10 Things You Didn’t Know About Sweetwater
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If you play guitar and live in America, you’ll know all about Sweetwater – you’ve probably bought something from there… actually, let’s be real here, you’ve probably bought a lot of somethings there if you’re a typical gearhead.
But aside from the great prices and incredible selection of big brand and boutique guitars, amps, pedals and accessories available when you need them, what do you really know about Sweetwater? A closer look might reveal that there’s a lot more to the company than meets the eye. Read on, to learn 10 interesting things that you (probably) didn’t know about Sweetwater – you might never think of it in the same way again…
1) Sweetwater was originally founded as a mobile recording studio in a Volkswagen Bus
When Sweetwater first started out, it wasn’t a retailer at all – it was a mobile recording studio. Back in 1979, Chuck Surack wanted to find a way to get out of the hard grind of being a touring musician, but still work in the music industry. His solution was to load a four-track Teac reel-to-reel recorder, and a handful of gear, into his VW bus and create a mobile recording studio that he christened Sweetwater Sound.
A few years later, Surack would move his operation into permanent accommodations, but as his studio grew he quickly became frustrated at the lack of a retailer that could provide knowledgeable, reliable, and affordable service to professionals such as him, and so he decided to transition into retail himself. The rest, as they say, is history – and it’s also very fitting that the current Sweetwater campus has an on-site recording studio, in a nice nod to the brand’s founding.
2) Sweetwater’s sales people aren’t just sales people, they’re Sales Engineers
Customer service has been a core value of the Sweetwater ethos from the start – the lack of after-sales care and support was a big part of why Chuck Surack made his move into retail in the first place, and it’s something that continues to drive the company to this day. That’s why Sweetwater doesn’t have sales people, it has Sales Engineers – gear and music experts who provide in-depth advice and guidance to help you find the right product for you.
Each Sales Engineer must undertake Sweetwater University – a 13-week training program that equips them with in-depth knowledge about audio, mechanical, and electrical engineering; live sound and studio recording techniques; and of course, a massive range of gear from pedals to recording consoles.
After this training is complete, Sales Engineers will also attend twice-weekly meetings to make sure they’re completely up to speed and up to date with the latest product launches and gear trends. They do all this to ensure that when you seek help from Sweetwater, you’re getting in-depth and informed guidance, and what’s more customers are assigned Sales Engineers for life! That means that whenever you contact Sweetwater, you’ll speak to the same person who is familiar with your account – ensuring you get the best buying advice possible.
3) Sweetwater’s primary operation is run out of a huge campus in Fort Wayne, IN
While most big retailers spread their operations out into multiple stores and fulfilment centres, the entire Sweetwater operation is headquartered in a huge campus in friendly Fort Wayne, Indiana – with a second distribution center in Arizona that was opened in 2022 in order to better serve the West Coast.
This huge main site is over 44 acres in size and is home to over 2,000 employees – which is about 1% of Fort Wayne’s entire population! Every piece of gear that you see for sale on Sweetwater is located and shipped from here, and the best part is that it’s open to the public, so if you’re lucky you may even get to meet your Sales Engineer if you’re passing through and want to stop by!
4) Over 80% of Sweetwater’s employees are musicians
Sweetwater was founded by a musician, and that ethos is what drives Sweetwater to this day – in fact over 80% of Sweetwater’s current employees consider themselves musicians, meaning that whoever you encounter on campus, chances are they’re a fellow gearhead!
This means that Sweetwater is a company for musicians and gear lovers by musicians and gear lovers who know what it’s like to follow a passion – whether that’s working in a huge campus, or out of the back of an old VW bus!
5) Sweetwater’s campus features a diner, a two-storey slide, a medical clinic… oh, and a HUGE store
There’s more than just warehouses and customer service centers at Sweetwater’s campus, its size is such that it has a host of useful (and fun) things to do on site. Did you know that the campus has a medical clinic, a diner, a recording studio, a large performance venue and even a two-storey slide (for adults AND kids)?
