Pros & Cons of Buying from Sweetwater

In this video, I discuss some of the pros and cons that I've found buying guitars from Sweetwater. This is all based on my own personal experience, so if you've had a different result, feel free to share it in the comments below.
If you liked this video, don't forget to share it and subscribe!

[@ronivory7752]

I totally agree with his assessment of sweetwater. I will buy from them first before any other music store. There’s been a few times I will tryout an instrument locally but buy online at Sweetwater. An example I was feeling out one day the Kross2 88 keyboard for two straight hours and while some customers enjoyed the mini concert, not one salesperson came up to me to see if I had any questions or interest in purchasing. I left and purchased from Sweetwater (Dropping the mic now).

[@jacksonbakermusic7081]

I just went to the sweet water store a couple weeks ago to get my first audio interface, mic and headphones and the customer service is so great! amazing. I am also lucky enough to live only 1 1/2 hours away from their headquarters so its not that bad of a drive for me. If you are looking to buy and are able to go to the store in person, highly recommend

[@TommyGunzzz]

So what I am hearing, is play the instrument live at guitar center, then buy it on Sweetwater

[@metalfatigue]

Sweetwater is a great business, but it's still mail order. They are fine for small or hard to find items, or anything that doesn't have variations. But guitars vary, and a photo of a $3000 guitar, even with full specs including weight, is like a picture of a $20 bill. It's an accurate representation but not the same as having the actual item in your hands. If they weren't in the middle of nowhere, I'd happily make a trip to try some expensive guitars in person.

[@DunderHead.5000]

I bought three guitars new from different companies, the guitars themselves were the same brand. All of them came junked. I had to keep sending them back to HQ and they kept sending me new guitars that were junked or improperly 'fixing' things or they would offer me free shipping to have it fixed or replaced. I sent them to so-called 'luthiers' allover the U.S. just to get them back junked. After the third time of sending them back to HQ and having guitars that were unplayable and I couldn't sell (they were just in that bad of condition) I was out $3,000 and took a sledge hammer and a prybar to them. Quality and customer care have plummeted to below non-existent. I had been playing for thirty years (not great but I know what a good setup feels like) but I no longer play. You used to be able to buy a new guitar for $400 that was magical. You can't buy a guitar for any price that doesn't need to be shipped off for repairs. I'm going to dispel two lies companies like to say - 1. That's what you get for buying online. Really? You're telling me that the only way to not have sharp fret ends, loose tuning machines, preventing a nut from falling out when you take the strings off just because it was sent by mail even though the box was in mint condition? That's what I should expect and just deal with it? 2. A bad guitar is better than no guitar. No. Just no. An unplayable guitar is not better than not having a guitar in my opinion. Staring at a guitar and wishing you could play is not better than having nothing. It's the old saying of I'd rather be alone than with someone who makes me feel lonely.

[@guitarman3968]

Are you talking specifically about Sweetwater?

[@DiMarzio-Tone]

​@@guitarman3968I think he's on speed or something, not making a lot of sense in the 21st century, Lol 😅😅. I'm 57 and I know that's just the way it is, and my best equipment has come from Sweetwater. This dude's trippen!😊

[@robertbeaman5761]

I certainly do miss the days of small stores where guitars and basses were set up and tuned before being hung on the wall.

[@mkilic10]

I did buy a little item from them. They shipped it very quickly, and it arrived right on time. They called me for the follow-up after delivery to check if everything was good. There was even a small bag of candies in the box, which made me smile for a minute. I will definitely buy from them again.

[@chadromanowski2408]

Ive bought from Sweetwater and im not a heavy customer, probably around 1500 per year, but i have never had better customers service from any other company. No matter what I order i get the customary auto text but my contact calls me within 30 minutes acknowledging the purchase and follows up after i receive it. The worst i could say is one guitar i bought last year had an action i had to drop just a little lower. I do feel guilty if I don't buy from them though..

[@WoodworkerDan]

Excellent video. My experience with Sweetwater was very different from yours, and it's good to get a different perspective. A friend of mine worked for Sweetwater, so I was able to tour the store (including the parts people seldom see), I met some reps, they were great, and I really liked the company. My problem is that I did not like the salesperson assigned to me. I was buying some sound gear to use at gigs, told him what I wanted and he tried to talk me into something I absolutely didn't want. (I wanted a powered mixer with non-powered speakers, and he insisted I needed a regular mixer with powered speakers.) At that point I had been performing for a couple of decades and I knew what worked for me. The guy really talked down to me, and pretty much refused to sell me what I wanted.

