Sweet...Sweet...Sweetwater!

I love a road trip. A driving road trip (although hopping aboard Amtrak to anywhere is also a delight). At just over 3 hours by car from where I live, Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a perfect road-trip destination. It’s a pretty city with obvious appeal. The Riverfront area, Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, art museum, numerous festivals (including a pickle festival!), hiking and biking trails, and much more.
BUT...most captivating of all........

Sweetwater.

Sweetwater’s humble beginning—1979 in a mini-VW bus, which is about as humble as it gets—has been left in the dust by the company’s behemoth online presence today. Simplifying...it is an online store for high-tech equipment for musicians, recording studios, and broadcasters. They sell guitars, amps, keyboards, electronic drums...and also flutes, cymbals, sheet music. Again, I’m minimizing the sheer volume of music-related stuff that’s available.

BUT...it is the million+-square-feet of physical space (spread over a variety of buildings) that captures my imagination and interest. After all, what need do I have for a fancy foot pedal for an electric bass? None.

What need do I have to visit Sweetwater? Plenty.

The main entrance to the LEED-Platinum-Certified Sweetwater opens onto a huge cafeteria space for patrons and employees. Side halls open to recording studios (check out the photo of legendary bassist Tony Levin during his recording session) and teaching studios. There is an area for games (pinball machines, corn hole, etc.) and also performance spaces. Upstairs are a medical clinic for employees, hair salon (which can be used by employees as well as the public), and space for tech support.

Outside is an amphitheater for concerts—of which there are many each year. There also is a gigantic warehouse that holds all of the gear sold. It is...ENORMOUS.

Although visiting Sweetwater is a mind-blowing experience, it also is a great company. Like so many other music lovers, my husband has purchased gear from Sweetwater, and he can attest to the high quality of his experiences with them, online and in person.

Maybe I’m just too fresh from this little road trip to have an unbiased opinion of this terrific business. Or maybe it really is that great. I’m going with the latter.

P.S. They are hiring... https://www.sweetwater.com/