Name: Opeongo - our OO small body acoustic
Brand: MacKenzie and Marr Guitars
SKU: Opeongo
Price: 949.99 CAD
Availability: In Stock

Opeongo - our OO small body acoustic

A full sound in a small guitar doesn't cost thousands anymore

Availability:
In Stock

Our artisan-crafted small-bodied OO style all solid wood parlor acoustic guitar. With 12 frets to the body and a 1 3/4 inch wide neck, Opeongo harkens back to the golden age of the steel string guitar.

Crafted from solid AAA-grade Sitka Spruce and solid Mahogany. A small guitar with a big sound.

Back and sides of responsibly harvested solid African Mahogany (Kaya Ivorensis)
Topwood is solid AAA-grade Canadian Sitka Spruce
A hand-set dovetail joint ensures full projective voicing

Suggested Retail Price:

CAD $2,399.99

Your Price:

Price:	CAD $949.99

Building a small body guitar is easy. Building one worth listening to? Not so easy. And one that is a joy to play? Even tougher.

It took us two years of experimentation and samples before we finally created a 00 size solid wood acoustic we could call an authentic MacKenzie & Marr guitar. Calling upon two highly respected luthiers, we started by re-engineering the bracing. Highly sculpted X bracing supports the top without restricting the "acoustic trampoline" of the quarter sawn Sitka Spruce. The back and sides are solid African Mahogany (Khaya Ivorensis), which suits the geometry of a small body guitar perfectly. By engineering the neck of Opeongo to transmit acoustic vibrations along its length, telegraphing them to the slotted headstock, we've expanded the resonating chamber beyond the physical confines of the body.

The overtones and sustain created by the play of space and materials belie the small body size. Hearing the true"wood" voice of Opeongo and experiencing the projection of that voice for the first time throws everyone off. Playing Opeongo is even more of a joy. Twelve frets to the body (most guitars including our other models have 14 frets clear of the body) mean less stretching and more comfortable fingering. Even barre chords become pleasurable to play (pleasurable, in this case, being highly subjective because who among us enjoys barre chords?). The 1 3/4 inch fretboard width at the nut encourages accurate fingerpicking.

As with all MacKenzie & Marr Guitars, Opeongo comes with a limited lifetime warranty against any manufacturing and/or material defects. Play this guitar in the comfort of your own home for a week. If you don't fall in love with it, we'll take it back and issue a full refund, including shipping costs.

A hard shell case is included at no additional cost with every Opeongo guitar.

Owner Reviews

Yves from Rimouski

Fri, 05/26/2023 - 12:17

Bonjour à tous, je vais débuter en vous disant que depuis plusieurs mois pendant ma recherche de guitares qui se démarquent, je voyais sans arrêt des publicités sur Mackenzie and Marr. Je me demandais quelle était cette marque exactement. J'ai donc pris le temps d'aller voir les guitares, les reviews et des vidéos. Plusieurs fois, je suis allé sur le site, placé les guitares au panier en me disant...ah je devrais tu? C'est en regardant la vidéo de l'émission Dragon's den de CBC que la confiance a encore grandi. Je suis un grand amateur de guitare, j'ai une dread de Boucher, une 00 de Claude Boucher, le maître en personne (fait dans son sous-sol), Une OM eastman...donc vous comprendrez que mes standards sont élevés. Première chose sur la confiance. J'ai parlé à M. Marr quelques fois et il était très bon en français, on conversait des bouts en français, des bouts en anglais. Un homme très sympathique. Shipping très rapide avec un setup de guitare A1. Comme les autres le mentionnent à plusieurs reprises, la guitare est emballée avec très grand soin, ça ne peut pas être mieux. J'ai commandé lundi(férié en plus), la guitare est arrivée à Rimouski jeudi. Première chose importante que je remarque en ouvrant la boite, la qualité du hardcase. Wow, un case de bien plus grande qualité que bien des guitares à 5000$, c'est le premier constat important qui m'a épaté. Quand j'ai ouvert le case, j'ai remarqué que celui-ci était vraiment sur mesure pour une 00, autre wow, car ils sont difficiles à trouver. Beau rembourrage, beau revêtement top. J'ai alors pris la guitare, elle est extrêmement légère et belle. Un beau fini mât avec une super belle qualité de bois. La tête est très belle et la découpe parfaite pour les cordes, éviter qu'elles accrochent comme sur plusieurs slotted head. La touche est parfaite et douce, le rosewood est super beau, tout comme le rosewood du chevalet pyramide...un autre gros wow. Maintenant, le son. La guitare sonne vraiment très bien, un bel équilibre, une grosse projection pour sa taille. C'est un charme à jouer. je l'adore. Je viens d'ailleurs de lui coller son pickguard (placé dans le compartiment de l'étui) afin de lui donner le super look Martin des années 1920. Je suis enchanté de cet achat, de la qualité de la réponse, de la qualité du shipping et sans nul doute de la qualité du produit. J’ai déjà plusieurs guitares Rosewood alors je cherchais vraiment de l’acajou, j’hésitais entre la Opeongo et la Toffino X, mais je préfère l’épinette au cèdre. Si vous n’avez jamais joué sur une 00, vous n’en reviendrez pas du confort d’une guitare comme celle-ci. Merci à vous messieurs Marr & Mackenzie, votre rêve, permet aux autres de réaliser le leur.