[@craigwelch4597]

Isn’t part of the point of the salesperson is to establish a relationship with you (real or other) so you will “feel” you need to buy from them? What I’m saying is them reaching out to you is not because they are great guys. It’s to hook you into a relationship so you will “feel” like you have to or should buy from them!? I have bought non-guitars & stuff to from Sweetwater & they were fine. But my 1st choice is a guitar I can sample in-person. Sweetwater is probably my 2nd choice for hard to find items/guitars.

[@DunderHead.5000]

If you were unable to test a guitar and could only order online, where would you go?

[@carriersignal]

I have bought from Sweetwater before and while they are fine, I have zero loyalty to them. I shop online where I can get the best deal, period, and have never had a problem that I couldn't resolve. Whether it be, Guitar Center, Zzounds, Musican's Friend, Thomann, Alto or one of the dozens of other sites it doesn't matter. As far as returning something to any of them, that has never been a problem either. Best to do your own research and really know what you want before you buy from any of them. It is a rare occasion that I rely on engineers of any kind in my decision making. As for feeling obligated to purchase from any of them, that is on you and something you have to get past, or not. At the end of the day, they are doing their job as salesmen and I know that. I'll either buy from them or someone else. It makes no difference to me.

[@StratBurst92]

Honestly, I have been a customer with them since 2008 and always had great service.

[@steverossi7949]

I just purchased a Gibson LP Standard from Sweetwater. $2999.99 the same price as every other store I looked at, not sure where people come up with them being more expensive, my sales guy even knocked $100 off of that. I had them do a setup with very specific numbers and they nailed it! Would not hesitate to buy from them again. They have returned every call and responded to every email I’ve ever sent them. Btw they only do the 55 point inspection on guitars over a certain price point, if you’re buying a cheap guitar that’s what you’re going to get.

[@blusef1]

Totally agree. This is why whenever I’m looking for new gear I go to SweetWater. Their customer service is so good. I know I’ll have the peace of mind that if any issues happen I’m covered and I can talk to someone quickly and easily who will know how to resolve it. You can see the attention to detail in the fact they include candy and a catalog with each purchase.

[@carriersignal]

Some people like having their hand held along the way and Sweetwater will definitely do this if that is what you need. For me, I know their psychology game and what you describe in this video is a testament to how well it works on most everyone. In the end, the subtle massaging sales techniques (i.e. building rapport) work well on a lot of people and for various reasons they are able to extract that extra bit of cash out of your pocket. If that is your thing, that's fine, just be aware you are likely paying top dollar for whatever it is you think you are getting.

[@dave23024]

Sweetwater cracks me up. Do they keep anything in stock that doesn't need to be special ordered??? It is absolutely mind-boggling that a guitar store never has anything in stock.

[@LilTartKid]

I tried purchasing an acoustic guitar from here about April last year. They said it'd ship in October for sure so I waited. Now it's the end of July. Nobody contacted me, no information ... I even asked for discreet shipping cuz it was for my cousins birthday. I already bought him something else so. Somebody else contacted me this month and said the guitar finally came in but my card didn't go threw. I cancelled my card like 3 days ago cuz I lost it. Kinda ironic. They said they didn't charge me yet but the money went out the account. It went threw and I got the order number but apparently they don't charge till it ships which nobody told me cuz I was just looking for a cheaper yet good guitar. Im not sure what was wrong with it but I'm guessing it didn't charge/ go threw and I lost 300$ somehow. As much as I was hopeful about the probuct and website because of everyone saying they're the Best, but after that I'd just be sure the products are fully stocked and to for sure talk to someone at sweetwater to ensure it'll come when it says it will. I'm just mad cuz I waited a year thinking it was gonna come maybe this birthday.😢

[@DiMarzio-Tone]

No problem with Sweetwater, yeah I've returned a few things, but it's so easy with the customer service.

[@R.L.Humpert]

Sweetwater is probably the best place but they have some Bad seeds too. I had a sales guy Kris tell me not to email him because his time is valuable and his profit to feed his family. I get that but I’m very careful before I buy a guitar and he clearly didn’t like emailing and I can’t be on the phone all day. It was rather shocking coming from sweetwater. I know guitar center reps kinda suck but if you know a particular person like I do who is a sales rep you can get the guitar you want and get crazy discounted prices. If it a Martin HD28 special at like 500 off retail. It was a pretty amazing deal. Ask for Chad at GC and they have a much bigger inventory. However sweetwater in general does usually have strong customer care I was shocked at the way Kris treated me there just because I chose email.

[@DunderHead.5000]

Every place has been gathering the bad seeds for the last decade or so but for whatever reason it seems they're being allowed to or promoted to grow (the bad seeds I mean).

