January 2012 Newsletter

Greeting to all our friends,

Our first newsletter of 2012 contains exciting news about our new (no longer secret) guitar and the announcement of our eagerly awaited annual "Less than Perfect" sale.

But first of all....A word (or more) of thanks

Looking back on the past year – trying to put it in perspective - storing memories of the various good things that happened in the “keeper” pile, putting the rough patches in the “lesson learned” pile and moving into 2012 with renewed energy - one thing comes firmly to mind and that's the number of people to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. Just a few of the thank you's include:

Thank you to my wife. We celebrated our 10th anniversary (in December of 2011) of being together by being apart. Me in China, her in Montreal. From the day 3 years ago when 48 guitars arrived on our doorstep – forcing the postponement of Christmas - to the incessant traveling of last year she's been a trooper – putting up with the demands of the business as well as my (occasional, I'm sure) less than sunny mood. As an aside – she packs one mean suitcase! How she gets a week's worth of clothing in a carry-on is beyond me.

Thanks to Skype: Video calls to home certainly make being half way around the world less lonely.

Thanks to my partners – both for their forbearance of my sporadic reporting and for their succinct advice. On one occasion early last year I thought I'd come up with an idea of raw genius. Very quickly, in no uncertain terms I learned otherwise. I do like praise when all is going well but eating as bit of humble pie for a poorly thought out plan is, in its own way, a good thing. No business grows from one person's efforts alone. Active investors are a true bonus! Thanks guys.

A special thanks to Brett Wilson – for many things – great garden parties, tirelessly promoting MacKenzie & Marr, sartorial splendor etc etc - but especially for inviting my wife and I to join him in Mexico this past season – not for a leisurely vacation, but to build homes for families that had no hope of ever owning a house. One of the most rewarding experiences of my days on this planet. Thanks also to those who swung hammers, slopped (whoops, I should say “skillfully applied”) paint and shared their stories and feelings along side us through the weekend.

Thanks to Dan Iorio for digging in and sharing our vision of treating customers like friends,

Thanks to all the folks who work on our behalf in China. They struggle just as hard as we do to bridge the gap of understanding and expectations. At times the relationship is frustrating. At other times its incredibly rewarding – but always it's a lesson in reaching out to new friends. Also the best of luck and a big thank you to Sandy, who somehow managed to get all the details right despite too much “big picture” meetings between her boss and me. She's recently married and moving to her husband's town. We'll miss you Sandy.

Thanks to Ian Tyson. He generously allowed us to use his song “Summer Wages” as the group identity for our cedar top guitars and inspired us to create a whole new guitar as a tribute to the man and his music. Thanks also to Ian, Gord Maxwell and Lee Worden for the very special experience of sitting in on a rehearsal at the ranch.

Thanks to Tom Rush for having faith that we were the ones to help the lady rise from the flames. She really is a beauty isn't she!

Finally, and most importantly...thank you (yes you) so much. Without you we wouldn't have survived our first year in business let alone ended 2011 on such a strong note. Never, to my knowledge, has a company been supported, encouraged and cheered on by its customers to the extent that MacKenzie & Marr Guitars has. For the last two years, through endless shipping delays and constant “just around the corner” delivery expectations you've stuck with us. Some of you waited well over 12 months for your guitar and yet not one of you canceled your order due to late delivery. That – and the fact that you continue to rave about the guitars themselves – is a reward beyond expectations. We decided to create a company that treated its customers as friends. It turns out that our customers treated us like friends first...THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Now for some news....

If you follow us on Facebook (and if you don't..shame on you. Why not?) you've probably noticed an occasional reference to a “new” guitar. There's also a link on our web site to the “secret guitar”. I've been unable to resist dropping some pretty broad Facebook hints as to the identity of the performer endorsing it. Some of you may have guessed already but officially it's time to make it a secret no longer.

We're thrilled to announce that MacKenzie & Marr Guitars has won the right to recreate one of the legendary guitars of the folk era – “The Naked Lady”, owned and played at virtually every iconic venue in North America by the great Tom Rush was destroyed in a fire in 1980. She is rising from the flames this spring. Tom worked with us to craft a cedar top dreadnought that (here extreme humility prevents me from excess) may well be “the” acoustic guitar of the decade. Think “Dreadnaught 2.0”.

