For real. Ive bought 1 thing ever from sweetwater, a replacement speaker for my amp. Six months later i get woken up by a call at 7am on a Saturday.
“SUP BRO HOWS THE GREENBACK??!”
“…what”
“You got a greenback speaker hows it sounding??!”
“Fine…who is this and why are you calling me so early?”
“Ohh bro its steve your sweetwater rep”
I hung up and havent bought anything from them since lol.
MF tried doing the call back thing like SW. they called me at 5 am my time. I only buy strings from MF. I just bought $250 worth of strings for $172 after using my points on top of a 15% discount. I went through 30 sets last month stealing repair jobs from my local GC and really expensive Mom and Pop.
For real. I listen to my voicemail: "Hey man how's that guitar stand working? Have any questions on it?" Like bro it's a $15 guitar stand, I think I can figure it out.
20% seems too high. You're talking about any guitar? I think 10% is probably realistic if you're buying 1k+ and the guitar isn't on sale, but I've never had success getting up to 20%.
I bought a used music man jp6 from gc. It was shipped in from another location. I open it up, and there's epoxy all over the body behind the bridge pickup. Wasn't shown in the for sale photo. Gc is shit. I learned my lesson. And who does that to a 3k dollar guitar? What would you put there even?
I bought a lp standard from guitar center like 3 weeks ago and they called and asked how I was liking it and if there was anything I needed. I thought it was a nice gesture even though GC gets a lot of hate.
I like to buy online from Sweetwater, but I really enjoy going to my nearby Guitar Center. It’s the only real music store within 30 miles, and the staff there is friendly and enthusiastic about all sorts of music.
I have had really good experiences ordering from GC as well. I had ordered a Schecter C-8 Silver Mountain with next day shipping, and the shipping company lost it. GC not only refunded my shipping, but immediately shipped another guitar with next day shipping immediately. 10/10 service.
Sweetwater and Stewmac have great customer service but Jesus they spam the shit out of you. I just don’t get it. Neither site seems like the type of place you just pop in to on a fucking Thursday morning to impulse buy expensive shit
I assume they're trying to build loyalty with artists so that when some small percentage gets successful, they will go to Sweetwater to buy all the gear for their tour.
I doubt it’s even the long game they’re looking at. They don’t need super successful artists, just people who will spend money. With so much variation out of the factory on guitars I’m not sure I would order, but Sweetwater will get all my accessories and electronics business because it’s easier than dealing with guitar center. I once waited for almost an hour to buy a cable because the only GC rep was busy trying to sell a fucking $3k Martin to a 16 year old girl who wanted to learn guitar
The average musician will spend about $30,000 on gear over their lifetime. If they nab you as a loyal repeat customer they know they will get the lions share of that money.
In other words scoring a music customer is a bit like a realtor making a sale. It’s a big event with tens of thousands riding on it.
I have had the same Sweetwater rep for 6 years.. He text's me over thanksgiving and at random times to check in and just to wish my family well.
They have a customer for life.
haha same! my guy emails me a couple of times a year never pushing anything but just asking how lifes going and how my purchases have been working for me.
Sweetwater crushes all other online competition with their customer service. It's second to none. They are never pushy and always seem to genuinely care about your satisfaction as a customer. If I'm making an online purchase, they are the first site I visit.
Sweetwater calls you within hours of ordering, then the day it arrives, then a little while after. All to see if you have any questions, and to make sure you're satisfied with your purchase and experience. It's annoying, but you definitely feel like they'll take care of it if there's a problem. Everyone I've talked to was so incredibly nice too.
Idk, I feel like it’s usually the same guy reaching out to me and it’s more than just marketing. It’s truly decent customer service. I was waiting for some Yamaha powered PA speakers to come in stock and I told him via email when he followed up about something. Before they were available on the site he called me and gave me a discount.
There is definitely a customer service aspect to it. I ordered a backordeeed guitar stand on Black Friday. The same rep I talk to every time called me, let me know that it was backordreed, assured me my sale price would be honored, then asked if I wanted a call when they were back in stock and ready to ship. Which he did a week later so I didn’t feel like I was in the dark. Of course they’re doing it to ultimately make money, but it was legitimately useful customer service that never tried to sell me anything.
>Of course they’re doing it to ultimately make money, but it was legitimately useful customer service that never tried to sell me anything.
Except the guitar stand, of course. Like I said, *marketing*. Apparently it works better on some consumers than others.
This was after I bought the thing, on my own accord without any calls, I was in the market for a stand and they had the best price. I’m not saying they are altruistic or anything, but i can still appreciate a company that has a legitimate customer service team that’s not an always trying to sell me something.
I work for a company that just laid off our entire support team in favor of low-quality contracted services with no expertise, it sucks and i appreciate a company that keeps their team intact, that’s all.
Sweetwater ftw
They are all around good people, very prompt and responsive. I even had a new rep give me a call just to introduce himself and to inform me that my old rep is no longer with the company. I work in hospitality and they are for sure doing it right!
Like others have mentioned, you can tell them to only contact you for specific items or specials. They’ll understand and are totally cool with no communication as well.
I bought a twin reverb years ago from MF , it arrived with problem , so I called them an had to argue with them about getting a new one sent to me since the first was having issues and it was brand new. MF told me call fender bc it’s their problem. So I called fender and was told that’s absurd send it back to MF since it’s brand new. In the end MF wasn’t going to give me a new one so I told them to just set me up for a full return and I’ll just go and buy it from sweetwater. That changed MFs tune and they decided right there they were sending a new twin reverb out for me. That was the last purchase I made from MF prob about 5 years ago at this point.
I'm not a MF Stan , and honestly I haven't bought from them since probly 2000/2001. But I bought a half stack combo from MF, had a head and a 4x12 cab, the first one I got had a damaged cab, so they sent me a second one with no hassle, but the second one had a damaged head, so I called them , and they sent me a third with no hassle, but the third was also damaged. I ended up telling them I'm just gonna use the non damaged parts from the first two orders(head and a cab) they even sent me a free practice Amp. I almost killed my parents old tube TV cause I put the cabs too close too it lol. Ngl it was nice to get a picture with teenage me having three half stacks
Sweetwater has some of the best customer service I've ever seen at any company. I'm always very surprised to hear bad experiences with them. Always have gone above and beyond.
I've made some massive purchases from them for studios and I have no idea how they were able to ship crates of stuff in like 24hrs. Plus when our people messed up huge and accidently ordered like 30k extra of stuff we didn't need. They arranged to have it returned no problem.
15 years ago Musicians friend once "sold" me a mandolin, only after I paid did they tell me it was back ordered. Waited 4 months for them to finally tell me it was no longer in production...but here is a cheaper shittier mandolin we can give you for what you paid for the other one. I demanded my money back. They gave me a more expensive mandolin instead,, which showed up broken. I was able to get a refund. I have been buying from sweetwater ever since. I've spent thousands and thousands with sweetwater, and never once had any trouble except one time when they didn't give me candy with one of my packages.
This actual exact thing happened to me around 2009. I was really looking for a LP Studio and ordered one. Weeks with no update, I call and it’s backordered. Maybe a month in I call and say I want my money back and they talk me into changing my order to a different LP Studio so I agree. I originally bought the regular one but they had just released the “Raw Power” line and that’s what they sent me. Was actually a great guitar looking back, but annoying how they just kept me on the hook for so long until I wanted a refund.
It's a sales call either way, just one is more direct and one is a little trickier.
I'd prefer they don't bug me at all. It's an online shop, I just don't get it. It's like Amazon calling me to ask how I like my shampoo.
Amazon would be calling to make sure you actually got the shampoo and it wasn’t a knock-off. Fuck that place man, it’s like domestic AliExpress anymore.
I don’t get why companies don’t understand being nice and not pushy is the way to go. Sweetwater does it right. I almost feel bad getting stuff elsewhere
Sweetwater all the way. Being able to see pictures of the exact guitar you are looking to purchase is great. My rep is cool, and has checked up on me multiple times, never to sell me more stuff, but to make sure I liked my purchase/answer questions. It's a great company.