[@eddiemautone209]

I get my guitars from zzounds music on payment plan first payment your guitar is shipped out yes cant beat that and in two days yep that fast my third guitar already and slso my guitars are left handed also so you can have sweetwater and any other music store im sticking with zzounds music company 😊

[@jeffcrook2521]

CON: Their service department SUCKS, they don’t return calls, they don’t respond to e-mail. They are happy to sell you something but if you need service GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

[@charlessmith8544]

Luck for me i am an hour drive from them. AWESOME FACILITY.

[@MrRUGDUDE]

Yea man! I love those guys. I just ordered an LP Slash Amber burst 2 days ago. He hooked me up!!

[@kylebarcomb6192]

I’m returning a twisted neck Martin and it’s been up n down ,the guy who took the order wont call back or help us so I got a different guy and now I’m waiting to see what’s neck,it’s my first guitar from them ,the first guy who sold it to my kid said she needed to take it to a Martin dealer and see what’s up, and so. She contacted that guy at a martin guy and he asked her a lot of questions about how her dad meaning me took care of it and this and that and said he had a lot more to ask me?like wtf dude I didn’t do anything to your crap guitar,so we will see if I like them or not ,fingers crossed,and they advertise this jonny cash model to be able to handle all kinds of stuff and weather wont affect them ,and now with a twisted neck from sitting in its case I sed always with a warm room ,so idk ,wtf,,,

[@gwugluud]

Oddly, ordering from them takes multiple times longer than buying from Amazon. Just ordered a Tech 21 stompbox. It’s going to take a week to get it slapped on my porch. Indiana to Texas. I ordered guitar parts from the UK and it was in my mailbox 3 days later.

[@scottanderson4175]

Dude I agree 100 percent I like to try a guitar before I buy it especially if it’s a guitar I’m not familiar with but unfortunately if I go to a local music store they have almost zero stock to physically try before buying it 😐I have purchased 3 guitars from Sweetwater and all 3 experiences have been good 🥂 exceeded all my expectations

[@R.L.Humpert]

I agree with you totally on SW but at the end of the day they are salesmen. Anyhow yes the physical location is limited. However I would buy from them anyday. Call my ridiculous but I don’t buy used acoustic guitars you just don’t know what conditions it’s been through. Save a few more dollars and just get it new unless it’s a classic collectible type. Thanks for the video those are just my 2 cents.

[@King_V2]

Got a Gloss Black JS32T King V from them. There's buffing scratches all underneath the clearcoat which really sucks. I know they're cheap entry level so I can't expect a flawless instrument but still, really hurts seeing that. You get what you pay for folks!

[@DunderHead.5000]

What would you expect for $429?

[@dtread9543]

Purchasing a ESP USA eclipse from SWEETWATER was the worst gear mistake I have ever made. They "special ordered" it for me. DID NOT inspect the guitar when it came in before they shipped it to me. I got a B stock guitar with multiple issues and paid full price. No return, no refund, no credit. They have zero accountability when something isn't right.

[@paradox7743]

This is true all though I order from them once an ahwile-when they Fuck up an order they will not take responsbilty and will try to give you run around. My personal contact @ SW is excellent and really knows his shit but the company seems to always pass the buck when something isn't right...

[@R.L.Humpert]

Wow D that’s shocking coming from SW. so they didn’t do a 55 point inspection or claimed to but lied? I’m really surprise at this point. I am on order for a 000-18 Martin and it better come perfect and as well they are adding some things I wanted like a pickup and different bridge pins. Lowering the action. Etc. I’m a little anxious now by your comments so I hope my guitar is not messed up. Sounds like some workers do their jobs there and a few bad seeds don’t? What do you think? Why wouldn’t they return the guitar?

[@Aureliano-]

@@R.L.Humpert Did your guitar came in good?

[@R.L.Humpert]

@@Aureliano- yes it’s amazing. Thanks!

[@R.L.Humpert]

@@Aureliano- thanks for asking too by the way. Yea this guitar is just perfectly set up. It’s also a Martin and IMO Martin makes the best guitars on the market.

