The link takes you to a guitar I recently acquired, one that I’ve had my eye on since the brand was conceived five or six years ago. This new kid on the block has gone from having just one or two dealers to becoming a brand to watch and you can now find them in some of the finest guitar shops throughout the country. They’ve made the bold move to go head to head with some of the brightest names in the world of boutique acoustic guitars and, I, for one, wish them the best of luck! The US guitar market is not easy to break into, let alone thrive in, which is precisely what appears to be happening for Iris.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zRjohoYD1xx5G9vA6
Both Iris and its parent company, Circle Strings are located in Burlington, Vermont. Circle Strings is a small consortium of well regarded master luthiers predominately from the Northeast. They have brought in a handful of talented luthiers who, under the auspices of Circle Strings, craft some of the finest guitars to come out of that part of the country. The things that make Iris Guitars so successful as it has become in such a short time are the fact that that their guitars are modeled after Gibson’s most popular designs in the company’s hundred plus year history. The biggest thing that separates Iris from other guitar companies competing in the same “boutique” market is their proprietary finish options. The primary sunburst motif is now being done using some formula of open-pore satin nitrocellulose lacquer which yields a beautiful, vintage-inspired, antiqued patina without over doing it with the relic’ing process. You can order the strait open pore antiqued finish with or without additional light to heavy relic’ing. Personally, though many builders have come out with a line of relic’d guitars, replete some scuffs and chips, I don’t care for the aesthetic and would prefer the do any relic’ing to one of my guitars myself, simply by playing it for many years. Iris offers a light relic’ing and a heavier relic’ing, but they remain on the conservative side and are careful not to overdo the affect. Iris is also happy pleased to offer its customers a traditional natural finish, which appears to be spot-on in both color and patina.
I also like the split between “Old World” luthiery tools and practices combined with the use of state of the art machining. It is difficult to nail down a formula that works just right as you can obviously build a lot more guitars, for instance, using CNC machining for flawless accuracy. and time savings. I also favor their hybrid, bolt-on neck design which is combined, I believe, with a mortise and tenon joint. It appears to be a lightweight and strong design without sacrificing tone for bulk.
My recently acquired AB model with no distress (relic’ing) is a marvel and I couldn’t be happier with the guitar I received. It is not only beautiful to look at, but this is my first small jumbo guitar and I find it to perform with an extremely balanced tonal spectrum without the thumpier bass that is a typical byproduct of many dreadnought sized guitars. There seems to be more midrange on tap with crystalline highs, great note to note separation, sustain, and projection. It is also a very comfortable guitar to play from both the seated and standing positions. Just beautiful. I can envision spending a lot of time with this guitar….perhaps, even, a new daily driver!
Behind the link at the beginning, there are over one hundred and fifty photos of the guitar. The guitar has such an aura about it that I got a little carried away. Checkout the link and the photos and let me know what you think. I can picture playing my Iris AB Small Jumbo for many years to come. It came with a K&K Mini, which I have installed in several of my guitars and have come to enjoy the simplicity and transparency. So, kudos to this relatively small guitar manufacturer from Burlington! I spent a considerable portion of my youth across Lake Champlain, in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack mountains. Someday, I’d like to add a shop tour to one of my visits!
