JohnMarr's blog

The New Tofino

Submitted by JohnMarr on Fri, 08/12/2011 - 14:02

The minute the first cedar-top solid wood acoustic Tofino guitar was unwrapped – before tuning it and before playing it - I knew we had a winner. The guitar was pristine. So was the second, the third and so on. Not one guitar we examined had the slightest flaw. The factory had outdone themselves.

picture: 

Can you tell the difference between a $1000 Mackenzie & Marr guitar and $3000 Martin?

Submitted by JohnMarr on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 11:29

Join us at the Montreal Folk Festival (June 18th and 19th) on the Terrase St-Ambroise - 5080 St-Ambroise Montreal, QC H4C 2G1. Play our guitars and compare them to much more expensive Taylor and Martin models. Can you tell the difference wearing a blindfold? Kevin O'Leary of Dragon's Den couldn't.

We'll have a free set of D'Addario EXP strings for everyone who participates and who knows? You may end up as a YouTube "star" We'll be shooting video.

picture: 
the MacKenzie & Marr blindfold test - can you pick the expensive gutar?

With an iPhone and $40 You Too Can Be A Guitar God

Submitted by JohnMarr on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 13:37

Fair warning to Keith Richards (Mr. Clapton pay attention too). I hooked my iPhone to my MacKenzie & Marr Ian Tyson Limited Edition with a gizmo called an iRig, fired up "Satisfaction" in the associated program and played along. In all humility I was astoundingly good - better (again with humility) than Keith himself. In fact Keith was doing such a fine job on rhythm I added my own embellishments to the tune. Later Willie Nelson backed me up on "Pancho and Lefty". I outdid myself. You'll have to take my word for it since no one else was around to judge.

picture: 

A "Perfect Storm" of Media Attention

Submitted by JohnMarr on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 11:44

Little did we know that on the same day we distributed the press release announcing the Ian Tyson Limited Edition guitar CBC would re-broadcast our appearance on their hit show Dragon's Den. We're not adverse to publicity but once again the response (and cascade of orders) was overwhelming.
Here's where we stand with availability:

The Canadian Tenors

Submitted by JohnMarr on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 16:02

"It feels and sounds fantastic. I haven't played anything like it and it virtually plays itself!" High praise for our cedar top Tofino from a Canadian supergroup.

picture: 
Arianna Huffington, the Canadian Tenors and the MacKenzie & Marr Tofino

When a Lousy Web Site Makes Sense.

Submitted by JohnMarr on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 11:53

You'd think that a business that depends solely on the Internet for sales would have a pretty slick web site. In our case you'd be wrong!

One Crazy Week

Submitted by JohnMarr on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 12:50

Back in December, no sooner had we booked tickets to the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show than CBC notified us that our Dragon's Den episode would air the night before we left for California. We knew it would be a bit hairy handling the trip and interest sparked by the show at the same time. We had no idea how hairy!!

Good Things Come in Great Packages

Submitted by JohnMarr on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 07:49

Most companies will wait through at least one selling cycle before rolling out the "new improved" line. Here at MacKenzie & Marr Guitars we simply don't do things like other companies. Our cedar top acoustic guitars are distinctly our own design. Our way of distributing direct-to-musicians through the web is unusual in the music industry to say the least. Waiting until we actually had some sales to tweak our product line (if one model constitutes a "line") seemed so 20th Century.

MacKenzie & Marr Guitars On Dragon's Den January 13 2010

Submitted by JohnMarr on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 12:50

Tune in CBC on January 13 at 8 PM to see Jonathan and I pitch our business to five savvy investors on Dragon's Den. We know we have a winner in both our Tofino acoustic guitar and our business model. Selling high end acoustic guitars direct from the factory to musicians over the Internet means huge savings compared to retail. Will the Dragons recognize either our cedar top guitar or our business plan as worthy of an investment or will they tell us our "valuation is nuts, we're being greedy an/or there's no business here".

picture: 
Kevin O'Leary Playing the MacKenzie & Marr Tofino on Dragon's Den

The Week Before Christmas at Guitar Central

Submitted by JohnMarr on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 02:00

Things were just too quiet! We'd done pretty much everything we could to prepare for the arrival of the first 48 MacKenzie & Marr Tofino acoustic guitars.
We'd set up the stock room, humidified, insured, alarmed and locked down the building.
We'd tested the on-line store, and then tested it some more.
We'd proofed, published and printed our warranty to include with every order.
We'd lined up Canada Post and UPS for shipping.
We'd laid in 40 double walled cartons (with room for extra padding) to insure Tofinos were coddled in transit.

Syndicate content