Sweetwater Sound
Encyclopedia
Sweetwater Sound, Inc. is one of the United States' largest dealers in musical equipment for musicians, recording studios, schools, houses of worship, concert sound companies and broadcasters. Sweetwater sells digital recording systems, keyboards, guitars, microphones, mixers, loudspeakers, signal processors, and drums.
, Indiana
. When the Kurzweil K250
programmable keyboard and sampler was introduced in 1984, Surack became known for his custom K250 sound library and programming skills as well as his upgrade kits. Surack became a Kurzweil dealer, but his clients were asking for advice regarding other products as well. Surack expanded Sweetwater to become a music retailer whose emphasis was pre- and post-sale customer service.
By 1990, annual sales had grown to $6 million and had outgrown Surack's home, so Sweetwater moved into its own building. In 1995, Sweetwater mounted a website: www.sweetwater.com. By 1999, most of the inventory was available for purchase online. Electronic Musician
named the website one of the nine best information sources for a musician, due to its 63,000 pages including instructional videos, demos and technical documents.
Between 1990 and 2005, Sweetwater had grown to 220 employees and had expanded its building four different times, but still needed more room. Choosing to remain in Fort Wayne, in 2006 the operation moved to larger, custom-built headquarters using 14 acres (56,656 m²) of a 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) parcel; enough area to allow for planned further expansion.
The new headquarters also includes the Sweetwater Productions recording studio complex and a Performance Theatre, both designed by Russ Berger Design Group. The 250-seat theater has a LARES
electroacoustic enhancement system.
In 2006, Sweetwater Productions and local Fort Wayne radio station WAJI
Majic 95.1 started a partnership to record live, acoustic music from nationally-recognized artists and bands traveling through Fort Wayne. These recordings, along with others, have been used to produce "Majic Miracle Music" charity CDs to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Artists who recorded at Sweetwater Productions for "Majic Miracle Music" CDs include REO Speedwagon
, Ingrid Michaelson
, Lenka
, Aimee Allen
, Jars of Clay
, Landon Pigg
, Ben Jelen
, Josh Kelley
, Sara Bareilles
, Jon McLaughlin
, Gin Blossoms
, and Collective Soul
.
In January, 2010, Chuck Surack was elected to the board of directors of NAMM, the International Music Products Association. The election took place at the organization's annual meeting in Anaheim, California, during The NAMM Show in Winter 2010.
History
Chuck Surack started the company as a recording studio in 1979, originally based out of his home in Fort WayneFort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. When the Kurzweil K250
Kurzweil K250
The Kurzweil K250 a.k.a. "Kurzweil 250", "K250" or "K-250", manufactured by Kurzweil Music Systems was the first electronic musical instrument which produced sound derived from sampled sounds burned onto integrated circuits known as Read Only Memory without the requirement for any type of disk...
programmable keyboard and sampler was introduced in 1984, Surack became known for his custom K250 sound library and programming skills as well as his upgrade kits. Surack became a Kurzweil dealer, but his clients were asking for advice regarding other products as well. Surack expanded Sweetwater to become a music retailer whose emphasis was pre- and post-sale customer service.
By 1990, annual sales had grown to $6 million and had outgrown Surack's home, so Sweetwater moved into its own building. In 1995, Sweetwater mounted a website: www.sweetwater.com. By 1999, most of the inventory was available for purchase online. Electronic Musician
Electronic Musician
Electronic Musician is a monthly magazine published by Penton Media featuring articles on synthesizers, music production and electronic musicians....
named the website one of the nine best information sources for a musician, due to its 63,000 pages including instructional videos, demos and technical documents.
Between 1990 and 2005, Sweetwater had grown to 220 employees and had expanded its building four different times, but still needed more room. Choosing to remain in Fort Wayne, in 2006 the operation moved to larger, custom-built headquarters using 14 acres (56,656 m²) of a 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) parcel; enough area to allow for planned further expansion.
