As I’ve done the last couple of issues, I asked one of our long-term (since 1995, in this case) customers to provide a perspective on what it’s like to work with Sweetwater. I’m extremely honored to have Grammy Award-winning (12 nominations, with six Grammy awards and counting) and Emmy Award-winning composer and musician extraordinaire Arturo Sandoval provide his take on the Sweetwater Difference. Arturo is a protégé of Dizzy Gillespie, and he’s one of the world’s premier jazz trumpet and flugelhorn players as well as a renowned pianist and classical artist. He has recorded with a who’s-who list of top artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Woody Shaw, Michel Legrand, Bill Conti, Stan Getz, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Rod Stewart, and Alicia Keys, to name just a few. His work can also be found on many movie soundtracks.
I had the opportunity to meet him in person when he came to Sweetwater for both a training session (demonstrating Royer microphones) and to conduct a trumpet master class for local musicians. To be blunt, I’m in awe of the man, and I was blown away by his otherworldly musical talent as well as his ability to teach and speak the language of music to those attending.
Paul Rowan, Arturo’s Sales Engineer, recently caught up with Arturo between sessions in the studio. Here are some excerpts from their conversation:
“First of all, everybody’s very nice there. I have all due respect for your company [Sweetwater]. The attention to the customer is excellent — very nice people who really treat you well so that you feel comfortable doing business.
“Number two, they are very professional. You get the right advice when you need something and are not really familiar with the product. You always get the right advice — what you should get, what you should buy, and what you shouldn’t. When I need something in a hurry, they get it to me right away. The service is great.
“The inventory is so huge. You can buy so many different things from Sweetwater, which is good. You want to make one stop and buy whatever you need, and it’s better to do it with one person and one company right away than to go and call different places and people, with different shipping.
“When I went to play at Sweetwater, man, it was so nice. I met a bunch of people, including Chuck. They really treated me very well. I had a great experience. I would love to come back and play there again.”
I sincerely hope we get to have Arturo here again in the near future. It’s a real blessing to be able to meet and enjoy the talent of someone of his caliber — who also just happens to be a wonderful guy! Thanks to Arturo for taking the time to contribute and give his take on Sweetwater.
Rock and Roll!
Jeff Radke
Executive Vice President of Sales