Name: Ed Nystrom
Position at Sweetwater: Sales Engineer
Education: High school and a few years at college.
Where are you from originally? Suburb of Chicago.
What was your occupation before coming to Sweetwater? Sales/sales management.
Why did you first apply for a job at Sweetwater? I saw a unique opportunity to work for a growing company in an industry that I love.
Technical strengths: Guitar and live sound.
Favorite music-related website: Spotify
Instruments you play: Guitar, bass, uke (anything with strings and frets).
Gear you own: Way too much to list — 20 guitars, amps of all sizes, a small studio rig, drums.
Family info: Happily married with two dogs and a cat.
Other stuff we should know about you (hobbies, talents, interests, etc.): Hooked on good coffee, love travel and live music.
Favorite magazines: Dwell, Tape Op
Real-life hero: Jeff Beck
Guilty pleasure of choice: Scotch — Lagavulin is my current favorite.
How would your boss describe you? Hard working, proactive problem solver.
How would your best friend describe you? Looking for new adventures and willing to try new challenges.
Describe the most dramatic situation in which you provided the Sweetwater Difference for a customer: My customer had already bought gear from our competition and was struggling to get it all to work. He had a gig on the coming weekend and was not getting help from them. I solved all the issues and showed how we could add value beyond his local store. The rig they sold him was not ideal, but I patched together a fix to get him through the show. He ended up taking the whole thing back to the local dealer and bought a better setup from me the next week.
What in your background prepared you most to help your customers with their audio needs? Quality engineering internship and lots of problem solving and logically breaking down issues into components. Once the issue can be described and quantized, it’s easier to fix.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the Sweetwater team? The fast pace, the smart people, and new challenges every day.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned at Sweetwater? Do the right thing for the client. It will always pay off in the long term, even if it costs a bit of money or time up front.