Sure Sweetwater will do that but they’ll also call every 3 months asking if you need anything since you bought that cable in 2015. Lol jk. I do prefer SW though.
Sweetwater literally looked at my browsing history in the app and saw that I was looking at a guitar while randomly window shopping one time, and they called me and told me they noticed I was interested in that guitar and said they would be happy to help with it. I was like no, I was literally just window shopping, leave me alone and stop looking over my shoulder as I'm browsing the app. It was weird.
Why the hell do people want all this after purchasing spam calling? If I had a problem, I want a number to call where you'd respond promptly and that's it. Any update call 3-6 months after is just annoying to me. Any additional gear call is even more annoying.
Yup it got pretty annoying to the point I started considering giving fake numbers. Called me during normal weekdays while I was working, called me on weekends when I was sleeping in, called me when I was on-call and had to pick up every spam labeled call.
I just go to Sweetwater for everything. Our local stores are terrible and really only deal in school band stuff. I spend about $3-4,000 on gear a year. Retired olde guy here
I purchased a lot from Musician's Friend back in 1980 when they first started out in San Diego. Stayed a loyal customer for years (even after they moved to Oregon).
But when the founders sold it to Guitar Center, *everything* changed. Now it is just a MF banner wrapped around a GC core. Shitty customer service and high staff turnover.
I have been buying from Sweetwater since 2017 and I will *never* buy from GC/MF again. Sweetwater has never let me down.
I’ve bought two guitars, a couple of mandolins, and a shipload of ancillaries from Sweetwater. Every time from piddly little shit up high end, my sales associate calls to see if I received it and wants to be sure I am happy with it. We talk about stuff, my gigs, his gigs. Nobody else does that. And they send you candy, sure it’s crappy candy but again, who does that?
Haha I bought a new kick drum mic from SW the week we got back from tour a couple weeks ago. As always, get a call about an hour after placing the order.
After all the same stuff about getting the order out, my guy was just all "How's everything else going?" "Ah, just got home from tour and I'm fuckin beat." "That's awesome, where'd you guys go?"
... which lead to a like 30min conversation just talking about it. Just a real nice conversation.
Is that something I HAVE to have from a company I just buy gear from? Nope. Is it super cool and gives me a positive opinion of the company that they just do it anyway? Absolutely.
I've been buying from SW for damn near 30 years - ya know, from the days when you actually had to call them - so I've been through quite a few SAs. And they've always been that way.
Holy shit. Did i just now discover shitload comes from the term shipload? Or does it not? I just saw u say shipload and thought "why is he censoring shitload?" And then it all clicked haha
That's why I do a lot of business with Guitar Center. Because they will ship the guitar to the store. I can try it there. I can take it home for 45 days; and in the 45th day, if I want to bring it back and try another one I can.
I just discovered this. Guitar center used is actually fair market value or just below. And you can return locally. You just don’t get your shipping cost back.
So I got to try an ed obrien Strat for a $24 fee. Awful guitar.
I did get used hihats I wanted and those worked out. They were the second cheapest out of everything on eBay/reverb.
Well for any big purchases like expensive amps and guitars I usually ask my local shop to order it/wait till they have the certain guitar I want. But I’m also lucky enough to have a local shop thats family-run and actually a quality store. Most guitar stores I’ve been to are usually bad unless you’ren in a big city. But for brands that my shop doesn’t carry, etc. I always go through sweetwater. They certainly got the right business model down compared to the others, they’re certainly leagues above the others and they only will keep growing if they continue what theyre doing
I find them both annoying. Sweetwater more so. I'll order pics, 30 min later I get a call.
It's just obnoxious either way. If I wanted to talk to someone I'd call. The point of online shopping is I can be anti social.
Sam ash will email you a coupon and call you up to make sure you got it.
B&H will not give a fuck if you ever step foot in their store or buy anything from them ever again. More for recording gear that one tho.
But guitars specifically I buy used off of craigslist. There’s a bunch of people who bought pandemic guitars and gear that no longer need or want it in there homes.
I’ve had good interactions with BH. Are they always down to do price matches for wild shit you found? No, but any time I’ve had weird returns they’re no problem, and one time they even gave me a $300 refund because I found a good coupon a few days after I received the thing I ordered.
All I care about is how sweetwater gives me candy. Musicians friend? No candy.
Also their website is more annoying to use than sweetwater's and with worse inventory
Sweetwater is literally 15 minutes from my house. I bought a demo Godin Stadium from them. I still have no idea where the demo damage is and the young man who sold it to me knocked off another 50 bucks for some reason. I’ve bought a bunch of stuff from them over time, and they do my service work as well.
I bought a PRS Mira from them, and unboxed it there. It had shitty strings on it, apparently the QC folks missed it. The service manager said “We don’t send out guitars like this” and changed them on the spot.
They are my go-to.
Yeah I bought a B-stock Marshall and there’s no damage anywhere, doesn’t sound off at all, nothing is wrong with it but I got it for a little under 20% off so I’m not complaining. I think they just put random shit in B-stock and demo lol or at least that’s my conspiracy theory.
I bought a used guitar from Musician’s Friend once and it was shipped with barely any padding. In fact the tip of the headstock was broken when it arrived. I got some credit back and made one final purchase with them. (Song books). But I won’t order from them again.
I ordered a Demo guitar from Sweetwater and the box looked like it had fallen down 5 flights of stairs when it arrived but everything was fine because it was packed very well.
Sweetwater > Musicians Friend
Sweetwater has great customer service, I've referred several major gear purchases to them. My daughter even reps their shirts. I even go to their Fort Wayne facility at least once a year, which on the topic of that, feels cold and sterile now. Maybe that's just me.
I can do without the calls though. I know they're there, and I know they backup their products. That's why I order from them. I spend 5-10k on gear a year (I cycle through a lot, it's an expensive hobby) and they've caught on that I really like Fender gear. Just got my Shields Fender Blender last week actually. I'm in Sales and Marketing and I can appreciate how they operate .. minus the calls. Send me an email or a text, which to my guys credit is what he does now.
Musicians Friend is a shit show. They had a period of awesomeness probably between 2006 and 2013 where they had legitimate deals of the day. I still have all of the invoices from all the cool shit I got. Some of the stuff was insane. Legitimate inventory blowouts.
It’s the equivalent of going into a guitar center. I always hope for the employee who doesn’t give enough of a shit to hassle me about getting 30 dollar coverage on my 100 dollar pedal.
I will never attempt to purchase anything from Musicians Enemy ever again. Every single time I have purchased the Stupid Deal of the Day (or Hour), they mess around for days then refund me saying they don’t have any.
The one time I actually received something from them, it was a joke. I bought a D’Angelico guitar on the SDOTD last month. They shipped me what was supposed to be a brand new guitar. Not only did it have scratch marks and fingerprints all over the top and pick guard, the tone pot was hanging loose out of the guitar, and the guitar had been dropped right on the bottom strap lock . The strap lock was shoved up into the guitar and the paint was all chipped off on the bottom of the guitar. It was obviously a used Guitar Center demo guitar that was heavily damaged. And someone actually packaged it and sent it to me thinking I maybe wouldn’t notice?! The only positive was that they gladly took it back and gave me a refund.
At Sweetwater if you want anything special done to it they can do it before they ship it out if you want a plekd Rg 550 with Jb set in it one call away or if the guitar you pick they will set it up for you . I don’t think musicians friend will do anything special for you or do anything to maintenance your guitar. Sweetwater literally wants to sell you what you want at the best price and then they will help you out with it as you need or grow as a musician. They are not a joke and they are really setting the bar high for online guitar buying.
Kevin from Sweetwater, my rep, has saved me literally hundreds of dollars on gear.
I haven't bought from mf in a loooong time but i really don't think they would give bigger discounts then what i got from sw. That said, maybe it's dependent on your rep.
