The Riverboat Dread
Some guitars blend into the background. The Riverboat Dread makes people stop what they’re doing and listen. Powerful projection, remarkable sustain and rich, in-key overtones ensure every performance leaves an impression.
Every serious guitar collection deserves a great dreadnought. The Riverboat Dread was created to be exactly that—a guitar with the power to command a room, the balance to reveal every nuance of your playing and the musical character that keeps drawing you back for one more song.
Its voice begins with a solid AAA Adirondack Spruce top and beautifully figured solid Bolivian Rosewood back and sides, but it doesn’t end there. Together they create effortless projection, remarkable sustain and rich, in-key overtones that continue to bloom long after the note is struck. It’s a sound that’s equally satisfying to the player behind the guitar and everyone listening in front of it.
The Riverboat Dread rewards every style of playing. A light touch produces warmth, clarity and surprising sensitivity. Lean into it with confidence and the Adirondack Spruce responds with the headroom that has made it the top choice for discerning builders and players alike. It never seems to run out of breath.
Big, open chords have the authority that made the dreadnought famous, while single-note lines remain focused, articulate and full of colour. Whether you’re flatpicking, fingerpicking or simply strumming your favourite songs, the Riverboat Dread responds with a voice that feels alive in your hands.
Like every MacKenzie & Marr guitar, each Riverboat Dread is individually inspected and professionally set up in our Montreal workshop before shipping. Premium D’Addario XT strings, precision Grover 18:1 tuning machines and a deluxe hard shell case complete an instrument built not simply to impress on the first day, but to become the guitar you continue reaching for years from now.
Direct to musician
I am the mighty Riverboat Dread. Be amazed, y'all listening to the person playing me, for they have unleashed the voice of a magnificent acoustic guitar. (he said with a slight touch of humility)
My Adirondack top - AAA-grade no less - is the stuff of legends.
Let me put it this way......
BOOM chucka
Specifications
Dimensions
Materials
Extras
Description
A great guitar is never the result of a single exceptional component. The finest Adirondack Spruce in the world won’t achieve its potential unless it’s paired with the right Rosewood, the right bracing, the right neck geometry and the right body design. Every part influences every other part.
That’s the philosophy behind every MacKenzie & Marr guitar, and nowhere is it more evident than the Riverboat Dread.
From its solid AAA Adirondack Spruce soundboard and beautifully figured solid Bolivian Rosewood back and sides to its carefully voiced bracing and dovetail neck joint, every element has been chosen to work in harmony with the others. The goal isn’t simply to build a louder guitar or a more expensive guitar. It’s to create an instrument whose projection, sustain and rich, in-key overtones become something greater than the sum of their parts.
That philosophy also explains why our guitars don’t all sound alike. The Riverboat Dread was never intended to sound like an Opeongo, a Baby Boat or a Just Right. Each model has its own personality because each has been designed with a different musical destination in mind. The Riverboat Dread’s destination is unmistakable: the confidence, authority and dynamic range that players expect from a truly great dreadnought.
The final stage of that design doesn’t happen in the factory. Every Riverboat Dread is individually inspected and professionally set up in our Montreal workshop before it begins the journey to its new owner. Only then do we know the instrument is ready to perform exactly as it was intended.
FAQ
Why choose the Riverboat Dread over the Just Right?
The Riverboat Dread and Just Right share the same premium Adirondack Spruce and Bolivian Rosewood tonewoods, but they were designed with different musical destinations in mind. The Riverboat Dread was created to deliver the authority, projection and dynamic range that have made the dreadnought the world’s most popular acoustic guitar. The Just Right offers a more intimate, balanced voice in a slightly smaller and more comfortable OM body. Neither is better than the other. They simply serve different musical goals.
Is the Riverboat Dread only for heavy strummers?
Not at all.
While the Riverboat Dread has the headroom to handle an aggressive flatpick attack, it also responds beautifully to a lighter touch. Fingerstyle players who appreciate a larger-bodied guitar often enjoy its remarkable sustain, rich, in-key overtones and broad dynamic range.
Why did you choose Adirondack Spruce instead of Sitka Spruce?
Adirondack Spruce is prized for its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and remarkable dynamic range. It responds with warmth and clarity when played gently, yet continues to produce clean, musical tone when played with conviction.
We chose it because it complements the Riverboat Dread's musical destination, delivering effortless projection, remarkable sustain and exceptional headroom.
Why Bolivian Rosewood?
Bolivian Rosewood contributes deep bass, sparkling trebles and rich harmonic complexity. More importantly, it works in harmony with the Adirondack Spruce top and every other design decision that shapes the Riverboat Dread.
At MacKenzie & Marr, we don't select tonewoods simply because they're prestigious. Every design decision serves the player's musical experience.
Is the Riverboat Dread a good choice if I only own one acoustic guitar?
For many players, yes.
The Riverboat Dread is versatile enough to handle everything from solo fingerstyle and singer-songwriter accompaniment to bluegrass, country and energetic rhythm playing. If you enjoy the feel and sound of a full-sized dreadnought, it can easily become the only acoustic guitar you'll ever need.
Videos
Edward
ALAN
Scott
Now I want to move onto the second part of my review, the package as a whole. I give it a 3/5 rating. The case that came with the guitar, well, it's not the best. The lid doesn't align that great and I have to mess around with it to get it to close. One of the latches doesn't close great either. And the awful toxic glue smell that comes out of it is not pleasant. If you buy one of these, be prepared to invest in a higher quality hardshell case like a Gator case because the case it comes with won't cut it. BUT, you get the peace of mind that when your guitar ships, it is being sent in a hard case that protects it as it finds its way to you. You can barely find a guitar that comes with any case nowadays. Maybe the case that came with mine was overlooked and yours might be better. With that being said, people usually don't buy a guitar for the case it comes with and the guitar is by far, the best value on the market today. You would have to spend $5000 for a Martin with these specs and I'm not sure the quality would be as good as the Mackenzie and Marr Riverboat Dreadnought!
Michel
SPECS; (from a (Luthier's view) Classic discrete lettering, 1- hard guitar case, 2- amazing finish, 3- played 150 hours before reviewing . very playable
Joe
After first playing the Riverboat and then playing it juxtaposed to playing each of the other cited instruments, he resoundingly asked if the Riverboat was a custom 5 figure instrument as he agreed without exception to me stating that there was no comparison at any level nor in any terms….. “the Riverboat was clearly and without exception the incomparably outstanding guitar.”
I then told him that I absolutely agreed and that the Riverboat was my absolute King of the Hill by any measure of comparison. Simply an extraordinary instrument and to blow anyone’s mind it can be secured at the phenomenal price one third of any other high end instrument.
He was dumbfounded as am I.
I am sure you have hundreds of kudos from others now proud owners of Mackenzie and Marr guitars, but no one could be as overjoyed to have found and now proudly possessing a MacKenzie and Marr instrument.
After receiving my Riverboat and playing it, I had already decided to move my securing the Ian Tyson model to the securing of the Algonquin scheduled in May, if that will be possible.
