W \ ' ‘ WM “(LOU CHMNKZLE ' Wednesday. January 13.1010 ' 3 \V=AÂ¥/ KZDx - , . Q "' , ANDY WAT-ON .m'"~aâ€" i w: “ill rerun-mm ‘. ‘: ‘ 519.579.4110 v M . k ‘ um:nwhoms.com a, ‘ ‘ lg... ‘ . . -.W~-_-__ï¬__e_ew_â€"__W Guitar heroe l ‘ 0 a o a ’ , . Former Waterloo reszdents make their muswal pitch to CBC 3 Dragons Den T B‘r (itutxurrt't. PRflNh PARKHHJ Mair grew up in Waterloo and ‘ l ..- fl if‘ligmgulï¬nï¬tlt 7 7 met Mackenzie when he moved it“ 4‘ a l here and began attending Empire ?“ ‘ l i ' ‘ . hey met half a century ago at a Public School. They became fast (r . “ " 5-4 Q Q. i I Waterloo ptihlit st hool Now friends and moved on together to "-1_ if"? i . fl. X they run rt hUsiness together MairGregor Public School and £53 ' \. § intponlng guitars lrtim hall a world Waterloo Collegiate Institute. ' ’ \\ “my They were both folk music aï¬i- ) r ~ That business is about to get it t'lllllddOS with a passion for guitar. “4 , p very big boost Mackenzie bought a Martin D48 l()ll{llildll Marlo-nut- and Iohii dreadnought acoustic guitar. ‘ ' H Mart tire gutrig into the llrtigorts' “(if course. l had to outdo him. ' ’ lien tonight in an attempt to get so l went out and bought a Martin ' i' ‘ ltittdtiig and lame for their fledgling DUB." Marr said. "i basically took / tontprtny all my summer wages to buy a gut» [he Dragons Den. it program in tar.†\ its fourth season out In . has tispir- Mat‘Kenzie moved away after ~ ' - , trig entrepreneurs looking for tirade It) and the two boys lost ' “ itnesttnent bring ll\\’l|' ilit‘d\ to a touch. it wasn't until 2006 that Man . , ‘ ~ v. j group of t tittathiin ititilii-million» realized how much he missed his A" dire moguls old friend. , ‘ Marin-tine and Man claim their He went to a used record store Stunt) [tifirtri model guitar rl\'3l\ and spent one dollar on an old the sound quality and play ability of signed copy (il‘an album by a goofy _ tar more espettsixe instruments Bahamian folk band. and sent it to ~\nd thet ‘re wrlling to put that ("lalnl h is childhood friend, who had John Mart and Jonathan MacKenzie. two old friends who went to WCI together. are appearing on the Dragon’s it, [hp rm. U†mound] Hi become a doctor in the Ottawa Den tonight. They‘ve started a business importing high-quality guitars from China, and challenge Dragon Kevin 1.â€th Dragon noâ€, (it vary ï¬rearm), got together for dinner O'Leary to tell the difference between the MacKenzie 8. Marr guitar and a $5,000 model from another brand. will be blindfolded for dueling gut mth their wives. and almost imme» ,‘ “(New Mrs â€" pitting the ‘l'oï¬no against a diately the talk turned to their researching importing opportuni» studio in Toronto was a surreal uct we've never seen before,†she Swot) guilt" shared passion. ties. “1 found a factory in China experience. said. “I think their pitch was inter- “Well. I can’t tell you him it Mackenzie asked if Mart had composed primarily ofwell-trained "We had six Flvises on one side esting, and especially in the fact goes," said Mart by phone trotn his tried any of the guttars coming out violin makers that was struggling." of us. including a two-year-old kid," that Kenn plays the guitar." Montreal home lies signed A strict of China. and said some of them he said. Man said. “We had a woman with a MacKenzie and Mart say they tottttdentialtty agreement not to are quite good. A collector with a Two sets of plans crossed the maze made out of bedsheets and can price dieircedar-topped’roï¬no rt'xeal the onrr lilltt' of the show healthy knowledge of guitar con ocean. resulting in guitars that were plastic plumbing pipes on the other gmitar at SLOQO by cutting out the Which was ï¬lmed in Mar struction, Mackenzre had some good, but not unusual. Mart was side ofus." middleman and selling strictly “Not t'\‘t'n my kids ktitm what ideas for an improved design. waiting for a third guitar when the He tried in vain to get the limo» from their website. hamwned." he said Mair immediately started Dragons Den held open auditions cials of the business straight before it may be a tough sell when , ttt Montreal. On a whim. he took his being interrogated by the Dragons, musicians purchasing a highâ€"end ï¬enZle & empty guitar case. and, among but his nerves were getting the best guitar typicallywant to hear it. hundreds of others. made his pitch ofhim. touch it and play it ï¬rst. “C Friends since _ and got picked for the Show. Den host Dianne Bucknersaid it "That's-the 564.000 question," ‘ . ... That third guitar sample had wasn't obvious. Marr admits. “There's no question ‘e‘ ' ~ I 958 7 7 w" ‘ been shipped to Boston. Marr and “They did seem quite confir that selling a guitar over the inter- ;*â€".7', his wife dashed down there to pick dent.“ she said. “On the scale of net is the number one challenge in ' . 2 -&1‘ ‘ . ' 7 ' ' ' i n , it up before the Dragons Den things, I would say thty seemed on our busmdss. ' _ u 7.11 ' episode was ï¬lmed. the more competent end oflt.†After watching the Dragons Den . 6“ ' . As soon as Mart opened the case Buckner said producers choose together, Mackenzie and Mart are N 7â€" 1; _ and played the guitar. he felt they who will make their pitch before flying to Anaheim. California ' - " T ' had created an instrument with an the Dragons. who are known for tomorrow for the North American N . ' “55> astounding sound. “The wood being incredibly intimidating, Musical Merchants Show. lt's anothe -.. " ’ combination and the shape causes based on various criteria. er attempt to get as many bands the protection of sound to he astro- “They're definitely looking for and ears on the Toï¬no as possible. "- \ . nomical,†he said “What t'omesout people with legitimate businesses. " The thing about this business 1 ~ _ , ' of this guitar for the size of it just But they're also looking for great is. you meet such wonderful peo/ I i ' ‘ ‘J blows people away." personalities. or at wonderful prer pie." Mart said. 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