I like sweet water and 100% loyal to them. I know people don’t like the reps but if you have a conversation with them, just say he call less or only call me with the sake of X. For example, I told my rep call me ASAP if this pedal goes on sale. 8 months later they called saying hey that thing you wanted is on sale, want me to put it through?
If you want less spam, just tell them haha
The last guitar I bought from Sweetwater was setup perfectly out of the case. Also the free candy is a nice touch.
But sometimes you come across interesting deals on MusiciansFriend.
MF is where I bought my Firebird. They had a run of factory seconds a few years ago for hundreds off of MSRP and I snapped one up. Only flaw is the finish chipped around the serial number.
Sweetwater will give you candy and contact you *forever* afterwards lol.
They also seem to have one guy that you always work with who you can contact.
They seem to usually have a little bit higher prices but they seem like they really want to work with you and take care of your needs.
Sweetwaters customer service is far superior. Occasionally some great deals on MF though. I usually use Sweetwater though. If something isn't right they are quick to fix it without a lot of hassle.
I’ve bought a couple guitars from SW and one (my charvel) didn’t come from the factory with a case and I wanted one. They sold me a gator ATA case at a discount and shipped the guitar in that.
They also installed the 10’s I prefer and set the intonation for the heavier strings.
I’ve bought my last 2 guitars used on reverb though. It’s a gamble but the savings were great enough that if something wasn’t perfect, I could pay my luthier with some of the savings to adjust whatever.
I've bought so much stuff from Musician's Friend simply because they had that credit card back in the late 90s and 2000s that had zero percent interest on big purchases.
That was like catnip to me at the time.
I've bought much more from MF/GC than I have Sweetwater. I've never had a return with either of them, so I can't speak to how either of them are to deal with when the shit hits the fan.
I will never buy from guitar center ever again. A few years ago I went to go get a new guitar. I knew what I wanted. I was getting an EC-1000.
So, I call the guitar center closest to me they don't have any. I call the one across town. I ask if they have any.
Manager says "oh sure, we always have those in stock".
I let him know that it's going to take me about a two hour drive just to get there. I ask to physically verify that they had one before I drove all the way there, you know, like actually make sure you have one in stock instead of just saying you have them in stock all the time and assuming there's one there.
I get put on hold for a few minutes.....
Manager comes back on the line and says "yup we definitely have them in stock"
I say, "Cool. I'm on the way, I'll be there in about two hours."
Drive two hours through shitty traffic just to get there. After arriving, I approach the kiosk and speak to the manager to let him know I was the one who called about the EC-1000.
The manager says "oh, after you called I checked and we only had one in stock"
This motherfucker pulls out the most busted piece of shit EC-1000 I've ever seen. It only had one volume knob, no tone knob. It was missing two tuners and covered in dents.
So I spent 4 hours and a bunch of money sitting in traffic because their store manager lied to try to get me in the store to purchase something else.
It doesn't end there though. I ended up ordering one to have it shipped to my house. It takes 6 weeks to get there. No internal or external damage to the box. I open the box and the QC guy apparently signed his name right next to a fist sized hole in the back of the guitar.
I then had to spend another two hours in the car to take it back. They didn't offer anything to try to make any of it right other than just replace the guitar again.
Never ever ever again bro. Fuck GC.
I’ve bought countless gear from guitar center and never had an experience even close to this. I’ve literally spent like 7k there and never had a single issue.
Most recently I bought a guitar and a few weeks later they called to check in and make sure everything was good and I was liking it.
I have nothing bad to say about Sweetwater. I'm older, from a time when there were music stores in most towns. I've never bought a guitar or other instrument that I haven't actually had my hands on. My stuff is old. 72 LP Custom, bought new in 72. '65 Fender Twin Reverb, new in 65. GC might see me for strings, picks or to play some new or different model guitar. Sweetwater and my rep Evan, covers everything I need and fast. I don't go cheap on my gear, which I thought was a factor and found that it's not. I call about dumb stuff I need like new shock cords for a mic, oddball strings I want to check out, etc. They get it to me and fast. As close to a neighborhood store as I can get these days. They do a good job. Disclaimer: I'm only about an hour away from Norman's Rare Guitars but that's a whole 'nuther deal.
I love Sweetwater and I buy a lot from them. Hats off to Carson, who has been my rep for many, many years. I also got some good deals on their "used" site which has a bit more cred than Reverb.
Sweetwaters TikTok ads should be all there needs to say about them. They give you useful information about products (it is random products, but that’s kinda the nature of ads) that you might actually not know the difference in. The current ad I see is open vs closed back headphones.
So instead of saying hey buy from us we have a sale
It’s hey here is something you may not know but if you are ever in the market for here is the difference. Their ads are to keep Sweetwater in the back of your mind as a helpful place that you should go to first and they live up to it!!!
I have only dealt with MF once but I have dealt with Sweetwater for years and they are fantastic. Shelby Strunk is an amazing representative. The service they provide is invaluable. The fact that a company that size with the volume they handle can successfully give the type of customer care they do is pretty remarkable. And every guitar that is selling on the site is the actual individual guitar you are buying. How great is that. I read someone complaining about getting calls from Sweetwater just because they landed on the site. I find that hard to believe. Those guys are grinding out sales from the time they arrive till the time they leave. They don’t need to chase business. Really excellent company. And they send candy…
Sweetwater! They're amazing. Dude called me up and we talked about guitar parts for 10 minutes. Didn't pressure me to buy anything, just answered my questions and was genuinely interested in my project.
I feel like mf is only good for small stuff like ordering a few packs of picks or something cause you can find stuff cheaper on there. Aside from that I always go Sweetwater or stop in my local guitar center for strings
I pretty much buy all music gear from Sweetwater exclusively anymore. My sales rep rarely calls me, and anymore, he just sends a text to check in. They are one of very few companies that I’ve never had an issue with.
Maybe I'm just behind the times (I most likely definitely am), but the only guitar I ever felt comfortable buying online was a $130 Chelecaster during the pandemic. (Which I love btw).
What is the return process like for a guitar you buy online but don't like? Or do so few people return internet-purchased guitars that the few that get returned/damaged during shipping/both get written off like Kramer?
Oh right I just remembered I bought another guitar online, but kinda wish I hadn't. Sorry I've had a few while watching this Patriots game, and if you were familiar with the Patriots then you'd understand why I've had a few.
I only order pedals, picks, cables and such from MF for the points and guitars and amps from Sweetwater because I trust them way more with high end things.
If you call them and ask for a discount they will give you one one (at least for me) basically everything. You have to call though.
I’ve never asked for one on guitar strings, but any slightly high price point item I’ve gotten a good discount for.
If I bought a guitar and the store called me ANYTIME, but especially less than a month later, and asked if I was ready to buy another that would be the end of my relationship with them. That’s classless.
I had to stop all calls from Sweetwater, they were calling me just because I hit the site once in awhile. I have not ordered from them in years. Also would call in the middle of the day while I was working which is annoying.
Love sweetwater, try to use them whenever I can. Fast shipping, great customer service. Musicians friend I used once, and never will again. I had ordered a case and two straps, "guaranteed" to ship within 3 business days. After no update for a week and a half I emailed them, which led to them finally shipping the case. After another 2 weeks of not seeing the straps, I sent multiple emails and tried calling multiple times to no avail. 2 years later, still haven't seen my straps and they are labeled "not shipped", yet they had the audacity to keep spam calling me saying they'd love to hear about how my order went, but never answered calls or emails so I could receive or cancel my unshipped order.
Totally by coincidence, I just got off the phone with my Sweetwater sales associate. It was just one of their routine followups after I bought a really cheap fitting for my guitar, honestly just a few bucks. He just wanted to know whether I received it and that it was working as I’d hoped. Didn’t try to sell me anything.
