Sweetwater Bought Out 

I worked at Sweetwater until the end of May this year so by way of adding some perspective - as far as I am aware, chuck is still 49% share holder, is the chairman of the board and his long time executive VP is now CEO. This is not the first time that Chuck has sold his majority share to an investment company. In the 80’s or early 90’s sweetwater he did the same thing but wasn’t happy with the way it was being run so bought back his majority. I feel given that experience this deal probably has stipulations to prevent it from going south. Plus, if SW wants to continue to fill the void that GC is leaving as they diminish, that need capital and long term shepherding. Of course things could change for the worst but I’m fairly optimistic that it’s going to maintain for a while.

The problem with capital investors is that they have no passion for the industry. The passion is what helped Chuck build Sweetwater and what drives its employees (who, pretty much are all musicians). The investors will squeeze every penny they can from the company and quickly ditch it (read: sell it off) when they feel they've "maxxed" it out. Then they'll be on to the next investment. I love Sweetwater. I've had nothing but great experiences with them and I don't fault Chuck for selling, but I hope it's awhile before I have to find somewhere else to buy my gear.

Guitar Center is a shadow of it's former self. Sweetwater has always been known for quality and customer service. Hope they don't screw it up.

I love Sweetwater and their tech support is 2nd to none!! That's why I value doing business with them!

Sweetwater is the best! I really hope this buyout doesn't change that stellar customer service that they've always given. 🙏

This is the saddest news in the music world. I’ve been with Sweetwater since 2006 and I’ve been happy every single time I’ve used them, 100% super satisfied. I know that now it’s going to be a memory. First thing that will be slaughtered will be the Tech Support (the best in the world). They will force Sweetwater to change. It’s been wonderful living during a time when I was able to enjoy nostalgia like the buying experience at Sweetwater. Guitar Center was dead to me since I’ve known them. I only use them to touch the instruments and then I’d buy from Sweetwater and ZZounds (they give more time to pay but not much on tech support). Sad news indeed. I’m not a kid anymore… it’s over!!

Love Sweetwater. Truly the best service in the business. My sales Representative has become a friend. I am currently in debt to Synchrony/Sweetwater for $2300 interest free, I have already spent about $10k with them over the years. And whenever it gets lower and lower, I am always searching for more 48 month deals. Lol. Love the company. Wishing the best! I am trusting Chuck. I think he will keep a close eye on them.

"The first thing we usually have to do is get rid of the idea guy." This from a VC speaker in one my MBA courses years ago. The love of money is a root out of which every kind of evil springs.

Amen, Sweetwater is king when it comes to new gear. I hope this deal doesn't kill Sweetwater.

Been buying from Sweetwater since 1998. A very special company for musicians and audio engineers.

I do almost all my major purchases through sweetwater. That 0% financing works, as well as, service is top tier. I’ve been working with the same rep for years now. Gtr center has gone downhill, I don’t even go there unless I want to waste hours waiting for service. I think everything you’re saying is spot on. If they ruin the sweetwater business model that will be a shame. I’ve always had great experiences working with them. Brad is my rep so I found that funny. Great video sir.

I have been purchasing gear from the same Sweetwater sales engineer for 23 years. I sure hope that the change in ownership does not change my relationship with Sweetwater and the sales engineer that has given me great service over many years.

Sweetwater financing options and costumer services have made it so amazing I shop there exclusively for so long. Let’s not forget that awesome bag of candy lol.

Buying from Sweetwater is like stepping into another world! They make you feel like your family! I have never in my entire life met such caring people who go above and beyond to make sure your a satisfied customer!

Absolutely bang on mate...well put... Everything that you said in your video represents all our thoughts exactly! Cheers, Mark Phoenix Sound Design

If they stop sending a package of candy with the shipments...I'm out!!!!

Damn....I’m still crying for Borders and Toys R Us

The word is 'integrity'. Normally an investment firm has no product/customer integrity. Money is their religion. Anything else doesn't exist. Your points are spot on. Thanks.

I agree. When I heard about this it threw up some red flags. I truly hope that Sweetwater doesn't lose it's quality and customer service. I have done business with Vintage King and have been very happy. I deal with one person, who knows me and knows my gear and usually is a big help. Great video!

They will make them change and they won't understand, those who speak up against it will be in for an unpleasant experience.

I buy all my gear from Sweetwater. I hope this doesn’t ruin them.

Thanks for the update. I do business with them mostly as well. Phil is my sales agent. Peace and Love be with you all.

