Our Story

1978

Humble Beginnings

Chuck Surack returns from the road after years of touring and launches a mobile recording studio in the back of a VW bus, bringing studio capabilities right to his customers.

1979

Sweetwater Opens for Business

Chuck founds Sweetwater as a permanent recording studio in Fort Wayne serving local and national artists and businesses.

1985

A 1980s Game Changer

Chuck creates his own unique sound library on the revolutionary Kurzweil K250 and starts selling his one-of-a-kind sounds to artists like Stevie Wonder and Dolly Parton.

1986

Exclusive Retailer, Customer First

Sweetwater becomes an exclusive Kurzweil dealer and develops a new customer-centered model for the music gear retail industry.

1990

A Focus On Recording Gear

Chuck focuses Sweetwater’s retail efforts around the recording industry, and Sweetwater quickly becomes a valued resource to music makers across the country.

1995

Introducing Sweetwater.com

Sweetwater.com launches the world’s first music retail website and immediately becomes a trusted resource for music makers everywhere.

1997

ProGear and inSync

More than a simple catalog, the nearly 400-page ProGear becomes a respected technical reference resource for the industry. Sweetwater also introduces inSync, the industry’s first daily electronic newsletter, which continues to be published today.

2000

The Sweetwater Card

Sweetwater introduces the Musicians All Access Platinum Card giving music makers access to great financing and savings offers from an ever-growing list of the biggest brands in music.

2001

Sweetwater University

Started in the early days of Sweetwater as a small group study session, Sweetwater University evolves into an immersive, 13-week training program where people-loving gearheads become Sweetwater Sales Engineers.

2002

GearFest Rocks Fort Wayne

Sweetwater launches GearFest, the first public tradeshow for all things music gear. Guests enjoy 2-days jam-packed with expert panels, one-of-a-kind interviews and performances, amazing workshops, and insider access to favorite gear makers.

2003

Fast, FREE Shipping

Sweetwater is one of the very first retailers in music instruments and pro audio to offer customers free shipping to the contiguous United States, another example of Sweetwater's foundational commitment to giving customers more.

2006

New Headquarters and Music Store

Sweetwater breaks ground on a new 38,000-sf headquarters including a Music Store, fulfillment center, auditorium, and world-class recording studios. The new Sweetwater HQ is LEED® Certified Platinum, a sign of our commitment to music, music makers, and the world we share.

2006

Sweetwater Guitar Gallery

The Sweetwater Guitar Gallery launches, giving customers the ability to compare multiple, high-quality images of the same guitar model and find the woodgrain, weight, and serial number of the guitar that’s just right for them.

2011

The Sweetwater Music Store Expands

Opened on our new campus in 2006, the Sweetwater Music Store doubles in size, welcoming more customers and becoming the largest music instruments and pro audio retail space in northern Indiana.

2017

Supporting the Future of Music

Sweetwater partners with Purdue University to open the Purdue Fort Wayne Sweetwater Music Center to support music higher education.

2020

Serving Millions of Musicians

Sweetwater’s state-of-the-art 500,000-sf Fulfillment Center comes online, allowing us to help 1.5 million music makers in just 12 months.

2021

Expanding in a Big Way

Sweetwater opens our Music Store upgrade, now three times the size with 44,000 sq. ft. featuring over 1,000 brands, demo rooms, and hands-on displays — including the world’s largest pedal display. With so much to experience, it’s no surprise that Sweetwater is the area’s favorite musician hangout.

2021

New Sweetwater Band & Orchestra

Sweetwater Band & Orchestra expands nationally to provide musicians ranging from professionals through new students with a huge selection of band and orchestra instruments, accessories and print.

2022

Growing Deep with Atmos

Sweetwater Studios dives deep into the forefront of immersive sound technology with a new certified Dolby ATMOS suite, joining an elite group of studios around the world as we bring projects to life with great rooms, the largest selection of gear of any studio on the planet, and world-class musicians and engineers.

2022

Turning Old Gear into New

Sweetwater launches Gear Exchange, a convenient and safe online platform where customers sell their used gear for cash or gift cards towards new purchases.

2022

Fulfillment Center 2.0

Sweetwater begins developing a 350,00 sq. ft. fulfillment center in Glendale, AZ, creating over 150 new jobs and improving shipping efficiency for customers in the western half of the US.