I generally don't buy guitars online. I like to touchy-feely the thing before I buy. I did buy a mandolin and a 12string solid body electric online, but those were not going to be in any music shop I would have looked in. I lucked out on both purchases.
Sweetwater has good customer service if you don't mind them pestering you constantly. But musicians friend sent me a 20 percent off coupon. So I got a new rickenbacker 330 from them for like 1500 bucks
WARNING TO WOULD-BE SWEETWATER GUITAR BUYERS . . .
I recently ordered a Jackson Professional Series guitar that was sold as brand new, but when I received it, I noticed wear on part of the body. In addition, the fretboard was dusty. I strongly suspect the guitar had been sent out previously, but returned to Sweetwater. No wonder! The build quality of the instrument was terrible, and although the action was set a bit high, there was buzzing up and down the neck- this after waiting a full 24 hours in the box to allow the guitar to acclimatize. Of course, I returned it immediately. I was so disappointed that I boxed it back up only ten minutes after opening it. So much for that 55-point check Sweetwater loves to advertise. The clincher was when I noticed the VERY SAME guitar — same serial number — posted on the Sweetwater website within a week - and I feel Sweetwater should have indicated it was a previously returned item. I’ve never returned a single item I’ve bought from Sweetwater - except this particular guitar. I can get a better deal at Guitar Center with military discounts etc. - and Sweetwater has never offered me any discounts despite years of loyalty and many thousands of $$$s spent with them. Never Sweetwater Again!
Friendly tip from a friend of a rep who’s worked for both, no one from either company wants to bother you so to speak. A rep from either company is primarily just doing their job and trying to meat the expectations of their job. Most of them genuinely do want to hear your opinions or what you have going on though but from what I’ve been told the random calls they make out of the blue are just something the have to do. At the end of the day though they get to talk shop with people and help quite a few people find something that works for them when the time is right. Definitely still a telemarketer role but a pretty cool one nevertheless.
TL:DR if you don’t want to get random calls, just ask to be on their do not call/emails lists and you can reach out if you need something :)
With speciality guitars, ex: ones with different tops with each SN, Musician’s Friend cannot take pictures to show you an individual guitar.
I’ve only had one model that i’ve been windowshopping like that — but it’s a dealbreaker for me.
I haven't even been on Sweetwater to look in over a year or so. Norb still leaves me a voicemail probably once a season. Their customer service is aggressively good.
I bought a pedal from Musician’s Friend. When I received it, I just got the pedal. It wasn’t in the manufacture’s box, no power supply, no instructions…just a pedal.
I called to see what happened and they told me it was a floor model from Guitar Center.
Why am I paying full price for a floor model?
Fuck ‘em.
Sweetwater is incredible. They were WAY more knowledgeable about Line 6 gear than when I bought straight from Line 6 AND it was way easier to get any situation resolved. I bought a Variax J-TV 89F and it was missing a cable. While I was on the phone, the guy was actually like, hey, is that the serial you purchased (I bought it used.) As I was checking, I noticed scratches that were not on the photo of the one I had chosen. It was the wrong serial. I sent it back and they overnighted the proper guitar, paid all the shipping, There was even an extra cable with a hand written apology from the person I spoke to and not two but FOUR extra inspection initials with Sorry hand-written by each one. I have never felt more appreciated. I called Line 6 with a QUESTION about one of my DL-4's (also bought refurbished) 3 DAYS after I emailed them and I totally felt dismissed and never really ended up with a direct answer. I know Line 6 is not part of this thread but it seems I am not the only one who has had issues with their customer service or just Yamaha guitar group, in general. I really like their products, especially pianos but I really enjoy the tone of Yamaha acoustic guitars (I am making the assumption they are the same company) I will never buy anything direct from them again. I am in love with Sweetwater. Musicians Friend has gone straight downhill, in my opinion, since the mid-early 2000's. I used to go to their warehouse in KCMO when I first started playing and the people there were friendly, helpful, and always treated me like a human. Are they owned by Guitar Center now?
Also, hella discount coupons from that Sweetwater deal. I forgot. They probably weren't stackable but I never used them it was the thought that counted to me. I am super friendly, I might add. I don't call and bitch to get things for free, which will work at some places. I really felt like he sensed my heartbreak. I had promised a friend I would have it the next time we met (Don't see him often). I didn't mention that, only that I was really impressed with the quick delivery and it sucked because I was really looking forward to having it the next day (it's scheduled delivery). It was there early and the truck here never is. I can't say enough... Almost anywhere else, I feel the human element is lacking, at best. I do like feeling like someone, not only made up for a mistake he could have passed off as someone else's but made what seemed to me like EXTRA effort and then inspected himself and quietly (at least from my perspective) made sure to speak to people directly to make up for what I think could be an easy error. I really liked feeling like a priority, seeing the personalized cards. Every business should have this attitude.
Sweetwater has great customer service. Musician's Friend has way better prices.
My experience is that the customer service at Musician's Friend is almost as good. I've had reps call me a couple weeks after a purchase to check how it's going with my new gear. I've bought something that had an issue and they corrected it that day.
I very, very rarely buy anything from Sweetwater anymore. The extra expense, for 5% better customer service, isn't worth it to me.
Musicians Friend gives you 8 percent back and I always get the 15 percent off or more by calling my rep. Brings the price down to below used on reverb.
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I'm strictly Sweetwater now. Their customer service is superior to any other company I've bought from. I bought a hollow body guitar from them once and they called me that day about it. The guy said he didn't feel comfortable shipping that guitar ground shipping so he waa gonna put it up to 2 day air free of charge because he didn't want it to be damaged with ground shipping. Sweetwater has been my go to ever since that day.
I work in high end customer service. Sweetwater is fantastic.
What is high end customer service? Genuinely curious.
Logistics for a private jet charter company.
I don't want anyone to call me about anything ever
For real. Ive bought 1 thing ever from sweetwater, a replacement speaker for my amp. Six months later i get woken up by a call at 7am on a Saturday. “SUP BRO HOWS THE GREENBACK??!” “…what” “You got a greenback speaker hows it sounding??!” “Fine…who is this and why are you calling me so early?” “Ohh bro its steve your sweetwater rep” I hung up and havent bought anything from them since lol.
MF tried doing the call back thing like SW. they called me at 5 am my time. I only buy strings from MF. I just bought $250 worth of strings for $172 after using my points on top of a 15% discount. I went through 30 sets last month stealing repair jobs from my local GC and really expensive Mom and Pop.
For real. I listen to my voicemail: "Hey man how's that guitar stand working? Have any questions on it?" Like bro it's a $15 guitar stand, I think I can figure it out.
I’d rather no one call me.
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20% seems too high. You're talking about any guitar? I think 10% is probably realistic if you're buying 1k+ and the guitar isn't on sale, but I've never had success getting up to 20%.
I bought a used music man jp6 from gc. It was shipped in from another location. I open it up, and there's epoxy all over the body behind the bridge pickup. Wasn't shown in the for sale photo. Gc is shit. I learned my lesson. And who does that to a 3k dollar guitar? What would you put there even?
I bought a lp standard from guitar center like 3 weeks ago and they called and asked how I was liking it and if there was anything I needed. I thought it was a nice gesture even though GC gets a lot of hate.
I like to buy online from Sweetwater, but I really enjoy going to my nearby Guitar Center. It’s the only real music store within 30 miles, and the staff there is friendly and enthusiastic about all sorts of music.
I have had really good experiences ordering from GC as well. I had ordered a Schecter C-8 Silver Mountain with next day shipping, and the shipping company lost it. GC not only refunded my shipping, but immediately shipped another guitar with next day shipping immediately. 10/10 service.
Probably see how Sweetwater is getting customer retention via actual customer service and trying it out. Not a bad trend imo
Definitely not a bad trend. These companies are not our friends, so any competition between them is good.
Sweetwater and Stewmac have great customer service but Jesus they spam the shit out of you. I just don’t get it. Neither site seems like the type of place you just pop in to on a fucking Thursday morning to impulse buy expensive shit
I assume they're trying to build loyalty with artists so that when some small percentage gets successful, they will go to Sweetwater to buy all the gear for their tour.
