The actual kit that went around the world in the World in Six Strings footage. Sixteen months, twelve locations, about $900 all in.
In 2026, should you shop at Sweetwater or Guitar Center? If you’re looking for that in-store experience and want to try out some gear yourself, Guitar Center is the way to go, but if you’re shopping online, Sweetwater is a great option. For vintage and used gear, Guitar Center is also a fantastic option.
As someone who likes to look around a bit and explore different companies, I find it difficult to stick to one retailer. So when it comes to choosing between companies like Sweetwater or Guitar Center, the answer really depends on what experience you want. Personally, when I’m buying a guitar or amp, I want to hear it and experience it in person before parting with my money. However, with something small like strings and picks, I’ll tend to order online.
I've shopped at both Sweetwater and Guitar Center a lot and noticed some definite pros and cons with these companies. So, to help shoppers out there, I wanted to compare the two to see which is better in specific situations. If you're unsure where to buy your next instrument or musical gear, continue reading to find out more.
If you’re shopping online, I’d suggest going with Sweetwater. Even though they only have one physical store in Fort Wayne, IN, they're one of the best online stores for musicians with a huge inventory and even partner with manufacturers to offer finishes you won't find anywhere else. Plus, shipping is always free, and the items are packaged like a tank.
However, if you’re more like me, and like the tangible experience of testing gear out in person, you really can’t beat Guitar Center for bigger purchases.
Sweetwater only has one location in Fort Wayne, IN, while Guitar Center has locations throughout the U.S.
Both ship free to the lower 48 with no minimum on most items; Guitar Center excludes special orders, oversized gear, and in-store used and clearance items.
Guitar Center has a better vintage collection, whereas Sweetwater has more general used gear.
Guitar Center has a larger inventory of all types of music instruments and gear, whereas Sweetwater focuses more on higher quality gear.
Sweetwater’s packaging for shipping is excellent.
Sweetwater is one of the largest online music stores in the world, first made popular by their retail store in Fort Wayne, IN. Touring musician Chuck Surack formed the business in 1978, first forming a recording studio in his VW bus.
Nearly 10 years later, his recording studio was booming, and his store became the exclusive Kurzweil dealer. His business grew from there, going to sell far more than just pro audio gear. Today, Sweetwater sells guitars, drums, DJ equipment, keyboards, and almost anything else a musician could want. Sweetwater then soared again when it started selling online and is one of the most reputable online instrument and gear retailers today.
Free shipping on all orders
Tons of great deals
Impressive used section
Wide inventory
Financing options
Guitar Center is one of the most recognizable companies for instruments and music gear, but obviously, mostly for guitars. They're the biggest physical music retailer in the US, with stores throughout the country, but also have one of the largest instrument and gear websites. Tons of musicians turn to Guitar Center to buy and sell instruments, gear, and even purchase recording and live sound products.
Huge instrument and gear inventory
Retail locations throughout the country
Financing options
Better return policy than Sweetwater
Additional services, such as lessons and repairs
Sweetwater has a massive selection of instruments and gear. Since they aren’t confined to a single retail store, they can hold a huge inventory and keep almost everything a musician might need on hand. They carry everything from guitars and basses to drums and keyboards. You can find the biggest guitar and gear brands in their inventory, including but not limited to the heavy hitters like PRS, Epiphone, Fender, Boss, and Gibson.
But how does Sweetwater stand out from Guitar Center? Well, the small details matter here. For example, let’s look at the PRS SE Hollowbody II Piezo Electric Guitar on the Sweetwater and Guitar Center websites. Both retailers feature the guitar in black gold burst and peacock blue, but Sweetwater also features the finish in dog hair. That's because many manufacturers partner with Sweetwater specifically to produce unique finishes.
Sweetwater has nearly every instrument you could want, but really stands out because they partner with many brands to produce finishes you won't find anywhere else.
Sweetwater has only one retail store in Fort Wayne, IN. However, they can ship throughout the US, so you should have no problem ordering and receiving your gear. Plus, they package items for shipping extremely well, and orders arrive undamaged and intact.
Personally, I prefer the Sweetwater website over Guitar Center's. In the top menu bar, you have multiple navigation options, such as shopping by category, deals, new products, used, and more. I find it a bit less confusing to navigate. There's also a search bar up top if you need to find a specific product. I've used this search bar before, and I never had problems finding what I needed. Plus, you can easily navigate around the descriptions and read reviews.
All Guitar Center stores vary from store to store, but most have the same general layout. The electric guitars and basses are displayed in the main part of the store, with a separate acoustic section. Most stores also have a drum room, where you will find drumsticks, cymbals, drumheads, and all other percussion items.
From my experience, some Guitar Center stores are more organized than others, as you’d probably expect. So, it’s difficult to give proper insight, seeing as there are over 300 stores across the country. But, you get helpful staff to help you find exactly what you’re looking for, and you can try out any guitar you’d like before buying.
