Bobby Thistle Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) Last night I bought and downloaded what was supposed to be SampleTank 4 from Sweetwater. Because it was getting late I decided to wait until this morning to install it. It was then that I noticed that the zipped file I downloaded was in fact SampleTank Custom Shop version 3.7.3. I called Sweetwater’s 1-800 number to tell them that I didn’t get the software that I paided for. In no time at all the service rep took me to where I needed to go and started to download the correct version for me. This was the first time that I’ve dealt with Sweetwater and I can’t say enough great things about them. Their attitude and help was beyond any other store that I have had any dealings with. For sure I’ll be a return customer. Edited March 23, 2019 by Oscar Myer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGMusic3+ Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 (Their customer service and sales practices changes depending on who your sales rep is.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I've been a Sweetwater customer for many years. Service has always been excellent (although I've only dealt with two employees in all that time, so maybe I just got lucky). Shout out to Dennis Konicki, my guy at Sweetwater. If only Guitar Center salespeople were as self-confident and honest enough to say "hmm, I don't know; lemme check", I might still be doing business with them. Dennis has been a good source of solid advice - for a bass player. After dozens of purchases big and small, I've only been disappointed once, and that was partly my own fault. I had ordered a keyboard case only to find that my keyboard did not fit inside it. Of course, they took it back but I had to pay $95 to ship the case back to them. The moral of that story: measure twice, cut once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBH Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I used them for a lot of equipment 20 years ago. Great operation back then. This was before they even got into guitars and such and upsized their buildings and operation. I was able to stop at the campus a year or so ago. It's something else to see the place on sight. It's like a weird mix of a college campus, recording studio , theater , a Mall and enormous warehousing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gswitz Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Chuck Surack has sometimes chimed in on threads in the old Cakewalk forum.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Surack I buy things there when it's financially defensible. I've always had good experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aether.roots Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I've been a customer for 20 years, give or take and I've had the same sales contact for about as long. Always a good experience. If you get a chance, go to Gearfest. I've made 8 in a row. Always an amazing time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 My first choice is always my local mom & pop music store. They will match online prices and they give me services that big-box or Internet stores cannot. My local store owner gave me his personal cell phone number and told me if anything failed on the gig, he would open the store and deliver a replacement. I've also had my local store loan me equipment to try out on the gig. No deposit, no credit card held just trust. If I like it, come back with payment (always competitive), if not, return it in the same condition that I got it and I owe nothing, no restocking fee, no sweat. However, too many musicians looking for a few pennies off have made it so my local mom & pop store cannot stock as much as they used to. If my local store cannot get it, my second choice has always been Sweetwater. The sales staff know their stuff, and service has never been a problem for me. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Phillips Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 On 3/23/2019 at 3:43 PM, Gswitz said: I buy things there when it's financially defensible. I've always had good experiences. Me too. I appreciate their service, straight talk and product knowledge. The candy's not bad either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Jones Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 8 hours ago, Notes_Norton said: My first choice is always my local mom & pop music store. They will match online prices and they give me services that big-box or Internet stores cannot. You're a lucky guy. There is no such store within a hundred miles of my home. But since this thread is about Sweetwater, I'll chime in and say that they've done a good job for me on everything I've bought from them over the years. It is an excellent resource, and seems to be staffed with folks who know and love their industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Whenever I am gonna buy something new (I prefer to get most things used), they are my first choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo 88 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 +1 for sweetwater .... I'm thinking it's been 30 years for me. The tech department has saved my life more than once. Paul Lea has been my guy, I hope he is filthy rich, he deserves it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whattarush Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Sweetwater became my go to source for gear about 12+ years ago. I bought something from them years ago that turned out to be defective and I called Jason and a replacement arrived at my job the very next MORNING!!! Needless to say I was completely blown away, so much so that I wrote Chuck Surack to tell him what an outstanding job Jason and everyone else did. I only go to guitar Center these days to demo a piece of gear to decide if I want to buy it but I always call my service rep guy Jason Koon and his team to actually buy the gear that I want. They've always been top notch. (As matter of fact, I'm waiting for something to arrive from them soon!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blogospherianman Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 +1 for Jason @ sweetwater!. Super nice guy! Been buying from him for a long time. He calls to check in with me. We do have a Guitar center 40 min up the road though, and I have credit there too. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwal³ Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 after-sales service is the thing that highlights a good company to deal with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Thistle Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 At the risk of sounding like a Sweetwater fanboy (which I am 😁) once again I'm sending high praises to Sweetwater!!! I bought some "download" software - from them on Friday evening - SampleTank 4. (I may have said this before) In no way shape or form was I able install it. I'm a sixty-three year old geyser who's brain doesn't run on all cylinders at times. My sales rep is Zach Smith. I sent him an email last night explaining my frustration. This morning I got a response from him, giving me a direct phone number to Tyler. I shared my screen with him and I watched as my pointer flew around at warp speed. Apparently, there were a few adjustments that had to be made in my OS... something that I would never have found or even known about on my own. In no time he had the install going. With a lot of patience he watched me do some installing on my own, making sure that I was able to do it. And even though he "doesn't use Cakewalk" he opened it up to make sure I would know how access ST4 in there. I'm very sure that I would be able to do a re-install on my own if need be. Where I live, there are only three places for me to do business with. No real mom and pop stores around here. The smallest of the three, where I do most of my shopping, doesn't carry music software. The other two carry it for the exact same price - plus tax - no downloads to be had and so I would also have to pay shipping. All of this is in Canadian Dollars. Sweetwater had it for $100 less than what my local stores were asking, albeit in US dollars. But even with the exchange it still cost me a lot less than if I bought it here in Canada... Downloading = no tax, no shipping. And through experience, I know that I would never have gotten the same after sale help that Sweetwater has given me. Doing the happy dance today!!! 🤗 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 I have not had a bad experience with Sweetwater. If anything they are a little too nice. 😁 I bought some gear from them and about a week later they called and wanted to know if I was happy with my purchase. LOL I was. But that had never happened before with any other Internet store. Cool. It makes an impression. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razor7music Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 On 3/24/2019 at 7:16 PM, Larry Jones said: You're a lucky guy. There is no such store within a hundred miles of my home. But since this thread is about Sweetwater, I'll chime in and say that they've done a good job for me on everything I've bought from them over the years. It is an excellent resource, and seems to be staffed with folks who know and love their industry. Yes I am lucky. Since people are no longer patronizing mom and pop stores, the local stores are getting few and far between -- plus they don't carry as much stock as they used to. I go to Sweetwater if my local store cannot get it. Alan Finkbeiner is my rep, and he does a great job. He works hard, does his research, and goes out of his way to help us. It's nice that Sweetwater keeps their help, the sales force is knowledgeable, and they get to know you. It's almost like a local store except it's very far away and unless you live nearby, you can't go and try things out first. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William W. Saunders, Jr. Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Sweetwater is usually my online source if my local music store doesn't have it. They even ship free to me in Hawaii if it's a decent- sized purchase, $50.00 or more. I've been buying from them since I got my my first multichannel soundcard, an Echo Layla circa 1996-97. Never had a bad experience though, like others, I've only had 2 sales engineers in all that time. But you used to have to watch out for the candy included in the shipping box-- bad for the teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Save the candy for Halloween and do the local dentist a favor ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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