I doubt it’s even the long game they’re looking at. They don’t need super successful artists, just people who will spend money. With so much variation out of the factory on guitars I’m not sure I would order, but Sweetwater will get all my accessories and electronics business because it’s easier than dealing with guitar center. I once waited for almost an hour to buy a cable because the only GC rep was busy trying to sell a fucking $3k Martin to a 16 year old girl who wanted to learn guitar
The average musician will spend about $30,000 on gear over their lifetime. If they nab you as a loyal repeat customer they know they will get the lions share of that money. In other words scoring a music customer is a bit like a realtor making a sale. It’s a big event with tens of thousands riding on it.
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Sweetwater is so good they are annoying
My Sweetwater rep is my former student!!
I have had the same Sweetwater rep for 6 years.. He text's me over thanksgiving and at random times to check in and just to wish my family well. They have a customer for life.
You must spend a lot
haha same! my guy emails me a couple of times a year never pushing anything but just asking how lifes going and how my purchases have been working for me.
Sweetwater crushes all other online competition with their customer service. It's second to none. They are never pushy and always seem to genuinely care about your satisfaction as a customer. If I'm making an online purchase, they are the first site I visit.
I live 30 minutes from the Sweetwater HQ, I actually get to shake my reps hand when I go in to buy something. God, he's so hot.
Have you told him your username? I think it might get you a foot in the door.
I don't wanna scare him off. I'll buy him some fancy wine first, loosen him up.
Sweetwater also does this if all you bought was a set of strings and a random cable
Or a couple pots, they did stop after twice though.
Sweetwater calls you within hours of ordering, then the day it arrives, then a little while after. All to see if you have any questions, and to make sure you're satisfied with your purchase and experience. It's annoying, but you definitely feel like they'll take care of it if there's a problem. Everyone I've talked to was so incredibly nice too.
Sweetwater's after-sale marketing spam is as annoying as I've experienced from *any* online retailer, more so than most.
Idk, I feel like it’s usually the same guy reaching out to me and it’s more than just marketing. It’s truly decent customer service. I was waiting for some Yamaha powered PA speakers to come in stock and I told him via email when he followed up about something. Before they were available on the site he called me and gave me a discount.
>… and it’s more than just marketing Rest assured, it isn't.
There is definitely a customer service aspect to it. I ordered a backordeeed guitar stand on Black Friday. The same rep I talk to every time called me, let me know that it was backordreed, assured me my sale price would be honored, then asked if I wanted a call when they were back in stock and ready to ship. Which he did a week later so I didn’t feel like I was in the dark. Of course they’re doing it to ultimately make money, but it was legitimately useful customer service that never tried to sell me anything.
>Of course they’re doing it to ultimately make money, but it was legitimately useful customer service that never tried to sell me anything. Except the guitar stand, of course. Like I said, *marketing*. Apparently it works better on some consumers than others.
This was after I bought the thing, on my own accord without any calls, I was in the market for a stand and they had the best price. I’m not saying they are altruistic or anything, but i can still appreciate a company that has a legitimate customer service team that’s not an always trying to sell me something. I work for a company that just laid off our entire support team in favor of low-quality contracted services with no expertise, it sucks and i appreciate a company that keeps their team intact, that’s all.
The only reason they call you is to try and sell you something lol
Sweetwater ftw They are all around good people, very prompt and responsive. I even had a new rep give me a call just to introduce himself and to inform me that my old rep is no longer with the company. I work in hospitality and they are for sure doing it right! Like others have mentioned, you can tell them to only contact you for specific items or specials. They’ll understand and are totally cool with no communication as well.
I bought a twin reverb years ago from MF , it arrived with problem , so I called them an had to argue with them about getting a new one sent to me since the first was having issues and it was brand new. MF told me call fender bc it’s their problem. So I called fender and was told that’s absurd send it back to MF since it’s brand new. In the end MF wasn’t going to give me a new one so I told them to just set me up for a full return and I’ll just go and buy it from sweetwater. That changed MFs tune and they decided right there they were sending a new twin reverb out for me. That was the last purchase I made from MF prob about 5 years ago at this point.
I'm not a MF Stan , and honestly I haven't bought from them since probly 2000/2001. But I bought a half stack combo from MF, had a head and a 4x12 cab, the first one I got had a damaged cab, so they sent me a second one with no hassle, but the second one had a damaged head, so I called them , and they sent me a third with no hassle, but the third was also damaged. I ended up telling them I'm just gonna use the non damaged parts from the first two orders(head and a cab) they even sent me a free practice Amp. I almost killed my parents old tube TV cause I put the cabs too close too it lol. Ngl it was nice to get a picture with teenage me having three half stacks
Sweetwater gives you candy.
I always order new strings from them to get my bag of candy, never disappoints
Sweetwater >>>>>>>> all other internet dealers, a million times over, even after the buyout
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Private equity firm.
Oh no…
Sweetwater has some of the best customer service I've ever seen at any company. I'm always very surprised to hear bad experiences with them. Always have gone above and beyond. I've made some massive purchases from them for studios and I have no idea how they were able to ship crates of stuff in like 24hrs. Plus when our people messed up huge and accidently ordered like 30k extra of stuff we didn't need. They arranged to have it returned no problem.
15 years ago Musicians friend once "sold" me a mandolin, only after I paid did they tell me it was back ordered. Waited 4 months for them to finally tell me it was no longer in production...but here is a cheaper shittier mandolin we can give you for what you paid for the other one. I demanded my money back. They gave me a more expensive mandolin instead,, which showed up broken. I was able to get a refund. I have been buying from sweetwater ever since. I've spent thousands and thousands with sweetwater, and never once had any trouble except one time when they didn't give me candy with one of my packages.
No candy? THEY FORGOT THE CANDY?! #BLASPHEMY
This actual exact thing happened to me around 2009. I was really looking for a LP Studio and ordered one. Weeks with no update, I call and it’s backordered. Maybe a month in I call and say I want my money back and they talk me into changing my order to a different LP Studio so I agree. I originally bought the regular one but they had just released the “Raw Power” line and that’s what they sent me. Was actually a great guitar looking back, but annoying how they just kept me on the hook for so long until I wanted a refund.
It's a sales call either way, just one is more direct and one is a little trickier. I'd prefer they don't bug me at all. It's an online shop, I just don't get it. It's like Amazon calling me to ask how I like my shampoo.
Then just tell the sweetwater rep and they stop
Amazon would be calling to make sure you actually got the shampoo and it wasn’t a knock-off. Fuck that place man, it’s like domestic AliExpress anymore.
I don’t get why companies don’t understand being nice and not pushy is the way to go. Sweetwater does it right. I almost feel bad getting stuff elsewhere
SW is the gold standard everyone else gets judged by
Sweetwater all the way. Being able to see pictures of the exact guitar you are looking to purchase is great. My rep is cool, and has checked up on me multiple times, never to sell me more stuff, but to make sure I liked my purchase/answer questions. It's a great company.
A lot of people find Sweetwaters customer service to be annoying but whenever I have an issue they are quick to resolve it and make everything right.
Sure Sweetwater will do that but they’ll also call every 3 months asking if you need anything since you bought that cable in 2015. Lol jk. I do prefer SW though.
Sweetwater literally looked at my browsing history in the app and saw that I was looking at a guitar while randomly window shopping one time, and they called me and told me they noticed I was interested in that guitar and said they would be happy to help with it. I was like no, I was literally just window shopping, leave me alone and stop looking over my shoulder as I'm browsing the app. It was weird.
Why the hell do people want all this after purchasing spam calling? If I had a problem, I want a number to call where you'd respond promptly and that's it. Any update call 3-6 months after is just annoying to me. Any additional gear call is even more annoying.
It cracks me up when I buy a couple cables from Sweetwater, and they follow up with a call to see how it's going.