The website is a little confusing to navigate—unlike Sweetwater. That said, the design of the product pages is fine, and after a bit of getting used to, it works fine. This is just a small personal preference.
This is where many people say Sweetwater reigns over Guitar Center, but I find their customer service to be a touch over the top, to be honest.
I’ve only ever made smaller purchases from Sweetwater, things like strings, cables, and picks. I was getting constantly contacted over the phone and email shortly after my purchase from a rep, which quickly got frustrating. I still get their sales emails to this day, even though I don’t remember ever signing up for them.
With that said, you do get a personalized sales rep when you order from Sweetwater, which is a great plus from an online company. This is helpful if you're buying your first guitar and don't know what you want or are buying a guitar you couldn't try in store.
Guitar Center's customer service isn't as over-the-top as Sweetwater's, but that doesn't mean it's better. The store’s customer service can be hit or miss—again, considering there are over 300 stores in the US, it’s difficult to make a general assessment. That said, I’ve always had a good experience in Guitar Center stores, with helpful and enthusiastic staff.
There have been times, though, when I’ve heard of people having a question and couldn't find anyone from the sales team. Or, if they could find someone, they either didn't attend to the person immediately, or only one person was helping out five other people.
If this experience happens to you, I suggest contacting a manager to resolve your issues. You can also contact corporate by phone, email, or live chat.
While these two companies have similar prices, you'll usually find more deals on the Sweetwater website. Nearly all of their categories have deals, and they also feature promos, rebates, price drops, bundles, and a massive used section. Guitar Center also hosts many deals, but because Sweetwater offers more ways to save, you'll typically spend less when you buy from this company.
I actually compared the previously mentioned PRS SE and this Fender Telecaster on the Guitar Center and Sweetwater websites, and it's the same price on both.
That's because the price is standardized by the manufacturer, so these companies can't stray too much from that cost. That said, Guitar Center doesn't mark down products as frequently as Sweetwater. I also find their used section has better prices than Sweetwater's, but again, this can vary from store to store.
Bottom line: Guitar Center has similar prices as Sweetwater since the manufacturer determines the price. Guitar Center may not have as many sales as Sweetwater, but its used section tends to be more reasonably priced.
Both Sweetwater and Guitar Center offer various types of finance options. Both offer store credit cards with promotional financing for up to 48 months at 0%, but there are a few key differences between the two. The Sweetwater Card's 48-month offer starts at $449; Guitar Center's Gear Card runs its 48-month offer on qualifying brands, and the standard APR is steep if you miss the promo window.
Additionally, Sweetwater also offers Affirm, which is separate from the Sweetwater Card and lets you split a purchase into four interest-free payments or a monthly plan at checkout. Guitar Center also has a PayPal pay later option, and a lease to own option.
There are a lot of other details with these that we can’t go too much into in this article, so it’s best to visit the respective websites to get more clarity on financing.
Sweetwater includes a 2-year warranty for almost all purchases, which also includes free labor and parts on any repairs. Sweetwater is upfront that it is not a no-fault warranty, and accessories (such as guitar strings) and consumable parts are among the exclusions, but for the instrument or amp itself it is far more than most stores give you for free.
However, Sweetwater's return policy is pretty confusing. On their website, they say to contact a sales engineer to get your RA number. Then, you have to follow a prompt that seems more complex than it should be.
Sweetwater's return window is about 30 days from the ship date, and if your order shipped free, the shipping cost comes out of the refund. Used gear is different: the 90-day used-gear guarantee only covers items that malfunction or fail, not a change of mind, and you pay shipping both ways. Special orders and anything modified at your request can't be returned.
Guitar Center doesn't offer a free warranty like Sweetwater, but its return window is 45 days, with 14 days for recording devices, DJ gear, workstation keyboards and lighting, and 3 days for vintage, and returns to any store need no authorization number and cost you no shipping. For coverage, it offers a Pro Coverage warranty for an extra fee. That said, don't forget that the manufacturer also includes a warranty for your instrument, so don't jump on paying the price for Pro Coverage too quickly.
I’d suggest researching the manufacturer's warranty and what it covers first since that coverage itself may be enough. That said, purchasing Pro Coverage for used and vintage instruments, since the manufacturer's warranty is likely no longer good, is likely a good idea. It’s really up to you.
Bottom line: Sweetwater has a 2-year warranty that's completely free and includes free parts and labor. You can return new items for about 30 days, with shipping deducted; the 90-day used guarantee is for failures only. Guitar Center gives you 45 days on most gear and offers its Pro Coverage warranty for a fee.