The main event however is the Sweetwater flagship store, a cavernous space that features over 30,000 products on display (with the ability to pull anything from the warehouse to try within minutes. There’s also a ton of pedal tryout stations equipped with Two Notes Torpedo units to enable you to try out a massive range of effects with headphones on. What’s more, the size of Sweetwater means that many of the big brands have on-site offices – this vendor village means that Sales Engineers and tech support teams can confer directly with manufacturers and be in lock step with information and deliver the best level of info back to you, the customer.
6) Sweetwater’s Guitar Gallery gives you unparalleled confidence buying online
One of the most common pitfalls of buying guitars online is that, unlike say an iPhone or a TV or a refrigerator, guitars are not an exact science – these are things made of wood by and large, and as with any organic thing, that means that the guitar you get sent might not look exactly like the one on the website.
Sweetwater’s innovative Guitar Gallery ensures that you can buy online with unparalleled confidence. Any guitar over $399 is photographed individually, weighed and then listed by serial number. This means that when you visit the listing on Sweetwater.com, you’ll be able to select from the available options. This means you can pick your favourite pattern of burst or grain from all the ones available if your guitar has a transparent finish, or even pick the weight that’s just right for you – and then get that exact guitar shipped direct to your door.
Plus you have the added confidence of Sweetwater’s 55-point Inspection process, which is given to every guitar over $399 that leaves the warehouse. This ensures that the finish, hardware, electronics, and playability are all top notch, and the guitar is prepared and polished ready for you to play it straight out of the box.
7) The innovative Certified Open Box products give you a great way to save on gear
Everyone loves to save a bit of cash on their gear purchases don’t they? It gives us more money to spend on… yep, more gear! Sweetwater’s innovative Certified Open Box product category is a great way for you to make substantial savings on gear that is, in effect, brand new. Open Box products are just that – instruments that have been returned by customers because they realised they didn’t really need that 14th Strat in the house or something similar.
These instruments have likely hardly been played, but even so, these products then undergo rigorous inspection and testing conducted by Sweetwater’s factory-authorized technicians to ensure that they are ready for your next gig right out of the box. What’s more, if there are any blemishes or imperfections with the product, these are photographed and explained in the item’s description so you can buy with confidence. And for added reassurance they even come with a 2-year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty, and they’ll ship it for free too! It truly puts the ‘new’ into ‘like new’
8) SweetCare gives you expert advice about gear, for free
Need information about using your gear, or the inside info on something you’re thinking about buying? Sweetwater’s SweetCare has all the answers – with a database of more than 28,000 tech articles written by Sweetwater’s own award-winning product support team, and it’s all completely free of charge. So whether you need information on optimising a product or software for your OS and hardware of choice, information on repairs, servicing or more, you’ll find easy to read and execute guides. There’s even a dedicated resource centre for Pro Tools users, an exclusive resource page for Creation Station computer owners, and much more – if you want to truly understand your gear, this is the place to look.
9) Sweetwater’s FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty lets you gig with confidence
At most retailers, you know you’re going to have to spend a hefty wedge – often as much as 30% of a product’s overall cost – to ensure that it’s covered beyond the standard 12-month manufacturer’s warranty, but not at Sweetwater.
Almost every new product you buy from Sweetwater comes complete with a 2-year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty – and you don’t have to pay a penny! If there’s a defect or issues with something you buy that’s outside the realms of normal use in the first 24 months their team of Sales Engineers, Support Specialists, and factory-certified Service Team will help solve the issue and get your gear back in order.
Much of this care and support is provided by Sweetwater’s on-site, award-winning, and factory-certified Service Department, who are authorized to repair virtually every piece of gear we sell. And on the rare occasion where Sweetwater’s techs aren’t certified to fix your gear, they’ll work directly with the manufacturer to ensure that the service is carried out with minimal hassle for you.
10) Sweetwater can even help you sell your existing gear
It’s a dilemma we’ve all faced at some point or another – you really want that new piece of gear you’ve had in your cart for days or weeks now, but you know that for one reason or another, you need to move something on before you can indulge in your latest bout of GAS.
Well did you know that Sweetwater can help here too? Sweetwater’s Gear Exchange is an easy way to sell and buy used gear, and if you take your earnings from selling your old gear as a gift card, you even get to keep 100% of the payment to put towards a new guitar, amp or pedal. As if you needed another excuse…
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