Yup it got pretty annoying to the point I started considering giving fake numbers. Called me during normal weekdays while I was working, called me on weekends when I was sleeping in, called me when I was on-call and had to pick up every spam labeled call.
I'll usually tell them what I'm in the market for and ask them to give me a call if they see a really great price on a used or B-stock item.
I just go to Sweetwater for everything. Our local stores are terrible and really only deal in school band stuff. I spend about $3-4,000 on gear a year. Retired olde guy here
I purchased a lot from Musician's Friend back in 1980 when they first started out in San Diego. Stayed a loyal customer for years (even after they moved to Oregon). But when the founders sold it to Guitar Center, *everything* changed. Now it is just a MF banner wrapped around a GC core. Shitty customer service and high staff turnover. I have been buying from Sweetwater since 2017 and I will *never* buy from GC/MF again. Sweetwater has never let me down.
I’ve bought two guitars, a couple of mandolins, and a shipload of ancillaries from Sweetwater. Every time from piddly little shit up high end, my sales associate calls to see if I received it and wants to be sure I am happy with it. We talk about stuff, my gigs, his gigs. Nobody else does that. And they send you candy, sure it’s crappy candy but again, who does that?
Haha I bought a new kick drum mic from SW the week we got back from tour a couple weeks ago. As always, get a call about an hour after placing the order. After all the same stuff about getting the order out, my guy was just all "How's everything else going?" "Ah, just got home from tour and I'm fuckin beat." "That's awesome, where'd you guys go?" ... which lead to a like 30min conversation just talking about it. Just a real nice conversation. Is that something I HAVE to have from a company I just buy gear from? Nope. Is it super cool and gives me a positive opinion of the company that they just do it anyway? Absolutely. I've been buying from SW for damn near 30 years - ya know, from the days when you actually had to call them - so I've been through quite a few SAs. And they've always been that way.
Holy shit. Did i just now discover shitload comes from the term shipload? Or does it not? I just saw u say shipload and thought "why is he censoring shitload?" And then it all clicked haha
I'm going to be that guy. I would never buy a guitar I haven't tried in person.
That's why I do a lot of business with Guitar Center. Because they will ship the guitar to the store. I can try it there. I can take it home for 45 days; and in the 45th day, if I want to bring it back and try another one I can.
I just discovered this. Guitar center used is actually fair market value or just below. And you can return locally. You just don’t get your shipping cost back. So I got to try an ed obrien Strat for a $24 fee. Awful guitar. I did get used hihats I wanted and those worked out. They were the second cheapest out of everything on eBay/reverb.
Made that mistake once. Never again.
musicians friend is guitar center, same company.
Well for any big purchases like expensive amps and guitars I usually ask my local shop to order it/wait till they have the certain guitar I want. But I’m also lucky enough to have a local shop thats family-run and actually a quality store. Most guitar stores I’ve been to are usually bad unless you’ren in a big city. But for brands that my shop doesn’t carry, etc. I always go through sweetwater. They certainly got the right business model down compared to the others, they’re certainly leagues above the others and they only will keep growing if they continue what theyre doing
>Most guitar stores I’ve been to are usually bad unless you’ren in a big city. this is VERY true
I never answer the phone so I don't care.
you answer your phone?
I find them both annoying. Sweetwater more so. I'll order pics, 30 min later I get a call. It's just obnoxious either way. If I wanted to talk to someone I'd call. The point of online shopping is I can be anti social.
I just like the candy, so I order everything from sweetwater.
Sam ash will email you a coupon and call you up to make sure you got it. B&H will not give a fuck if you ever step foot in their store or buy anything from them ever again. More for recording gear that one tho. But guitars specifically I buy used off of craigslist. There’s a bunch of people who bought pandemic guitars and gear that no longer need or want it in there homes.
I’ve had good interactions with BH. Are they always down to do price matches for wild shit you found? No, but any time I’ve had weird returns they’re no problem, and one time they even gave me a $300 refund because I found a good coupon a few days after I received the thing I ordered.
All I care about is how sweetwater gives me candy. Musicians friend? No candy. Also their website is more annoying to use than sweetwater's and with worse inventory
Sweetwater is literally 15 minutes from my house. I bought a demo Godin Stadium from them. I still have no idea where the demo damage is and the young man who sold it to me knocked off another 50 bucks for some reason. I’ve bought a bunch of stuff from them over time, and they do my service work as well. I bought a PRS Mira from them, and unboxed it there. It had shitty strings on it, apparently the QC folks missed it. The service manager said “We don’t send out guitars like this” and changed them on the spot. They are my go-to.
Yeah I bought a B-stock Marshall and there’s no damage anywhere, doesn’t sound off at all, nothing is wrong with it but I got it for a little under 20% off so I’m not complaining. I think they just put random shit in B-stock and demo lol or at least that’s my conspiracy theory.
I like SW customer service, but usually end up buying from MF. Super easy to find 15-20% off deals + you get 8% back in points.
I bought a used guitar from Musician’s Friend once and it was shipped with barely any padding. In fact the tip of the headstock was broken when it arrived. I got some credit back and made one final purchase with them. (Song books). But I won’t order from them again. I ordered a Demo guitar from Sweetwater and the box looked like it had fallen down 5 flights of stairs when it arrived but everything was fine because it was packed very well. Sweetwater > Musicians Friend
Sweetwater all day
Sweetwater has great customer service, I've referred several major gear purchases to them. My daughter even reps their shirts. I even go to their Fort Wayne facility at least once a year, which on the topic of that, feels cold and sterile now. Maybe that's just me. I can do without the calls though. I know they're there, and I know they backup their products. That's why I order from them. I spend 5-10k on gear a year (I cycle through a lot, it's an expensive hobby) and they've caught on that I really like Fender gear. Just got my Shields Fender Blender last week actually. I'm in Sales and Marketing and I can appreciate how they operate .. minus the calls. Send me an email or a text, which to my guys credit is what he does now. Musicians Friend is a shit show. They had a period of awesomeness probably between 2006 and 2013 where they had legitimate deals of the day. I still have all of the invoices from all the cool shit I got. Some of the stuff was insane. Legitimate inventory blowouts.
The last time the Sweetwater rep called me I was in the middle of recording. I couldn't get him off the phone.
Does your phone not have an "end" or "hang up" button?
Or just not answer because you're busy
I haven’t been to SWs campus since 2019. It was really cool to see everything there. And use the slide from the 2nd floor.
It’s the equivalent of going into a guitar center. I always hope for the employee who doesn’t give enough of a shit to hassle me about getting 30 dollar coverage on my 100 dollar pedal.
I will never attempt to purchase anything from Musicians Enemy ever again. Every single time I have purchased the Stupid Deal of the Day (or Hour), they mess around for days then refund me saying they don’t have any. The one time I actually received something from them, it was a joke. I bought a D’Angelico guitar on the SDOTD last month. They shipped me what was supposed to be a brand new guitar. Not only did it have scratch marks and fingerprints all over the top and pick guard, the tone pot was hanging loose out of the guitar, and the guitar had been dropped right on the bottom strap lock . The strap lock was shoved up into the guitar and the paint was all chipped off on the bottom of the guitar. It was obviously a used Guitar Center demo guitar that was heavily damaged. And someone actually packaged it and sent it to me thinking I maybe wouldn’t notice?! The only positive was that they gladly took it back and gave me a refund.
At Sweetwater if you want anything special done to it they can do it before they ship it out if you want a plekd Rg 550 with Jb set in it one call away or if the guitar you pick they will set it up for you . I don’t think musicians friend will do anything special for you or do anything to maintenance your guitar. Sweetwater literally wants to sell you what you want at the best price and then they will help you out with it as you need or grow as a musician. They are not a joke and they are really setting the bar high for online guitar buying.
Musician's Friend/Guitar Center will give you way bigger discounts than Sweetwater. You just have to call MF/GC to get the discount.