The new headquarters also includes the Sweetwater Productions recording studio complex and a Performance Theatre, both designed by Russ Berger Design Group. The 250-seat theater has a LARES
LARES
LARES is an electronic sound enhancement system that uses microprocessors to control multiple loudspeakers and microphones placed around a performance space for the purpose of providing active acoustic treatment. LARES was invented in Massachusetts in 1988, by engineers working at Lexicon,...
electroacoustic enhancement system.
In 2006, Sweetwater Productions and local Fort Wayne radio station WAJI
WAJI
WAJI is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, the station is currently owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc...
Majic 95.1 started a partnership to record live, acoustic music from nationally-recognized artists and bands traveling through Fort Wayne. These recordings, along with others, have been used to produce "Majic Miracle Music" charity CDs to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Artists who recorded at Sweetwater Productions for "Majic Miracle Music" CDs include REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
, Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
, Lenka
Lenka
Lenka is a village and municipality in the Rimavská Sobota District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia.- Demographics :As of 2001, Lenka had 202 inhabitants of whom 129 were Hungarians and 72 Slovakians.-External links:...
, Aimee Allen
Aimee Allen
Aimee Allen is an American pop/rock singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. She is known for her work on the dance song "Cooties" made for the soundtrack of the 2007 version of the movie Hairspray...
, Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
, Landon Pigg
Landon Pigg
Landon Pigg is a singer-songwriter, musician, and actor from Nashville, Tennessee.- Early years :Pigg was born in Nashville, Tennessee. When Pigg was a child, his family moved to Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and he and two of his siblings, Cari-Ann and Gabriel, sang commercial jingles...
, Ben Jelen
Ben Jelen
Ben Jelen is a Scottish-born American singer-songwriter who plays the piano, violin, and guitar. He has lived in Scotland, England, Texas, New Jersey and New York. His career has been characterized by near-stardom, with his debut album, Give It All Away peaking at #113 on the Billboard 200 list...
, Josh Kelley
Josh Kelley
Joshua Bishop "Josh" Kelley is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Kelley has recorded for Hollywood Records, Threshold Records and DNK Records as a pop rock artist, and has had four hit singles on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart...
, Sara Bareilles
Sara Bareilles
Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records in the United States alone and has been...
, Jon McLaughlin
Jon McLaughlin
Jon McLaughlin is a pop rock singer-songwriter and pianist from Anderson, Indiana. His debut album Indiana was released on May 1, 2007, preceded by his first EP Industry, also known as Jon McL, in February 2007...
, Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms is an American pop rock band formed in 1987, in Tempe, Arizona. They took their name from a photo of W.C. Fields which bore the caption "W.C. Fields with gin blossoms", referring to what appeared to be the actor's gin-ravaged nose, but was actually a skin condition known as rosacea...
, and Collective Soul
Collective Soul
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, "Shine", which came from their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, released in 1993...
.
In January, 2010, Chuck Surack was elected to the board of directors of NAMM, the International Music Products Association. The election took place at the organization's annual meeting in Anaheim, California, during The NAMM Show in Winter 2010.
Awards
- 1994, "Inc. 500 – America's Fastest Growing Companies"
- 1995, "Inc. 500 – America's Fastest Growing Companies"
- 2005, "Independent Retailer of the Year" from Music Inc. magazine
- 2006, "Torch Award" for business ethics, integrity and honesty from Better Business BureauBetter Business BureauThe Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
- 2008, "BCA Ten Award" for exceptional involvement with the arts that enrich the workplace, education and the community from Business Committee for the Arts (BCA).
- 2009, LEED Platinum Award, U.S. Green Building Council, for Sweetwater's corporate headquarters and its environmentally friendly construction and management
- 2009, "Indiana Governor's Arts Award", presented September 25, 2009, by Governor Mitch Daniels at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts, Muncie, Indiana