[@TempoDrift1480]

My guitar buying experience from Sweetwater: Been with Sweetwater for many years. 20 ish. Recently I bought a Yamaha 12 String for around $400. When it arrived the string action was so high it was unplayable so a straight edge proved that the bridge plate was almost 1/8 of an inch taller than the fret wires. That is an error in manufacturing and I know that all of them are going to have that issue so I promptly set up a jig and a sanding beam, shaved off 3/16 and tuned up the saddle, chamfered the pin holes and broke the edges with sandpaper, hit it with some oil and now I've got a bitchin fucking 12 string that gets compliments on its playability by anyone who picks it up. Now, not everybody had a bench set up already and those kinds of tools or that experience to determine and correct that issue so I called and was referred to a "guitar guy" by my guy. I showed him a video of the error before, a few pictures of the process to fix it and then I gave him a tune after the fact. He told me nice work but he couldn't offer me a discount or partial refund because it should have come back for warranty. Which I understand. However Unexplained that all those bridge plates and parts were done on the same machine and every one of them will have an issue. He sent me a pack of strings of my choice. I didn't make a stink but for as good as they've always been to me for as long as I've been there I was kinda shocked they didn't give me some coin back or credit but in the end I got a good deal. That guitar blows away my $3000 Guild 12 string and it was only $400. That's the only guitar I ever bought from them and it was essentially a free gift from my mother and grandfather when he passed away. So I can't complain. Other than one other issue, I've been asking my guy about their recording computers but haven't gotten any response since Feb 3 and I just decided to order it anyway. $1700 purchase Id think someone would contact me but nothing yet. Everything else has been pretty smooth. If I order something that I made the mistake they just tell me to keep it and they send me whatever the correction was.

[@GetFidW_GdPengon_leader5]

I bought a bass clarinet from them and it haven't arrived yet and I'm hoping to get it good, the drumset igot was good and they even sent Vic firth drumsticks

[@TalkTV24]

Podcaster, here. Love Sweetwater!

[@Charismaticblvd]

Last week I ordered 3 packs of guitar strings & they ever came in. I checked the delivery update and nothing came up

[@markerf16]

Don't laugh but I have bought about seven guitars through Sweetwater in the last 3 or 4 years and they all went back for various issues. I like my rep and I like the company but I just can't seem to get a good guitar from them.

[@buddylewis2743]

You hit the nail on the head.

[@cobyveron]

Thanks alot for the video,,

[@mkg28]

They just really screwed me over on an amp. I purchased a Dr. Z Z Master (amazing sounding amp for the time it worked) from them and I had it six days and something in it blew or fried. I never turned the amp up half way or abused the amp. I contacted them and they were just trying to do everything but exchange it for a new one and then send the defective amp back to Dr. Z . Thankfully Dr. Z has a great warranty if you buy a new amp from them so i just took the chassis out the combo cabinet and sent it to them to fix it for free. Doubt i'll ever use Sweetwater for anything other than strings or picks ever again and I told them that.

[@haywoodjablowme699]

Sweetwater has a 2 year warranty on everything they sell (unless it's used). It's one of the selling points of paying the premium of shopping there. I've had them send me a replacement while I still had the original in my possession. There must be another side to this story.

[@youngjdet]

Your story sounds fishy

[@damienlancer]

You just tell them to arrange a pick up and return it. You run the show, you spent the big bucks, they don't tell you what to do. These fools sell new gear as used. Returned guitars are sold as new as long as they can get away with it. I have had new guitars show up with generic boxes with a note about it. Biggest scam on the planet is that 55 point inspection.

[@piperofsimms]

Ditto ! Thx Jake

[@khuber996]

They are brilliant at helping you believe you are making the right choice and the 55 point inspection is similar to a car dealership 130 point inspection. It's a joke. I miss the brick and mortars that helped to build the brands that everyone wants, and I'm not talking about Guitar Center. But when you can't sell 1000 units a year of their brand, they pull it from you. Buying a guitar without playing it is ludicrous. It's human nature to like an instrument you just spent a big wad of money on and that's why Sweetwater is so successful. The sales force helps to guide you and gives you affirmation to that sweet spot. On the internet, they are the big dog and have a huge impact on the retail market. My experiences have been nominal at best.

[@pc6600]

All I know is Chuck (The Pres) is probably one happy man. Good job on building Sweetwater. Shout out to all the staff.

[@YeahImAnthony]

My sales guy Phil Potts is the shit

[@TheMiley814]

I love sweetwater customer service

[@mojobones8586]

was not my experience...bought new ibanez with floyd rose bridge arrived with lose strings..sales rep insisted guitar had been tuned and inspected by multiple people, offered no solution..will not shop there again

[@alikajackson8397]

Is Sweetwater similar to Zzounds, in the aspect that they will ship the instrument after your first payment?

[@loneponderer495]

I realize I'm 6 months late to answer this, but no one else did. Their payment plain is based on their Sweetwater card. So as long as you get approved for one and the price falls within what you have available then they will ship it to you right away (if it's in stock obviously). The Sweetwater Card is essentially a credit card, but if you make the suggested payments on time you don't get charged interest. So it's the same cost to you as if you had the money to buy it in full right away.