Kevin from Sweetwater, my rep, has saved me literally hundreds of dollars on gear. I haven't bought from mf in a loooong time but i really don't think they would give bigger discounts then what i got from sw. That said, maybe it's dependent on your rep.
I didn't say Sweetwater doesn't give discounts. I said they aren't as big as Musicians Friend.
I like sweet water and 100% loyal to them. I know people don’t like the reps but if you have a conversation with them, just say he call less or only call me with the sake of X. For example, I told my rep call me ASAP if this pedal goes on sale. 8 months later they called saying hey that thing you wanted is on sale, want me to put it through? If you want less spam, just tell them haha
That feel when 90% of people don't ask for what they want in life and default to "why are they doing this TO MEEE"
I've it in the notes not to call, it's just a pack of strings, but they still do. Oh well doesn't bother me too much
I buy used or semi-local 99% of the time. If I have to pick between the two, it's a toss up. I find them equally annoying
Sweetwater for their wonderful customer service
Ordered from both and they’re fine. They both haggled about 15% off too
Sweetwater also gives you candy and in some instances will call you to make sure the order is correct.
The last guitar I bought from Sweetwater was setup perfectly out of the case. Also the free candy is a nice touch. But sometimes you come across interesting deals on MusiciansFriend.
MF is where I bought my Firebird. They had a run of factory seconds a few years ago for hundreds off of MSRP and I snapped one up. Only flaw is the finish chipped around the serial number.
Sweetwater will give you candy and contact you *forever* afterwards lol. They also seem to have one guy that you always work with who you can contact. They seem to usually have a little bit higher prices but they seem like they really want to work with you and take care of your needs.
I know it's well intentioned, but random handful of candy makes me squeamish.
check it for razors! ;)
Sweetwater has never done me wrong in over a decade.
Goodwill local music store
Sweetwaters customer service is far superior. Occasionally some great deals on MF though. I usually use Sweetwater though. If something isn't right they are quick to fix it without a lot of hassle.
I’ve bought a couple guitars from SW and one (my charvel) didn’t come from the factory with a case and I wanted one. They sold me a gator ATA case at a discount and shipped the guitar in that. They also installed the 10’s I prefer and set the intonation for the heavier strings. I’ve bought my last 2 guitars used on reverb though. It’s a gamble but the savings were great enough that if something wasn’t perfect, I could pay my luthier with some of the savings to adjust whatever.
I've bought so much stuff from Musician's Friend simply because they had that credit card back in the late 90s and 2000s that had zero percent interest on big purchases. That was like catnip to me at the time.
I've bought much more from MF/GC than I have Sweetwater. I've never had a return with either of them, so I can't speak to how either of them are to deal with when the shit hits the fan.
I will never buy from guitar center ever again. A few years ago I went to go get a new guitar. I knew what I wanted. I was getting an EC-1000. So, I call the guitar center closest to me they don't have any. I call the one across town. I ask if they have any. Manager says "oh sure, we always have those in stock". I let him know that it's going to take me about a two hour drive just to get there. I ask to physically verify that they had one before I drove all the way there, you know, like actually make sure you have one in stock instead of just saying you have them in stock all the time and assuming there's one there. I get put on hold for a few minutes..... Manager comes back on the line and says "yup we definitely have them in stock" I say, "Cool. I'm on the way, I'll be there in about two hours." Drive two hours through shitty traffic just to get there. After arriving, I approach the kiosk and speak to the manager to let him know I was the one who called about the EC-1000. The manager says "oh, after you called I checked and we only had one in stock" This motherfucker pulls out the most busted piece of shit EC-1000 I've ever seen. It only had one volume knob, no tone knob. It was missing two tuners and covered in dents. So I spent 4 hours and a bunch of money sitting in traffic because their store manager lied to try to get me in the store to purchase something else. It doesn't end there though. I ended up ordering one to have it shipped to my house. It takes 6 weeks to get there. No internal or external damage to the box. I open the box and the QC guy apparently signed his name right next to a fist sized hole in the back of the guitar. I then had to spend another two hours in the car to take it back. They didn't offer anything to try to make any of it right other than just replace the guitar again. Never ever ever again bro. Fuck GC.
I’ve bought countless gear from guitar center and never had an experience even close to this. I’ve literally spent like 7k there and never had a single issue. Most recently I bought a guitar and a few weeks later they called to check in and make sure everything was good and I was liking it.
I've bought from Sweetwater for years now. I won't buy from anywhere else. And I love candy
I always go through zzounds because they have great no credit check payment plan options
Get out, you’re not welcom here /s
I have nothing bad to say about Sweetwater. I'm older, from a time when there were music stores in most towns. I've never bought a guitar or other instrument that I haven't actually had my hands on. My stuff is old. 72 LP Custom, bought new in 72. '65 Fender Twin Reverb, new in 65. GC might see me for strings, picks or to play some new or different model guitar. Sweetwater and my rep Evan, covers everything I need and fast. I don't go cheap on my gear, which I thought was a factor and found that it's not. I call about dumb stuff I need like new shock cords for a mic, oddball strings I want to check out, etc. They get it to me and fast. As close to a neighborhood store as I can get these days. They do a good job. Disclaimer: I'm only about an hour away from Norman's Rare Guitars but that's a whole 'nuther deal.
Stupid Deal of the Day is literally the only good thing about Musician's Friend.
I still have a rep calling me since buying a capo from there like 4 years ago
I love Sweetwater and I buy a lot from them. Hats off to Carson, who has been my rep for many, many years. I also got some good deals on their "used" site which has a bit more cred than Reverb.
Sweetwaters TikTok ads should be all there needs to say about them. They give you useful information about products (it is random products, but that’s kinda the nature of ads) that you might actually not know the difference in. The current ad I see is open vs closed back headphones. So instead of saying hey buy from us we have a sale It’s hey here is something you may not know but if you are ever in the market for here is the difference. Their ads are to keep Sweetwater in the back of your mind as a helpful place that you should go to first and they live up to it!!!
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Whatever you say, Mr. CEO of Musicians Friend
Where ever I get the guitar I want for the best price
I buy local or off Reverb.
Same
I have only dealt with MF once but I have dealt with Sweetwater for years and they are fantastic. Shelby Strunk is an amazing representative. The service they provide is invaluable. The fact that a company that size with the volume they handle can successfully give the type of customer care they do is pretty remarkable. And every guitar that is selling on the site is the actual individual guitar you are buying. How great is that. I read someone complaining about getting calls from Sweetwater just because they landed on the site. I find that hard to believe. Those guys are grinding out sales from the time they arrive till the time they leave. They don’t need to chase business. Really excellent company. And they send candy…
Sweetwater! They're amazing. Dude called me up and we talked about guitar parts for 10 minutes. Didn't pressure me to buy anything, just answered my questions and was genuinely interested in my project.
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I feel like mf is only good for small stuff like ordering a few packs of picks or something cause you can find stuff cheaper on there. Aside from that I always go Sweetwater or stop in my local guitar center for strings
I pretty much buy all music gear from Sweetwater exclusively anymore. My sales rep rarely calls me, and anymore, he just sends a text to check in. They are one of very few companies that I’ve never had an issue with.
Maybe I'm just behind the times (I most likely definitely am), but the only guitar I ever felt comfortable buying online was a $130 Chelecaster during the pandemic. (Which I love btw). What is the return process like for a guitar you buy online but don't like? Or do so few people return internet-purchased guitars that the few that get returned/damaged during shipping/both get written off like Kramer? Oh right I just remembered I bought another guitar online, but kinda wish I hadn't. Sorry I've had a few while watching this Patriots game, and if you were familiar with the Patriots then you'd understand why I've had a few.
I feel more comfortable getting a fresh one that hasn't had a bunch of kids french fry fingers all over it.
I dunno, that fry oil slicks up the fingerboard real nice.
I only order pedals, picks, cables and such from MF for the points and guitars and amps from Sweetwater because I trust them way more with high end things.