Right! I hope they don’t change. Sweetwater is SWEET!☺️

Another investment firm buys a business it knows nothing about. From my experience, it usually means lower product availability, jacked up prices, and people getting fired. Lets hope this won't be the case.

Barry - I've been to the store and it is amazing. I live about 2 hours south of Ft. Wayne so it's an easy drive for me. I share the concern about how a PE firm can absolutely destroy a company. Chuck will serve as Chairman of the Board and the new CEO is a long time member of Chuck's executive team, so hopefully they will have a major role in maintaining the culture.

😲 man I hope things don't change or get ruined. I love them and their customer service is so good.

The entire world has gone to hell. He's cashing out while he can. I'd do the same thing. And he's Still a 49% holder . Smart thing to do in today's day and age.

Change #1 - cancel the candy Change #2 - restrict return policy Change #3 - reduce social media influencer program & compensation Change #4 - reduce sales reps Change #5 - eliminate customer service post sales follow up calls Change #6 - go mostly to automation and reduced human interaction

Wow! I guess I’d better start wearing my Sweetwater t-shirt more before I’m ashamed to do so. I know I don’t deal with Guitar Center anymore since they insulted me on a trade-in price and were totally inflexible to what was in their “book.” This has cost them the sales of 5 basses, one amp and 1 guitar, so far. I only deal with a local family owned music store (Victor Litz in MD) now, where I get a fair trade-in price. I have bought from Sweetwater in the past and was the only online store I really trusted. I hope this doesn’t change.

Thank you Barry, I appreciate your report on this and hope your wishes for a continued quality service continues with Sweetwater.

That’s disappointing to hear! I really hope the people and culture is maintained.

This is worrisome. Never had better customer service than from Sweetwater. Been a customer for years and years. I wonder if I’ll still get the bag of candy with future orders?

Thanks for the heads up I was about ready to make another purchase from Sweetwater..

Man I hope they still continue to operate as they are now. I used to shop at all of the other retailers back in the day, but that changed years ago. I do all of my gear shopping at Sweetwater. Their customer service is amazing, shipping is fast, and great financing. Sweetwater isn’t just a music store and online retailer. It’s a big company.

Really good video. Thanks for taking the time to put it up for me and everyone else. It's always nice to find videos and information that help us solve problems. Plz don't change Sweetwater!~

Sweetwater is the only game in town, no matter where you live. My studio was equipped by Sweetwater. I have recommended Sweetwater to many friends. As soon as I heard about this, I got hold of Chuck Surack, founder of Sweetwater Sound, and even after this sale, Chuck is STILL 49% owner of Sweetwater. I’ve known Chuck the entire time I’ve dealt with Sweetwater. In fact, some 30 years ago, the very first time I called the place, it was CHUCK who answered the phone and took my order! Just last week, he assured me that the Sweetwater culture - the Sweetwater M.O., if you will - is NOT going to change. Chuck is Chairman of the Company, and a guy who’s been with him for 29 years (the former Executive Vice President) is the new CEO. Knowing Chuck as I do, and having done business with Sweetwater for 30+ years, I know one thing. If Chuck personally tells me something, I tend to believe him. I personally know him to be an honest man. When dealing with me, he has never been anything less than 100% honest. In all the years I’ve dealt with Sweetwater, Chuck has NEVER lied to me, and I don’t expect him to start now.

I love Sweetwater! They are the bomb! I hope they don’t change!

One thing to look out for if the company is going down hill is when your product arrives and the package of candy is missing.

I hadn't heard about this, makes me sick to my stomach. Let's hope that they let Chuck continue running the show the way he always has, lock up the one-track-minded bean counters!

I use Zzounds for most of my gear purchases and Sweetwater only if I can't find it at the former.

Sweetwater is THE best. I remember when they had the flooding a few years back, I got a call saying my package was still on schedule and I was like, "forget that.. are YOU guys okay?" I get all my new purchases from Sweetwater and I hope the Sweetwater culture continues to thrive. ✌🏾🤟🏾

Ive been witn Sweetwater for the past 6 years. Everything from Kemper to wireless systems. I HOPE this doesn’t ruin Sweetwater because they are so good. S/o to sales engineer, Ikes Taylor.

Sweetwater is definitely my "go to" for new equipment. Their service has always been beyond my expectations. Unfortunately, it's really hard to put a price on that. Capital investors can never see that. Hope for the best is all we can do.

