I spoke to was sympathetic, but did absolutely nothing to help me. I will post more tomorrow after I've spoken to the other department about returning this amp and getting another amp sent to me.
At the moment, my review is simply buyer beware.

Purchased a new snark clip-on guitar tuner. Not only was the price better than most but it arrived very quickly. Within an hour of the item arriving, my sales rep called me to make sure that I received the product and it was in good working order. Making sure that I was satisfied with my purchase, he also asked me if there was anything else that he could do for me at this time. What more could you possibly ask for from a company! Thank you very much and keep up the incredible work!

I recently bought a Fender Champion practice amp. It is a great little practice amp! What I like best is having my own advisor, Jason, who is very knowledgeble. He patiently answers all my questions even when they are detailed about a product like strings. Sure you can buy the same products elsewhere but the Sweetwater staff cares and can advise you when you ask.

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

I recently picked up the Beacn Mix Create from Sweetwater. Received texts and a phone call confirming the orders status and a number I could call with any questions. At first was a bit suspicious since I got a call and text on a Sunday but the package arrived within a couple days with a card and little gift package of candy with it lol. Sad to say that a personal touch like that is cause for suspicion but I couldn't be happier both with the product and the service! I wanted to go out of my way to make sure I gave kudos and didn't just silently enjoy good business like this. Thanks a ton guys!

I spent 3,200 dollars on a Martin D-28. There are issues with the top of this guitar. This guitar was suggested to me by the sales person, there were four to choose from. After I realized that the top had a wave spot in the wood and a possible area near the neck where the wood grain will spilt over time, they pretty much told me good luck it's wood deal with it. There sales pitch about the customer being happy with there purchase is a bunch of bull. They don't stand by what they sell. You may be getting a little money off on the guitar, but there receiving sub-par guitars from the manufacturer. Do your self a favor and go to the guitar store, look and handle the guitar in person to make sure it's perfect. Don't buy online and don't use Sweetwater...

I bought some strings from Sweetwater on a internet search and was amazed tha tI had a voice mail and a text from Craig my assigned sales rep. Thanking me for my order! Since then I have ordered several things with the same as the first ( call and text), each time it was shipped fast, packed great and was just as described. If you want a company that values their customers and goes the extra mile to make it pleasant purchase Sweetwater is the one for you!

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

Every order from Sweetwater includes a small packet of candy which I find to be a nice little touch that says a lot to me. It says a lot because even though I'm not ordering hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of equipment they still include that little packet of candy. That little touch along with their #1 customer service including follow ups on every order no matter how small all say that I'm a valued customer. It is for these very reason why I continue to order from Sweetwater!