Kelly from Plainview

Tue, 05/02/2023 - 09:21

I recently purchased an Opeongo OO model guitar. I have bought high dollar guitars online before and they were not as carefully packaged as this one. The folks at Mackenzie and Marr made sure that it would arrive in pristine shape. The guitar was built well, it has a nice appearance and it has a great sound. Give these guitars a chance and I don't think y'all will be disappointed. Kelly W., Texas, USA

Sanjit from Oakton

Wed, 03/29/2023 - 19:14

I play mostly electrics and semihollow guitars, and have for 30 years. I was looking for a high-quality parlor guitar for practice and small venues. My experience on acoustics is entirely with full-sized ones, and I could never find one which was flexible enough to get great tone for different playing styles. So I was very pleasantly surprised with the Opeongo’s tone for the different styles I like to play. It is crisp and bloomy when pick-strummed, doesn’t sound too boomy or bassy when thumb-strumming, and has really nice presence and body for finger picking. The body is very resonant, and you can really feel it when you do percussive picking. It just has a really balanced tone across the spectrum. Most parlor guitars tend to be 25” scale or shorter, but the 25.5” scale on the Opeongo provides more complex trebles that contribute to a very sweet sound. In terms of action and intonation, after a quarter turn of the truss rod both were quite suitable. In fact, the action is the best I’ve ever played on an acoustic - doing single note runs is only slightly more difficult than on my Heritage semi-hollow. The mahogany and spruce are high-quality, and being partial to open-pore finishes, the finish is for me perfectly minimalist. Fit is excellent, and looks high-quality. All in all, the Opeongo is a guitar that makes me want to play more.

Antonio from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

Wed, 11/30/2022 - 17:25

Déjà 12 semaines que j'ai acheté cette guitare. Très satisfait de ma guitare Opeongo. Une sonorité surprenante pour une si petite guitare. Des matériaux de qualité et une facture impeccable une guitare très légère avec un substain étonnamment long que je trouve très inspirant pour mon style de créativité (je n'est pas trouvé le mot en français pour substain) Mes quelques amis musiciens qui en ont joués ou entendus sont très étonnés du petit prix que j'ai payé. Mon prochain achat chez Mac and Marr sera la guitare 12 cordes Algonquin. Très heureux d'avoir découvert les instruments de musique Mackenzie/Marr Merci John Santé Antonio

Jon from Pflugerville

Wed, 11/30/2022 - 13:30

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2022 I was riding passenger from Austin Texas, up Rt. 35 to the Nations in Oklahoma to visit family. An ad came over my cell phone for McKenzie and Marr Guitars and just "hit me right". It said they were on sale and they don't sell through distributors. I would have never ever purchase a guitar over the internet...but I did. I purchased the parlor size with pick-ups and hardshell case. It was all against better judgement purchasing a guitar sight unseen...but I did. The 7 day money back warranty made me feel somewhat comfortable and I purchased through PayPal. When I got the guitar I opened the case without removing it so it would get up to room temperature. My first view of it told me I probably made a very good decision. After a few hours I held it, tuned it up and played it. The action was like a custom shop Martin. The sound was wonderful. I love this guitar. My friends who have played it agree. This company is the real deal. Totally excellent guitars.

Christopher from Worcester

Mon, 07/11/2022 - 20:44

When I first received the Opeongo and unpacked it, I was very impressed with the quality of craftmanship on the guitar. I was also impressed with the fine quality case. When I began to play I was a bit concerned that the tone was thin and reedy. That being said I found it so easy to play that I kept picking it up, and not surprising for a guitar made of fine quality solid wood, the tone changed rapidly, becoming deeper but still maintaining a clarity from note to note which is a real pleasure. I am enjoying this guitar a great deal. It is truly a fine bargain, a great value for dollars invested. Thanks to you at M&M !

Tom from Sherwood Park

Mon, 05/30/2022 - 13:42

I recently purchased the Opeongo as a replacement for my previous Parlor guitar and it has met my expectations (which were admittedly high). The guitar has great bass response and single string clarity making it an excellent choice for fingerstyle. There is a bit of buzz as noted by other reviewers on the thinner strings at the lower frets...although I am pretty sure it's cause the action is really low. I plan to raise the action a bit to set it up for some slide playing and expect it to shine there as well. A great guitar for a great price!

