Sweetwater reviews when purchasing online

[Polish Thunder]

I would say the reviews on Sweetwater are probably accurate. I think they only post reviews from actual customers. I do wonder how many buyers returned their purchase for whatever reason, but never posted a review. On the other hand, I take the Amazon reviews with a grain of salt. I wonder how many positive reviews are from the vendor and they use bots to post it. If it does not say verified purchase, I do not even read it. Just my two cents.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Reviews on SW or GC don't mean much to me, I pretty much do my homework and cast a wide net to gather everything I can about an instrument if I'm in the market for something new. Unfortunately the ones I'm interesting in lately are not to be seen in shops, and have limited info available in terms of hands on experience. I do have a good rep at Sweetwater, who I got good info from the times we've talked. If I ask him he will go out, pick up the instrument, play it, and give me his feedback. That's something I cannot get from GC.

 

[VintageOldMan]

Zzounds sent me someones returned Mesa D350 head with a switch that was totally broken off. Several bad experiences with them, damaged guitars, wrong items sent, ridiculously inappropriate packing etc . I buy strictly Sweetwater these days. They do need to improved the quality of the candy they incude though, my one gripe.

I note to leave out anything mint flavor.

 

[pb9717]

I read them all. You can tell if someone really doesn’t know how to review an instrument. But there are a few that are thorough and conclusive. Like the rest of us I researched the crap out of anything before I buy it. Except for New effect petals which I really won’t know until I try on myself. I try to write thorough reviews myself when I have the time. But yeah, I look everywhere for opinions on instruments. I do find the most valid ones on this site.

 

[Micha84]

I find ChatGPT very helpful for that. I ask it to search the web and summarize user experiences, especially common critiques, and provide me the links to the posts. This way I get a good overview, not only positive stuff and can verify where it is from.

Nothing beats first hand experience, though.

 

[elgranluis]

…. if I see a solid 5 star rating and there are say 15 positive reviews and no negative ones…..

Never trust online reviews. I have personally received musical peoducts in exchange for a good review, and I’m not even famous.

 

[elgranluis]

….Publications such as Consumer Reports (who accept no commercial influence of any kind) are rare.

From first hand experience , I can say that both Consumer Report and car and driver are part of a greater agenda.

 

[CamJazzBass]

With sweetwater if I see a solid 5 star rating and there are say 15 positive reviews and no negative ones, it’s safe to say I feel confident buying it. Am I partially on to something? This isn’t my only deciding factor just part of it

I think you are safe doing that with Sweetwater, but I would always be a bit wary of all positive reviews. There is so much negativity in the world and people don't hesitate to tell you they don't like something. I have seen just top notch best in the world products and companies get trashed with negative reviews.

I know on Amazon, if I see all the reviews are from those Vine people, I don't mess with product as I feel I am not getting a true vibe of the product. Plus a lot of those Vine reviews, they will write 10 paragraphs and not say anything. It's like they have a script of things they have to touch on in a review, whether it makes sense or not.



Example Vine Reviewer:

The new Ying Yang Distortion pedal had a really nice smell to it and was a pleasure to have around the house, no matter the lighting situation or what may have been on TV that night.