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Enrollment in school music classes is great for young students. Music class provides a great peer group experience and helps develop skills that students will use their entire lives. And playing music is fun!

Each rental is considered an outfit, which includes the basic components to get you playing. For instance, a trumpet comes with a trumpet, a trumpet case, mouthpiece, and valve oil. A saxophone is going to come with a saxophone, a saxophone case, a neck strap, 1 reed, a mouthpiece, a ligature, a ligature cap, and neck cork grease.

In addition, we include Quickstart Guides to get you started on your instrument right away.

What a rental does not include but are going to be necessary for ongoing practice would include products like an extra box of reeds, cleaning supplies, textbook/method book, and a music stand, which you'll want for at-home practice. If you are in a band program, your director may have already specified their preferred accessories for you to add to your rental in the rental portal. If you need additional help, be sure to reach out to one of our expert Sweetwater Customer Service Reps at (888) 890-3365. They will be glad to help you gather any other essentials for your instrument.

Our rental program is designed to offer a low down payment and affordable monthly payments. All rental payments apply to the purchase of an instrument, but you are welcome to return the instrument at any time with no further obligation. You only pay for the time from when we ship it out, until we receive it back at Sweetwater.

Instruments are different prices, and rental rates vary by what instrument you rent. But don't worry: 100% of rental principal payments apply towards the purchase, should you or your child continue on the instrument. Rental begins with a Low down payment that will cover a trial period. After the trial period, you transition into monthly rental payments. For specific pricing info per instrument, take a look at our guided rental portal to see what we have on offer for your program.

All our payments are set up on autopay, based on the day of the month when you rented the instrument. The automatic charge will show Sweetwater Instrument Rental on your monthly bill. You can make a payment or update your payment method in your rental account.

There is no minimum rental period, you can cancel at any time, you are only charged for the time from when you receive it, until we receive it back at Sweetwater.

No, whether you are learning on your own or involved with a school, Sweetwater is happy to provide instruments to all students of music. Just select “personal rental” in our rental portal.

We offer special discounts on upgrading and purchasing instruments only available to our rental customers. If you would like to purchase the instrument you are renting or upgrade your current model, we have you covered. Reach out via phone or visit our beautiful Band & Orchestra showroom in Fort Wayne and our team will be happy to assist.

Sweetwater is known for our legendary customer service and our commitment to music education. If you have to switch instruments, reach out via phone or visit our beautiful Band & Orchestra showroom in Fort Wayne and our team will be happy to assist. We will swap it out right away and apply all your payments towards the new instrument! We want this to be easy and fun!

Students usually will start with a smaller instrument. As the student grows, they will need to move into larger instruments. Typically, the teacher will size the student and will let parents know when it is time to move up to the next size. When that happens, call or email us and we will be happy to help! If you are sizing yourself, check out our InSync guide to help figure out what size string instrument you need.

Check out our InSync guide to help figure out what size string instrument you need.

Life Happens! Call or email us as soon as you can, and we will go over some options with you.

Instruments tend to get damaged during the rental period. Most outside insurance policies do not cover rented instruments. We offer a Rental Instrument Protection Plan, which allows you to exchange the instrument when it needs repair. This is the simplest, fastest way to get your student back to playing in class. Just call us or email us, and we will send out an instrument, in most cases, the same day you ask. It will arrive with a return shipping label. Just put the instrument in the box and drop it off at a FedEx drop off location. Be sure to grab a receipt when dropping it off!

We ask that you keep the original box for the rental instrument. When you are ready to return the instrument, please call or email us to let us know, and we will provide you with a return label. When you are done, just put the returned instrument in the box, apply the return label and drop it off at a Fed Ex drop off location. Just be sure to grab a receipt when dropping it off! You only are charged for the time from when you receive it, until we receive it back at Sweetwater.

Our shipping policy is to get the instrument out of our doors within 24 hours of rental or need-by date and the shipping is free – most customers receive their order in 48-72 hours.

Every situation is different, but renting with Sweetwater gives you the ease of quickly exchanging instruments while you figure out what works best for you. If you are ready to purchase an instrument, feel free to browse the store, or reach out to your Sweetwater Customer Service Rep at (888) 890-3365 for help finding the right fit for you.

Certainly! You can purchase your instrument at any time. We will credit all of the principal payments you’ve made so far towards the balance and give you an additional early purchase discount. Just call us or drop an email and we can start the process for you right away!

Sweetwater Academy is our first-choice recommendation for the finest musical instructors in the Fort Wayne area! We are working on solutions for online, remote, and options near you.

Sweetwater carries method books from a wide selection of method books from Hal Leonard, Kjos, Alfred Music and more for all levels of learning for every instrument we rent.

If you have a band director set-up with Sweetwater, the availability of brand and instrument will be determined in their registration process. But rest assured, we are only renting premium, educator-approved instruments.