We'll have photos and detailed specs posted to the web site in February when we publicly announce the Naked lady and her sister guitar – the Tom Rush Signature Edition – but, here in a nutshell are the pertinent points:

The Naked Lady refers to a art deco style inlay of a snake wrapping itself around a reclining (surprise) naked lady. The abalone and mother of pearl design runs from the 4th to the 12th fret of the ebony fingerboard.

The top of the guitar is masterclass “high altitude” cedar – a wood we found on a dusty pallet, almost forgotten, at one of our wood suppliers. Incredibly stiff. Without loosing the warmth and projection of cedar it delivers a “snap” normally associated with Adirondack Spruce. Serendipity, sadly in very limited supply.

The back and sides are Indian Rosewood. Wonderful stuff – tough to work with but worth the effort. The neck is mahogany, fretboard and bridge are ebony. We won't discuss bracing, bridge plates or other interior things our competitors love to hear about but what's inside the guitar makes a huge contribution to the sound.

We're not skimping on hardware either. The tuners have an 18:1 ratio with string locks – something that allows a performing musician to change a broken string on stage in seconds. In Tom's case, where he actually uses a “B” string tuned up to E for the slide work on Panama Limited (talk about tension) quick string replacement means a lot.

The pickup is the best in the industry – the phenomenal L.R. Baggs Anthem, which blends the output of an under-saddle transducer with an interior acoustic microphone. In keeping with our insistence of not cutting into the sidewall of the guitar the controls, battery and pre-amp are 100% internal.

The first 500 of The Naked Lady guitars are available for pre-order on our web site. Each one will bear a serial number identifying it as on of the limited series. Each of the first 500 will come with Tom Rush's latest CD - “What I Know” as well as a free downloadd of his great Homespun video - “How I Play My Favorite Songs”

The Tom Rush Signature Edition – to be introduced in July – is also a dreadnought body with the same high altitude cedar top but with Mahogany back and sides resulting in a slightly warmer sound but not quite the same crisp bass. We know that by introducing two guitars we're only adding fuel to fire of the “great” Rosewood vs Mahogany debate but we think that when it comes to guitars, as opposed to women, polygamy works. We love them both.

We'll have more details in the coming month – including, we hope, a February live launch featuring Tom Rush performing at the venue where it all started. Please come to Boston in the springtime..... Follow us on Facebook for updates.

The Annual Less Than Perfect Sale

Once a year we offer a selection of guitars with minor cosmetic blemishes at reduced prices. The 2012 Less Than Perfect Sales starts February 1st but subscribers to our Newsletter get a two week head start. For you it starts today!

Here is this year's list of available guitars:

Model - Tofino (2010) last year's model (no electrics)
Regular Price - $999.99
Sale Price - $699.99

Model - Tofino 2011 (with electrics)
Regular Price - $999.99
Sale Price - $799.99

Model - Dionisio (cutaway with electrics)
Regular Price - $1100
Sale Price - $899.99

Model - Ian Tyson Ltd
Regular Price - $1,200.00
Sale Price -$999.99

All Less than Perfects are covered by the MacKenzie & Marr limited lifetime warranty. The only thing differentiating them from our regular guitars is a cosmetic blemish (e.g - a small scratch in the finish, or a discolouration in a small section of the body). They play as well and sound as good as any other MacKenzie & Marr guitar. We ship them in hard shell cases (some cases may be less than perfect as well) and they have the same “Love It or Leave It” seven day return policy we extend to all new owners.

Quantities are extremely limited. If you would like to take advantage of the exceptional savings please contact us directly - Let us know which model interests you. PLEASE DO NOT ORDER ONLINE. This is a private offer and no mention of it will appear on our web site until February (if any stock remains unsold).

It is not possible to send photos of the blemished guitars. The flaws don't show up in pictures.

Last year we sold out of Less than Perfects in a few days. Don't be disappointed this year. Contact us either by phone at 514-833-8352 or through the Contact form on our web site.

Finally.....

The best for 2012 to all our friends – current and future MacKenzie &Marr owners alike. We hope your coming year is bountiful and rewarding. Mostly we hope you find time to spread the joy of the music you make.

Cheers until next time,
The MacKenzie & Marr Guitars team