Who is Sweetwater? Sweetwater is one of the largest Musical Instruments, Recording equipment and accessories providers in the United States. Why Should You Care? Sweetwater was started by a musician for musicians out of the humble household of Chuck Surack in 1979. Founded on the principles of truly creating a catered user-experience, no matter the needs of the customer, Sweetwater quickly established itself as a major player and go to for musicians and sound engineers alike. A lot has changed since the inception and in a world where people are disconnected from one another on a personal level and often times making uninformed decisions based off of a false sense of knowledge gained through internet and the power of suggestion, Sweetwater holds true to their principles to remain the company with the best customer and user experience. We caught up with Robby Resnick, Sweetwater Senior Sales Engineer, to get his take on this uniqueness, to learn a little more about him and to get some input on the technology as it stands today.
Be sure to check out his bio: http://www.sweetwater.com/robby_resnick and we absolutely recommend Sweetwater and Robby for all of your tailored needs as a musician or event curator.
- What separates Sweetwater and its offerings from the competition? What is it about the customer’s experience that makes it so unique?
Sweetwater is an amazingly unique place. I never would have guessed I would take a job in sales. But, after meeting the staff and looking into the company, I knew I had to be a part of it. There are a thousand things I COULD list, but I’ll cut that list down quite a bit.
First, we believe every customer is unique. The reason we develop relationships with our customers is to better serve them with personalized solutions. Many other companies offer premade packages of gear. We try to avoid doing this because every musician has a different story. We take the time to learn your needs, evaluate the situation, and make the best recommendation for the situation. Beyond that, we back it up with a two year warranty and full support after the purchase. We don’t just usher you out the proverbial door… we want to see you succeed. We know every successful musician has a laundry list of things they’ll want and need and we would love to earn that business going forward.
Secondly, the company is full of musicians. I really mean all of us play. My sales team is filled with musicians and engineers from all walks. My managers all play. Our merchandising team all play. Many of our tech support staff play and record music. Most of the warehouse is in one of several bands. We all play. We’ve been there… we get it.
Lastly, and most importantly, we care about you. We care about your music, your art and your satisfaction with every purchase. We want these tools to push you and inspire you to create. Every sales engineer is empowered to help you. In fact, there is nothing a manager at Sweetwater can do that a sales engineer can’t. We are completely in charge of your customer experience. We want it to be the best it can possibly be and take ownership of the customer experience front to back. So, if you’re happy, please let your sales engineer know. If you’re not happy, please let your sales engineer know!
- DJs are always looking for cool new gadgets, as a pioneer of technology yourself, was there anything in particular that caught your eye this past year? Any big surprises or advances in technology you weren’t expecting?
Absolutely. Part of my job is to constantly receive training. I go through 3 hours of training with our manufactures every week. EVERY WEEK! And, when I’m not in training, I’m probably surfing the site drooling over something. If you think it’s tempting out there, try working in the toy store.
I am excited to see Denon coming back. I think there was a lot of promise in their company and I think it will lead to a lot of great new tools. I was shocked to see the new Numark offerings like the NV. In fact, the whole controller market gets cooler and cooler all the time. As much as I love vinyl, I love these controller systems. The idea that a thumb drive can replace a record box just blows my mind. But, I think the COOLEST demo I’ve seen all year is the new Push from Ableton. I’ll be honest, Ableton and I normally don’t get along well. I tend to produce more in Pro Tools and Studio One. BUT I LOVE the new Push. The idea that you can create without even looking at the screen is amazing. And I would love one.
Another giant leap was the new Advance Keyboards from Akai. Another toy I’d LOVE. The VIP integration is the best I’ve seen yet. Very graceful, flexible, and the support continues to expand. I think bringing VI’s to your fingertips and making it easy will usher in more creation and more interesting creation.
Finally, synths. I love seeing all the new affordable synths on the market. I think this is a revolution for EDM. It used to be that only really big names could afford a synth collection. Then we saw Eurorack, and things became more affordable. But now, Roland, Arturia, Moog, and many others are making great little synths for little to no money. Electronic musicians really don’t have any more reason to not be creating outside of software. That’s HUGE.
- While we know not everyone loves EDM as much as us, any DJs or Producers you’re really digging this year? What would we expect to see on your Spotify list?
Oh, you’d be disappointed with me right now. It’s primarily 90’s music and Frank Turner… which is as non-electronic as one gets. Early Panic!, Celldweller, NIN, and a ton of rock and metal are also there. And I’ve been diving into a ton of Puscifer. Not exactly all EDM, but certainly not without electronic elements either.
Spent a lot of time this past month listening to my friends in Timeflies. Rob and I have been reworking his rig together and it puts me in the right frame of mind to jam to their music.
- While we can certainly vouch for our experience with Robby, what is it about you that consistently makes you one of the top sales engineers for the company?
Upon reaching 30, I realized that sugar coating things in life simply solved nothing. I think people really appreciate my straight forward attitude, opinions, and honesty. I try to be efficient and respectful of people’s time, but I also try not to rush any solution. I’m happy to admit what I know and what I don’t, and try to find the answers using my resources when I don’t know the answer. Even if that means I need to call you back… and I WILL call you back. But, beyond all else, I believe my customers love working with me because I appreciate my place in the process. I don’t ever want to be the “music store dude” that makes you check out their soundcloud and tells you about the last five gigs I did before I hear you out. I’m not interested in me nearly as much as I am interested in you and your situation. I understand every person in my inbox and on my phone is seeking a solution to a problem or situation and I’m honored they come to me time after time to find that. I don’t need a person to spend a million dollars with me every transaction. I just hope that every time someone needs something related to what we do, they call me first. Big or small, I want to help them.
- Lastly, and thank you for your time of course, if you could get one thing this holiday season for yourself from the site, what would it be and why?
It’s been an absolute pleasure helping you guys over the past months, and I hope for many more to come. So, thank you for taking the lead and assembling this opportunity.
If anyone is interested in sending me something this holiday season, please send me a Moog Sub 37. It’s sooooo huge sounding, insanely flexible, and super deep. But, above all else, I love that its party piece is that every knob sends and receives MIDI. The thought of automating literally everything on the sub makes me giddy. It would be like having unlimited hands to perform with. I don’t think this is something people have explored enough. Just amazing. I’d also love a Push 2 and a Novation Circuit. Actually, my assistant Chelsea just purchased a Circuit for herself and has been emailing me all kinds of cool rhythms she’s be creating with it… so it’s front of mind due to jealousy.
I’d also love a DDJ-SZ if possible… not that I’d be any good with it… but certainly would love to get better.
- Bonus Question: How pumped are you for Star Wars on a scale of 1-10?
I’m going to have to say 8.6. I’m pumped, but not enough to fight the crowds. That said, if anyone spoils it for me, I will destroy them….
Thanks again Robby! Don’t forget to click through to Robby’s bio and when you give him a call for all of your music consulting needs, mention Talbert Management Group for an extra-catered experience and preferred pricing where available..
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