Opeongo - our OO small body acoustic

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

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

Gail from Gresham

Fri, 07/23/2021 - 09:32

I am very satisfied, the build quality is very good, fit and feel are great. I am looking for a 12 fret slope shoulder dreadnaught. Hope something may be in the works. Gail.

Christopher from Toronto

Mon, 07/19/2021 - 09:49

Delivery was fast with no issues. Have been looking for an affordable12 fret small body acoustic for some and the Opeongo all solid ticks all the boxes. Love this box.

Holly from Montgomery

Tue, 07/13/2021 - 10:41

My Opeongo arrived in early June and has exceeded every expectation. The spruce and mahogany wood on this baby is gorgeous. The playability is impressive: highs and lows ring clear and the guitar is wonderfully balanced with great sustain. I love the size of this guitar. It is not as small as, say, a Larrivee parlor (which is a fine guitar, btw), but is just the perfect size for me. It has an amazing resonance for its size. I was so pleased with the overall quality of this instrument that I have pre-ordered the 14-fret Baby Riverboat.

Dave from Lloydminster

Sat, 07/10/2021 - 13:35

I'm one of those who almost never leaves reviews. However, as I was always looking for new reviews before I purchased mine, I thought I should leave one for someone in the same position. I think its a very very nice guitar. Looks great. Sounds great. Very well balanced sound. Much nicer mids than my other acoustics and the top and bottom end are sweet. Surprising how much bottom end is there. I played it for a friend who at first said "nice guitar". Then he said after how nice it sounds. As well it's a very light and comfortable guitar to play. I can't wait to hear the reactions and the sound when others play it or I have the chance to play and compare it to other peoples guitars. No buyers remorse here at all. But, just one thing to mention for people thinking about it - if you play chords up the neck often, as I do, consider a 14 fret or cutaway. At the time I purchased, it was the only small body 1-3/4 nut width being offered and I really wanted that width as I play fingerstyle often. I see another guitar in my future now and wouldn't be concerned in the slightest purchasing from M&M again.

Charles from Wichita

Wed, 07/07/2021 - 14:57

I recently purchased the Opeongo because I have wanted a small body, 12-fret, slotted headstock guitar. And this guitar fits all those requirements. I also have a couple of high-end dreadnought guitars as well. I could not ask for a better moderately priced guitar, and am very happy with it. I don't believe I have played one of the dreadnoughts since this one arrived. Very good "bang" for the "buck."

Dennis from Lebanon

Wed, 07/07/2021 - 14:52

The guitar is well built with good materials but it frets out when I play first string 3rd fret G.I want to keep it but it needs to see a luthier

Bob from Greenville

Wed, 07/07/2021 - 14:49

I have two of your instruments, the Opeongo and the Tofino( I probably didn’t spell correctly)…they both are really good instruments to play. Easy playing, good sound. The Opeongo, is fuller sounding than I anticipated. The Tofino, sound great. Thanks

Norman from Conway

Tue, 07/06/2021 - 15:55

Just a big thanx for building my OO. Opeongo. I’m so pleased with this little beauty. Beyond my expectations. Plays like a dream with flatpick AND finger style...clean sound, makes me want to do the “old” songs as well as adapt to “newer” stuff.

Bill from Winnipeg

Sun, 06/27/2021 - 14:42

I have played guitar for 58 years but it has been a bit spotty so I am not the greatest. That being said I have played and owned many guitars over the years. In all that time I have not owned a 12 fret to the body so I thought I would try one. The Opeongo has a strong ringing tone and is virtually flawless in it's construction. After tuning a few strings it was good to go. The action was a bit higher than I like but I left it that way for the one week trial. There is lots of height in the saddle so I can get whatever action I choose. I will not be returning this guitar

Daniel from Jacksonville

Tue, 06/15/2021 - 11:42

I had been looking for a parlor size guitar for quite some time and had tried out several. I wasn’t impressed by any I tried either because they just didn’t have much sound or didn’t play well or weren’t very well constructed. I decided to take a chance on the Mackenzie & Marr Opeongo since I could return in a week it if I wasn’t happy for a full refund, including return shipping. I was so pleasantly surprised at how big and beautiful it sounded for a smaller acoustic. The workmanship is impeccable and it’s so beautifully finished plus I love love the retro look. The neck is superb. I knew pretty much immediately that I was keeping it. No complaints whatsoever. I’d highly recommend one to anybody in the market for a parlor guitar.

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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