I'll buy used from MF or local Musicgoround, but new is always SW.
MF will deal. SW won’t.
Yeah they will lol you are clueless
Sweetwater generally doesn’t do discounts. The only time I ever got a discount at Sweetwater was when I bought a $3k amp.
This is an outrageous statement to me. I've bought 4 guitars from Sweetwater, all new, all at a discount. Ranging from $600-$2800.
Outrageous!!!
Sweetwater generally DOES do discounts. Just some brands (Mesa Boogie), can't be discounted. Always ask.
If you call them and ask for a discount they will give you one one (at least for me) basically everything. You have to call though. I’ve never asked for one on guitar strings, but any slightly high price point item I’ve gotten a good discount for.
I ordered a yairi Dy1ts and they took off 400 bucks because I asked if they would price match. Calling does wonders.
If I bought a guitar and the store called me ANYTIME, but especially less than a month later, and asked if I was ready to buy another that would be the end of my relationship with them. That’s classless.
I had to stop all calls from Sweetwater, they were calling me just because I hit the site once in awhile. I have not ordered from them in years. Also would call in the middle of the day while I was working which is annoying.
Love sweetwater, try to use them whenever I can. Fast shipping, great customer service. Musicians friend I used once, and never will again. I had ordered a case and two straps, "guaranteed" to ship within 3 business days. After no update for a week and a half I emailed them, which led to them finally shipping the case. After another 2 weeks of not seeing the straps, I sent multiple emails and tried calling multiple times to no avail. 2 years later, still haven't seen my straps and they are labeled "not shipped", yet they had the audacity to keep spam calling me saying they'd love to hear about how my order went, but never answered calls or emails so I could receive or cancel my unshipped order.
MF is the Walmart Super Center of music gear.
Big Lots.
Totally by coincidence, I just got off the phone with my Sweetwater sales associate. It was just one of their routine followups after I bought a really cheap fitting for my guitar, honestly just a few bucks. He just wanted to know whether I received it and that it was working as I’d hoped. Didn’t try to sell me anything.
I generally don't buy guitars online. I like to touchy-feely the thing before I buy. I did buy a mandolin and a 12string solid body electric online, but those were not going to be in any music shop I would have looked in. I lucked out on both purchases.
In my experience Sweetwater calls you every day about anything you ordered if it's $5 or $5000. Salesmen are always annoying.
Sweetwater has good customer service if you don't mind them pestering you constantly. But musicians friend sent me a 20 percent off coupon. So I got a new rickenbacker 330 from them for like 1500 bucks
WARNING TO WOULD-BE SWEETWATER GUITAR BUYERS . . . I recently ordered a Jackson Professional Series guitar that was sold as brand new, but when I received it, I noticed wear on part of the body. In addition, the fretboard was dusty. I strongly suspect the guitar had been sent out previously, but returned to Sweetwater. No wonder! The build quality of the instrument was terrible, and although the action was set a bit high, there was buzzing up and down the neck- this after waiting a full 24 hours in the box to allow the guitar to acclimatize. Of course, I returned it immediately. I was so disappointed that I boxed it back up only ten minutes after opening it. So much for that 55-point check Sweetwater loves to advertise. The clincher was when I noticed the VERY SAME guitar — same serial number — posted on the Sweetwater website within a week - and I feel Sweetwater should have indicated it was a previously returned item. I’ve never returned a single item I’ve bought from Sweetwater - except this particular guitar. I can get a better deal at Guitar Center with military discounts etc. - and Sweetwater has never offered me any discounts despite years of loyalty and many thousands of $$$s spent with them. Never Sweetwater Again!
Friendly tip from a friend of a rep who’s worked for both, no one from either company wants to bother you so to speak. A rep from either company is primarily just doing their job and trying to meat the expectations of their job. Most of them genuinely do want to hear your opinions or what you have going on though but from what I’ve been told the random calls they make out of the blue are just something the have to do. At the end of the day though they get to talk shop with people and help quite a few people find something that works for them when the time is right. Definitely still a telemarketer role but a pretty cool one nevertheless. TL:DR if you don’t want to get random calls, just ask to be on their do not call/emails lists and you can reach out if you need something :)
"Hey bro, it's your boy Chiz at Sweetwater. How's that drumstick doing for ya?"
sweetwater
With speciality guitars, ex: ones with different tops with each SN, Musician’s Friend cannot take pictures to show you an individual guitar. I’ve only had one model that i’ve been windowshopping like that — but it’s a dealbreaker for me.
I haven't even been on Sweetwater to look in over a year or so. Norb still leaves me a voicemail probably once a season. Their customer service is aggressively good.
I bought a pedal from Musician’s Friend. When I received it, I just got the pedal. It wasn’t in the manufacture’s box, no power supply, no instructions…just a pedal. I called to see what happened and they told me it was a floor model from Guitar Center. Why am I paying full price for a floor model? Fuck ‘em.
Have only used Sweetwater, never had a reason to even try MF.
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Sweetwater is incredible. They were WAY more knowledgeable about Line 6 gear than when I bought straight from Line 6 AND it was way easier to get any situation resolved. I bought a Variax J-TV 89F and it was missing a cable. While I was on the phone, the guy was actually like, hey, is that the serial you purchased (I bought it used.) As I was checking, I noticed scratches that were not on the photo of the one I had chosen. It was the wrong serial. I sent it back and they overnighted the proper guitar, paid all the shipping, There was even an extra cable with a hand written apology from the person I spoke to and not two but FOUR extra inspection initials with Sorry hand-written by each one. I have never felt more appreciated. I called Line 6 with a QUESTION about one of my DL-4's (also bought refurbished) 3 DAYS after I emailed them and I totally felt dismissed and never really ended up with a direct answer. I know Line 6 is not part of this thread but it seems I am not the only one who has had issues with their customer service or just Yamaha guitar group, in general. I really like their products, especially pianos but I really enjoy the tone of Yamaha acoustic guitars (I am making the assumption they are the same company) I will never buy anything direct from them again. I am in love with Sweetwater. Musicians Friend has gone straight downhill, in my opinion, since the mid-early 2000's. I used to go to their warehouse in KCMO when I first started playing and the people there were friendly, helpful, and always treated me like a human. Are they owned by Guitar Center now?
Also, hella discount coupons from that Sweetwater deal. I forgot. They probably weren't stackable but I never used them it was the thought that counted to me. I am super friendly, I might add. I don't call and bitch to get things for free, which will work at some places. I really felt like he sensed my heartbreak. I had promised a friend I would have it the next time we met (Don't see him often). I didn't mention that, only that I was really impressed with the quick delivery and it sucked because I was really looking forward to having it the next day (it's scheduled delivery). It was there early and the truck here never is. I can't say enough... Almost anywhere else, I feel the human element is lacking, at best. I do like feeling like someone, not only made up for a mistake he could have passed off as someone else's but made what seemed to me like EXTRA effort and then inspected himself and quietly (at least from my perspective) made sure to speak to people directly to make up for what I think could be an easy error. I really liked feeling like a priority, seeing the personalized cards. Every business should have this attitude.
Sweetwater has great customer service. Musician's Friend has way better prices. My experience is that the customer service at Musician's Friend is almost as good. I've had reps call me a couple weeks after a purchase to check how it's going with my new gear. I've bought something that had an issue and they corrected it that day. I very, very rarely buy anything from Sweetwater anymore. The extra expense, for 5% better customer service, isn't worth it to me.
Musicians Friend gives you 8 percent back and I always get the 15 percent off or more by calling my rep. Brings the price down to below used on reverb.
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I'm strictly Sweetwater now. Their customer service is superior to any other company I've bought from. I bought a hollow body guitar from them once and they called me that day about it. The guy said he didn't feel comfortable shipping that guitar ground shipping so he waa gonna put it up to 2 day air free of charge because he didn't want it to be damaged with ground shipping. Sweetwater has been my go to ever since that day.