A NOTE OF THANKS FROM LINDA:
I've had the pleasure and good fortune to build guitars for some of the greatest players around (who also happen to be some of the nicest people). Check out what they have to say, and please check out (and buy) their wonderful music. If you play a Manzer Guitar and you're not mentioned here, please email me. I will add you to this page.
Pat Metheny
"Part of the reason (I've begun to play acoustic guitar) is because of this incredible guitar I've been playing the last few years."
For more on Pat Metheny and his fruitful artistic relationship with Manzer Guitars, visit the Pat Metheny Page.
Bruce Cockburn
"I love them. I would not part with them. [...] I have a Manzer acoustic guitar and a Manzer Charango. They are beautiful to look at and beautiful to hear."
For video and audio clips of Bruce Cockburn playing Manzer Guitars, visit The Bruce Cockburn Page.
Julian Lage
Julian on his first (pre-owned) Manzer Guitar:
"It was made for a guitarist named Dawn Thompson. I bought it used, but it is exactly the type of guitar I would have had made for myself."
Guitar Player Magazine, August 2009
When asked "What guitar would you save if the building was burning down?" by Music Radar:
That’s a tough one. I would be inclined to save a Linda Manzer Blue Note guitar I’ve been playing for years. It’s the guitar I played the most when I was growing up. I started to play it when I was about 11, she sent it to me to try out and said if I liked it we could work something out, pay over time, low pressure. It became the foundation of all my studies as a jazz guitar player and it occupies a big part of my journey.
Carlos Santana
"This friend of mine, Linda Manzer, made me a guitar with a really good tone."
Guitar Player Magazine, June 1978
Ted Ludwig
" Linda Manzer crafted my beautiful 7 string guitar "Rosie". Each morning, I look forward to opening the case to discover what new ideas will emerge while playing this inspiring instrument. Manzer guitars possess a rich tone in the upper registers while maintaining clarity and balance across the strings. Her instruments are crafted with the highest level of workmanship and materials. I consider Linda to be the Stradivarius of guitar makers. She is a delight to work with and has become a dear friend.
Linda Manzer is truly the Sculptor of Dreams!
Susan Crowe
"She does exactly what I say
Talks back in the sweetest way
Hums the night, sings the day
She shines, she shines, she shines."
Stephen Fearing
"I love this guitar. [...] It has a huge dynamic range, tone and character to spare, and is supremely road worthy. [...] This is my main guitar. It's the one that gets all the abuse... baked in the summer, frozen in winter. I write with it, jam with it, and generally earn my living with it. Apart from my car, there is no other tool that I use as frequently as this little tree sculpture.
Built by Toronto Luthier Linda Manzer in 1990, it's a deep bodied 6 string, with a gentle cutaway and a German spruce top inlaid with abalone and boxwood at the sound hole. If you think it bears more than a passing resemblance to a Larrivee, you're correct. Linda studied with Jean Larrivee when she was learning the ropes. . . (that was many years ago, now she invents new ropes) this guitar replaced my old Guild D35 which had given up the ghost a few months before. I was desperate to find a replacement for that Guild, something more refined, better built, and capable of a wider variety of sounds. This guitar does/is all that.
I'm especially lucky to own it as I know that this was only the second of the new Cowpoke model that Linda had just started making and I rather think she was keeping it for herself, but I came bumbling into her shop desperate for a guitar and once I laid my eyes and my hands on this, it was all over. I think I sat there for a good 2-3 hours with Linda peering in on me every now and then to make sure I was alright. In the end, I think she agreed to sell it to me so I would go away!! I'd never owned or even played a guitar like this before and even after 12 nonstop years, it still has the ability to surprise me with it's depth and beauty. Best of all, it's a road warrior and has already survived a few nasty run-ins with our country's national airline. I love this guitar. (Thanks Linda)"
Doug Macaskill
"The Manzer Six String records like a dream. [...] It can run the gambit from sad and tender to a powerful bolero. It fits proudly into any recording situation I'm faced with." On the Baritone: "I often double my Manzer Six parts with this hauntingly deep instrument. I love the fullness of the sound it possesses right up to the last fret."
"Linda's archtops have the feel and sound of a matured classic combined with her original modern design. A guitar as strikingly beautiful to look at as it is to play."
Scott Chinery
"Linda Manzer is one of my all time favorite luthiers. Her work is so original and so perfect that it almost transcends description.
This guitar is a phenomenon. It's like D'Aquisto's modern work and is much more than merely an archtop guitar. It can be finessed into sounding like a pre war herringbone or coaxed the way of a pre war Epiphone Emperor. The best advice I could give a budding archtop enthusiast is to drop what you are doing and order your Manzer guitar. It will bring you unbelievable happiness, and I can not think of any guitar with more investment potential."
Marie Lynn Hammond
"Linda Manzer builds exquisite guitars. The guitar records like a dream. Engineers' jaws drop when they hear its evenness and purity of tone and realise they won't have to touch an EQ button."
John McGale
"Thank you for a lovely guitar."
Craig Snyder
"Linda's guitars are made for players. [...] Her appreciation for what it takes to be a working musician is unparalleled. Her instruments have an intuitive sense of what their role is... to create music and to be the guitarist's tool in that endeavor. I use her baritone, 12-string and 6-string flattop, and arch top constantly and their sound, feel and uncompromised beauty and workmanship never cease to amaze me."
Mark Potvin
"Won't part with it!"
The Bear
"Herewith is my sworn statement. Every word is true: The BEAR.........and a very special Bear, I might add. The day we were introduced, I had no idea that such an impressive 'critter' was lurking in Linda's parlour! A BIG fella...with a BIG voice! I was in awe of such mighty chords! You see, the Bear loves a 'roaring' good 'jam' session, but he can get suitably 'mellow' as well. I feel privileged to have the pleasure of making music with the Bear! He is always ready to 'chomp' out some Freddie Green rhythm, or a string of single notes, like berries gleaming on the vine!
[Yumm..says the Bear] Quite possibly I'm the only person on my block who can say he knows a Bear! Just recently I found a photo I took some years ago, and it is labelled : Linda Manzer's FIRST archtop!!!! And then came the Bear! Good Show! Jolly good show, Linda Lou! ----------A.B.--------- [Anonymous Bear].
Steve Middleton
"Linda introduced us seven years ago and during this time my Manzer and I have made six wonderful CDs together. It's beauty, warmth and even tone have been key to my creativity."
Tom Troszak
"This instrument has inspired me like no other ever has. I was about to give up on performing music when I discovered you and your wonderful guitar, and playing it has truly changed my life for the better. The String Beings (one of the bands I play in) just recorded a new CD, and the baritone is captured on most of the tracks. Thanks again for building the most beautiful sounding guitar on earth!"
Patrick Thouron
"For the record, I'm not a professional musician. I heard of Linda through a friend of mine who is. When I first saw and played her instruments I knew I was going to have to talk my wife into not buying a new couch for a couple of years."
Henrik Andersen
"It feels like I am playing a Steinway grand piano. [...] Thanks for building me seven wonderful guitars."
Heather Bishop
"This guitar is stunning! What a joy. Finest guitar I've ever played."