BARRY from Glendale

Thu, 05/19/2022 - 14:47

Initial impressions were that the action was generally good, although the nut height needs lowering (not a difficult diy). Was hoping the bass response would be better than my Wechter TO-8418. Different, but not louder. In the 2.5 weeks I've had it there is a buzz developing on the low F/F#. Not entirely sure what's causing it, but I'm a little worried. Trying to keep it humidified, which is not easy in the Arizona summer.

Bob from Scituate

Thu, 05/19/2022 - 14:47

This is my second M&M and this one leaves me saying the same thing as the first - Wow! This little guitar is very well balanced, incredibly light and has a beautiful tone as well as great projection. I have owned a lot of guitars along the way and I have tried and tried to find a small body guitar that actually sounds like a guitar - the Opeongo is the first one that really pulls this off. I’m primarily a finger picker and light strummer, so one of the most important things to me was a 1.75” neck. This is surprisingly hard to find in parlor guitars at this price point. The neck is very comfortable which is one of the most important things for me in terms of a guitar I keep for a long time. Then there is the tone, just absolutely beautiful, well balanced and effortless - you don’t have to force the low end and it’s not that tinny, thin sound you often get at the high end on smaller guitars. Finally, aside from the guitar is the M&M service. John Marr is incredibly responsive and does a great job of helping with any questions or issues you may have. All in all, I highly recommend the Opeongo. And if you’re looking for something a bit bigger, I also have the Tofino X and that is truly a beautiful guitar. You can’t go wrong with M&M!

Timothy from Abbotsford

Wed, 05/18/2022 - 19:14

I've owned and played many different acoustic guitars over the years, and the Opeongo is my first instrument from MacKenzie & Marr. I own a Martin D18 and have had a few other Martins, Seagulls, Taylors, and assorted others. For my style of play, I prefer the parlour guitar as they are smaller and lighter, and I like the 12 fret configuration. The action is light enough, and positive up and down the fret board, with a nice feel all the way up and back down. The Opeongo is still pretty new at only 2 months old, but it has become my favourite guitar to play. It has a big sound, and is a great player for fingerstyle. While it doesn't have a bigger voice like my D18 Martin, it fills a room and sounds bigger than it is. I know it'll improve with age, too. It's very light, and small enough to let me play longer! It's a pretty balanced sound, with very decent lows, no 'muddle in the middle', and pleasing highs that ring nicely in the all-wood body. It's nice to look at, too. It's got some nice accents around the soundhole and on the back. I like the matte finish a lot, and the tuners are top-notch. It stays in tune nicely, and was buzz-free on delivery. The included case is a pretty decent 4 clasp enclosure, nicely lined that offers better protection than a gig bag and makes you feel safe about storing your guitar. I would have expected to pay perhaps $2,500.00 or more for something like this in another brand. The fact that it's built in China does not bother me, as the QC i obviously tight, and I know that M&M inspected and setup this instrument before shipping to me. I knew the Opeongos were out of stock when I ordered, so I had a little wait, but boy, was it worth it. I love this guitar. I'll consider another instrument from M&M in the future. My only regret: that I didn't add the offered pickup at the time I ordered. I will add one later locally. You can't go wrong here. There is nothing this nice at this price range on the market in your local store. If you like a parlour guitar, you will LOVE the Opeongo. Tim H in Abbotsford

Iain Matthews Playing MacKenzie & Marr Opeongo

MacKenzie and Marr Opeongo - Harmonics and Overtones

The MacKenzie & Marr Opeongo in Open Tuning

Cécile Doo-Kingué plays the MacKenzie & Marr Opeongo

That Was Then

Back around the turn of the century (the 20th century that is), we'd sit down in the parlor after a hard day's work and pick out a few tunes. Those small body guitars were fun to play and sounded sweet. But time marched on - obviously to a different drummer - guitars grew in size to accommodate the need for "boomer" concert hall sound and our favourite OO size acoustics followed Gene Autry into the sunset. Building small guitars with a full, rich, resonant voice became a lost art. But............

This is Now

..........everything old becomes new again. The resurgence of small parlor style guitars is (pardon the oxymoron) huge. They're showing up everywhere, played by the cool dudes and dudettes. (You don't think Rodney Crowell is cool?). We first played a modern small body guitar made by a California company, whose name, looking north across Monterey Bay, shall remain nameless. It was love at first chord. But it wasn't cheap, and we quickly realized that OO guitars were either expensive and excellent or affordable and not very good at all. We took up the challenge of blending small with affordable and exceptional. It took three years, but we did it.

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