We shall see ---- I recently did purchase an Audient 4816SE console from Sweetwater. It was shipped directly from England. It arrived safely.

If they do away with that 55 pt inspection it won't be a loss, it's really BS.

I hope it stays the same. I came to hate GC this week as I’ve spent untold thousands there and they now only care about the next sale. I bought a new MIM Telecaster in January. Was not my cup of tea, and looked at a possible trade for a different guitar. They currently sell same guitar for $799. Mine was pristine and offered me $250 on mine. I was livid and offended at such a lowball offer. They are selling the same used for $749! Their response was we don’t make the rules. Never used to be that way. Closed my account and will not be going back.

Thanks Barry for the video on Sweetwater. Like you, I buy everything from Sweetwater. This is a real shame that such a good music store raised from a garage, is going to be destroyed by a investment company. Eventually the music industry itself is going to be destroyed by these type of take-overs. We need people like you to discuss these topics. Thank you for your insight on this subject. DLCampbell

I have been a Sweetwater customer for years. Just bought a surf green Squire Classic Vibe 70s Jaguar. As usual it arrived in perfect condition and well set up .Hope things do not change for the worse. My sales rep is David Mikautadze and he has always been great.

I’m with you I haven’t been in a Guitar Center In years I’m sorry to hear this about Sweetwater.

SW has always been profit oriented. Chuck has had a great formula for business success since day one. His business plan steers the prifit back into the business. Nobody intimidates Chuck. He’s way ahead of the market curve.

Helpful! Thank you

My problem with Sweetwater is that (at least in my experience) looking at their guitar selection, they hardly ever have anything IN STOCK! It's almost always 'more coming soon! And I can go over to American Musical and they have the guitar ready to ship.

Barry, thanks. I had not heard this so I appreciate your post. Yes, I hope nothing changes. I love Sweetwater and agree with everything you stated.

I hope things don’t change at Sweetwater, I do like you buy from them and love how they are friendly and helpful!!

I bet the first thing those damn bean counters will cut is the bag of candy they put in each shipment. That's where it will start, who knows where its gonna end.

They'll run up debt with their vendors while paying the investment firm huge management fees. Then everyone will settle for pennies on the dollar as employees flee and Sweetwater becomes another Guitar Center.

I hope they will still offer payment plans lol

Just received a ditto Looper pedal TC Electronics. I asked the rep about having to buy the adapter (Sold seperate) I mentioned to him I had just purchased a Boss ME-80 and the rep saved me about 30 bucks he said the adapter will work on the looper! Great bunch of guys that know about music.

Capital investors have a tendency to ruin everything for the sake of profits.

Sweetwater is flawless in my experience. It can be a bit much with phone calls after every order. But i finally interacted with a sales rep for a follow up recently and it was great. Nothing pushy, we literally just talked about the gear i bought.

I agree with you 100 Percent Barry!!

I don’t know about the rest of guitar centers but the one in my town will take any Amazon price and match it or any price. That you find from another retailer and match it so

Jake Tillmann is “the man.” Great sales rep! Jake, I hope things work out for you and Sweatwater.

Glad I bought my 20k worth of stuff for my upgrade in Jan

Sweetwater has 30k of my money. Now I don’t hear from them.

I very recently moved from Fort Wayne and used to frequent the Sweetwater Campus and retail store often, witnessing their very large expansions in multiple areas. I've also worked for 2 Fortune 500 companies who had a similar sounding corporate strategy where both companies went south and whose solid reputation was destroyed due to capital greed. What I question is if Sweetwater is so vastly profitable and marketed as rock-solid, why is this occuring? Something does not add up here.

For new equipment, Sweetwater's selection, customer service, and website with so much valuable information cannot be beat. I an a big fan and loyal customer, if you can't tell. My contact is Wayne Wildman. Though I'm not the biggest spender to come down the pike he treats me just like I am. He follows up on the smallest of orders, quickly facilitates any returns/adjustments, and is knowledgeable on a plethora of subjects. For his sake, and that of the others, I sincerely hope this buyout does not impact their employees, sales, product line, or customer service. I'll stick with them til the point of being a GC or MF. In the meantime, thanks for many great years.

I already noticed a difference in their customer service months ago this answers it. What a shame

I love dealing with Norb at Sweetwater. I hope the staff isn't affected. I had a defective bass cabinet a few years ago. By the time I realized the problem, I'd already disposed of the box (I know, I know...). Sweetwater sent me a replacement cabinet (without charging me) and instructed me to use the box to return the defective cabinet. I was incredibly impressed. I hope this level of service can be maintained.