[@MrCwatson3]

This was a year ago. But they have different payment plans and last year I did a 3 month payment plan and it was great. They charged my card every month and on my first payment the amp came in like 4 days later.

[@charles3200]

Sweetwater disappointed me in my last purchase. Bought a NEW Telecaster and it came in such bad shape. Pickups were so high it was pulling the strings out of tune. There was metal leakage from a crappy fret job all over the side of the neck. The neck pickup is too tall for the cavity so I can't lower it. My salesperson told me to call this service number and all they told me was they'd reimburse me $80 for a setup. 🤦 And that was a week ago and still no reimbursement. I'll NEVER buy from them again. Just a horrible experience

[@andrewdescant4996]

Did they send you pictures of the instrument before you purchased it?

[@JavierLiera3]

This doesn’t not sound good especially after I just asked a family member to place an order for me of The JBL Boombox 3. (Edit: we’ll the item has been Pre-Ordered, hopefully it doesn’t come defective or damaged during shipping)

[@GE-re3fb]

Shipping is a nightmare with them they are very nice.

[@butchcassidy3373]

I buy from Sweetwater but I don't deal with their sales reps or any of that bullshit. I do my own research and buy what I want. Not what anyone else recommends. Least of all a sales rep.

[@paradox7743]

the biggest drawback is that Sweetwater only offers 3 year's financing and Musician's Friend offers 4 years.Fuck the guilt part/ if you have a question n don't buy at that time don't worry about it. they are there for us and Honestly most reps there know their shit but I have also come across a view clueless individuals. My main rep at M F is as Knowledgeable as any of the dudes @ SW and has better customer service skills then any of them. It' about communication and honesty...

[@federicoines1848]

They 48 months on Martin Taylor Gibson only

[@johnspring5689]

I have gotten 48 months on my Roland Fantom and Sequential Take 5. Not guitars, but I believe those were storewide offers on lots of top brand choices. Just keep an eye out for 4 year free financing

[@bears1804]

One day ago! Go figure!

[@Cruiseangel72]

What guilt? I deal with them 3x a month. Some i buy lots i dont. No guilt here.

[@adamturner7436]

i got a house financed and paid off. got 14k loan for a car that i paid off....and I still can't get a line of credit wth sweetwater. I couldn't get a line of credit for a grand. How do they they in business? Been in the same house and it's paid off for over 10 years! Ridiculous financing qualifications. I paid off my house and a 14k truck, and still can't get one thousand dollars financed thru sweetwater. They lost out big time....sweetwater is following in the line that Carvin started......we offer a line of credit but very few qualifies! WOW! But buy from us! How do they they in business? It ended with me just walking away from sweetwater and American Music supply came to the rescue, once again.

[@kylemoran4343]

Didn't your momma ever tell you: "You can never judge a book by it's cover" ? Well in my humble opinion. You can't judge a guitar by it's picture or a video of someone else playing it. It would be like having someone else read the book and tell you if they liked it, based on there experience, or imagination. Nahhhh My advise is to play as many as you can, for the "feel", guitar to ear "sound," and things like "neck-dive", "neck feel"... Etc, Etc, Etc.

[@_EightySix]

Sweetwater is almost always more expensive than anywhere else. Then they shove their fake savings numbers in your face because most people don't realize that dealers already don't sell anything at MSRP, but at a lower price. So for people like me, I feel like they think I'm an idiot and they're trying to pull one over on me, which they are. They have THE best customer service, but most of the time you don't need it, so I'd rather have lower prices. Thomann is the cheapest and they're just as legit.

[@Lean6]

Never heard of Thomann. Will have to check them out.

[@GILLISH]

Sweetwater has the worst customer people skills right now

[@MySecretSpotrecording]

Click Bait... You forgot Guitar in the header... Well of course buying a guitar without picking it up ever isn't ideal.

[@ferociouspterodactyl520]

Is your surname Pool? If that's the case, then "Hi American brother from another father"

[@vincentquattrocchi7924]

There are no cons from buying from SWEETWATER......

[@jsr-uz3oj]

My experience has been very good I had questions before buying another guitar and my sales engineer was very helpful. My guitar was delivered the next day packaged very well after receiving it I wanted to replace the nut saddles and arm with chrome to change all black look to some chrome and Scott Augustyniak was very helpful after searching on the internet I thought I would e-mail Scott and see if he could help responded very quickly and found everything, I needed your bound to find rotten apple anywhere any business.

[@johanjotun1647]

I bought the Quad Cortex and its a total disapointment, i've played it for maby 3hrs yet they won't buy it back I don't want to fuk around with making a gear exchange post dont buy anything sight unseen my yearly budget is gone on a $1800 piece of shit