Sweetwater offers free shipping on nearly its entire inventory to the lower 48; Alaska, Hawaii and international addresses may not qualify, and small items like strings go out by mail and land in a few days. Guitar Center offers free shipping on thousands of items to the lower 48, with no minimum on those items; special orders, oversized gear, and in-store used and clearance items are the exceptions, and standard orders usually land in about five business days. You can also pay for 2-day and next-day shipping if you need your order quicker. Guitar Center can also ship internationally, but international orders don't get free shipping, and delivery times and rates vary by country.
Bottom line: Both ship free to the lower 48 on most of what they sell. Sweetwater's offer covers nearly everything; Guitar Center's skips special orders, oversized items and used or clearance gear from stores.
Maybe Guitar Center or Sweetwater is right for you, and you’d like to explore other alternatives. Honestly, these often aren't the first places I look when I need music gear, there are plenty of other great options out there. Here are some other instrument and gear retailers I recommend.
If you're looking for used instruments and gear, I suggest looking at Reverb first. Think of Reverb as the Facebook Marketplace for musicians. This is where authorized dealers sell new yet marked-down instruments for sale, and other sellers can list used instruments and gear for sale.
Since you do have to handle communications and shipping with the seller, do your own due diligence before ordering anything.
When working with an authorized seller, look at their shop and other listings to ensure they're a legitimate business. If you're buying used instruments and gear from a general seller, check the condition of the product, pictures, and read the seller reviews.
I still suggest inspecting every part of the guitar or taking it to a luthier/repair professional after receiving the item, just to ensure it's playable.
You're entitled to a refund for damaged or defective products, but you must contact the seller within 7 days of delivery. If there are any communication issues with the seller, Reverb can intervene, which I find beneficial.
If you're based in Europe or the U.K., you likely heard of Thomann. This is a German instrument and gear retailer that has been in business since the 1950s but expanded to a global scale once they set up their online shop. I've ordered from Thomann before and always received my products in a timely manner, even though it’s coming from their German warehouse.
If you ever have issues with your products, Thomann has a 30-day money-back guarantee. They also have a 3-year warranty for free that applies to all purchases.
Thomann carries all major instrument and gear brands, and they also have some rare and limited edition items.
Since Guitar Center owns Musician's Friend, I figured I would mention this company last and emphasize the other two alternatives. But I still like to mention this company as an alternative to Guitar Center.
Musician's Friend is an online-only retailer that has nearly identical inventory as Guitar Center, including hardware, gear, and accessories. They also sell all the same brands. I also like Musician's Friend for niche brands, their used section, and vintage items.
But what separates Musician's Friend is their numerous deals, often making them cheaper than Guitar Center. They even have a Stupid Deal of the Day; as the name suggests, they significantly mark down one product every day, so it's always worth checking out. Plus, Musician's Friend always offers free shipping.
Answer: No, they're both separate companies. Ares Management has controlled Guitar Center since 2014, and the company restructured in bankruptcy in late 2020. Sweetwater founder Chuck Surack ran his business until 2021, when Providence Equity purchased a majority share.
Answer: This depends on your preference. I've generally only purchased guitars in person (with the exception of a couple), and I prefer holding and inspecting them first. At the same time, you have a better selection when ordering online, and you can take advantage of more deals. Before ordering a guitar online, I suggest knowing the retailer's warranty and return policy.
Answer: I never ordered online from Guitar Center, but Sweetwater ships pretty quickly. From what I'm reading on their websites, it seems both companies take the same amount of time to ship products. However, shipping also depends on inventory and manufacturing delays.
| What you're buying | Guitar Center | Sweetwater | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| New instruments | ✅ | ✅ | Same prices; Sweetwater for exclusive finishes and the free 2-year warranty, Guitar Center to play it first |
| Vintage and used | ✅ | Bigger used and vintage selection in store; 3-day vintage return window, so inspect before you leave | |
| Strings, picks, cables, etc | ✅ | Free shipping on small orders, fast turnaround, no minimum | |
| Amps and other big ticket items | ✅ | Hear it in the room; 45-day returns to any store with no return shipping | |
| Shipping | ✅ | Free on nearly everything, packed like a tank | |
| When a local store wins | ✅ | Trying before buying, same-day pickup, repairs and lessons under one roof |
As you can see, there is really no clear winner here. Both companies have pros and cons depending on your preferences. I suggest buying from Sweetwater over Guitar Center when buying online. Even though Sweetwater has only one retail location, they have excellent inventory on its website, offer some finishes that Guitar Center doesn't have, and shipping is always free.
However, if you’re making bigger, more expensive purchases, Guitar Center may be the way to go. This way, you can touch and hear the instrument before parting with your hard-earned money.
Read More: Guitar Center vs Musician’s Friend: Should You Stick to a Retail or Online Music Shop?
The actual kit that went around the world in the World in Six Strings footage. Sixteen months, twelve locations, about $900 all in.
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