I've bought from them. Hope they stay great!

Sweetwater always gives me candy when I buy stuff and for that I thank you 🍭

I'm an older guy, but I'm a novice bass player and when went in GC a few years ago, I knew more about their bass guitars and amps than the salesmen did and they both claimed to play bass.

Capital investment companies usually want too much profit. That is their usual mode of operation. More money for the very rich.

Sweet waters are the best deal out there, the last three years we have purchased directly from sweetwaters, Matt is my sales rep, very nice guy

Thank you for the info Barry J. Much appreciated. I still love Sweetwater. I recently bought a brand new bass from them.

Great video.

My only music store Milano Music Mesa AZ, celebrating their 75 anniversary this month. They have staffers with over 25 years tenure.

Ugh... that sucks. I hope they don't change. Looks like Vintage King now.

IMHO, Sweetwater is simply the best. Chucks story is an American success story. An his idea of how to serve customers is a model for how ANY BUSINESS should run. I listened to this whole video....and you know what you are? You are a FAN of Sweetwater. I used to work at IBM and we had a pow wow for a client of IBM's that I worked for, and the presenter talked about .....how can we turn our customer into a "Fan"....and what does "Fan" mean? When a company does things so well and "right", their customers become fans. I also am a fan for Sweetwater and am hoping for the best.

You are point on point...I'm going to take my business to Sweetwater....

Yea, I totally agree with your perspective. I don't like Guitar Center anymore... this after many years of shopping with them. I've had a good experience with Sweetwater for now.

AWE! I've bought from Sweetwater several times, awesome service, especially by modern standards. RIP

"I believe in capitalism, I just don't like the consequences."

Excellent presentation. Very impressed. Most articulate. I do business with Westlake Pro in Universal City, CA - (I used to live in Studio City, CA) - and still do. But I have always been impressed with Sweetwater's presentation skills and have knowledge of them though my affiliation with Mojave Audio because I am a sponsored artist with them...tested many of their mics as a VO artist. Keep up the good work Mr. Johns. I am going to subscribe as a result of your "sagacity."

They are buying all local dental offices also.

You said zero percent financing? Say goodbye to that. Flex on price? Goodbye. Humans on other end of phone? Goodbye.

Same here. All my expensive gear is either bargain priced used or from Sweetwater. No Bit-O-Honey in my last two candy bags, though. What's up with that?

this CANT be good. i hope they don't ruin this FINE company!!!

I also gave up on Guitar Center. I have bought a lot of my equipment from Sweetwater, I hear from my sales rep at least a few times a year and they have always served me well. I HOPE they don't change.

I;ve been a custoner for many years. Its a dead giveawy when my wife see's the sweetwater lables on the box’s I've made another Gear Purchase. New Owners dont screw this up , SWEEWATER is part of the Music Fabric of country that we all need.

Amen brother !!!

I’ve had nothing but outstanding service from SW.

Three years from now, it won't be the same company :(

When Spectrum Communications (Charter) purchased Time Warner everything change for the worst. Season People lost their job, high pressure sales in lieu of quality customer service. We went form number 1 in the industry to dead last. So I hear what you're saying. I hope the candy is still a worthy expense!

This is potentially bad news for Sweetwater and their loyal customers. I've built my home studio from the ground up since 2006 with Sweetwater gear. I've worked with my sales rep. Dan who has been stellar with his customer service and followup since day one. If they change due to the pressures from the capital investment group, I will no longer buy from them. I hope they don't change for the worse.

Shout out my sales rep Curt! Love you bro

I often shop at Broadcast Supply Worldwide - broadcasters know about this place, but many musicians do not. Great service and fast shipping . . .

My local Guitar Center has gone down the tubes. I do all my business with Sweetwater. I hope this doesn't go the same way. Not so confident that the guy with 49% shares can prevent any loss of quality of the business.

This is exactly what happened to NewEgg

My last visit to Guitar Center, I ended teaching the sales person the difference between single coil and hum-bucker pickups. :| Then I went to our local music store and the sales person explained to me why a Tele bridge pickup won’t work in a Strat. Nuff said. Sweetwater’s passion is hard to beat for an on-line reseller. I love the follow up call from the sales rep. They are pretty good at answer questions and giving advice on new gear options. I’ll continue to shop with them until they give me a reason to leave. Cheers!