Birthday NGD/Iris Maple OG

[mcmars]

Really it is a new guitar month, I like to have a guitar for a while before I post a review, you know, get through the "honeymoon" stage and let the guitar acclimate a bit and give time for me to figure things out with it.

I could not resist buying this Maple Iris OG from the forum marketplace here to compliment my 12 fret slot-head Iris OG a few weeks back. The price was right, my birthday was coming up and GAS got the best of me. It was a custom build 14 fret euro topped and flamed Vermont maple back and sides with dark tortoise binding. It has a very distinct bright loud tone with strong fundamentals and quick decay. Very nice for fingerstyle and cutting through in stage or jam settings is my feel. It has the 1 3/4" nut option I like and the narrower 2 7/32" string spacing on saddle I am not so excited about, but I can deal with it.

I like the shimmering maple that moves when the light hits it and when I move the guitar, just beautiful. The craftsmanship is really nice and I like the dark binding.

The fret-wear was basically non existent, but I will have to do a full set up in a few months when it adapts to my dry desert climate having come from Florida. I got relief pulled back, but then the strings were just a bit too low, so my luthier installed a temp shim under the saddle for a few months while I let it settle out and acclimate. I have learned that the nicer boutique lightly built guitars really do move around some as they dry out, no matter how much I try and humidify them. My luthier agrees it takes a while, especially with the dense woods used in guitar necks. He says he can measure it by weighing a guitar over time and seeing the water weight go away and the guitar becomes lighter after a few months, I found that very interesting.

It has some similarity in tone to my euro topped/Honduran figured mahogany 12 fret slot-head Iris OG, but brighter and louder. The 12 fret is sweeter and has very unique tone and bell like highs and ringing harmonics. Both guitars were built at same time with their serial numbers only 5 digits apart and I am betting the Euro tops are from the same tree. I think for my style, that Euro top is just perfect, fingerstyle folk and blues, and likely better than a stiff Adi top for milking some subtle nuances out of the tone with my fingers. And this one might be better for playing on stage or in a jam setting with other instruments is my feel on it now. I know my Iris 12 fretter tone really changed quite a bit since I first got it and I suspect this one might do the same as I play it more and more, guess I will see. I have been using the DiAddario light gauge Nickel Bronze on my 12 fretter, but put a set of the light gauge XT's PB I had handy on the maple OG. I will try a few different sets over the summer and see what works best for me.

I will try and post a few pictures here, seems my tech skills are hit or miss on posting pictures, maybe someone can help if they do not come through.

[mcmars]

Looks like pictures worked, a few more for you:

[foxo]

Looks gorgeous. Love everything about the design! Congrats.

[Glennwillow]

Lovely guitar! Congratulations!

- Glenn

[campfireplayer]

Really nice looking guitar! Congrats.

[jdinco]

Love the look of that maple ! I agree with all you said about the changes the Iris can go thru, I live in a desert climate too and I heard a big change (for the better) in my DF Smeck after about 2 months. It does not appear to need a setup, but the tone really opened up and got sweeter and fuller. At first I was so so on the tone, but now, I've never heard anything like it. I can't wait to see their OM. Enjoy your OG, it is a beauty !!

[Mr. Paul]

Oh wow, this is a stunner. Love that maple!!!

[mcmars]

Thanks everyone! I know the headstock design is a deal breaker for some here, but I actually like it, it looks like a well done old catalog pre war design to my eyes, haha.

These Iris's are really very nice guitars, but hard to find due to the demand and limited production. Adam has worked hard to find a "better mousetrap" and has quite a support staff building them now. With Waterloo production at a near standstill, I suspect Iris will do very well as people realize they are similar, but yet very different. I doubt I will ever part with my 12 fretter slot-head OG, guess time and GAS will tell. But for now I am holding onto both my 12 fret OG and my waterloo WL-S. Feeling pretty spoiled, but trying to stay humble about it all much as possible.

[Mak2525]

Originally Posted by mcmars

Really it is a new guitar month, I like to have a guitar for a while before I post a review, you know, get through the "honeymoon" stage and let the guitar acclimate a bit and give time for me to figure things out with it.

I could not resist buying this Maple Iris OG from the forum marketplace here to compliment my 12 fret slot-head Iris OG a few weeks back. The price was right, my birthday was coming up and GAS got the best of me. It was a custom build 14 fret euro topped and flamed Vermont maple back and sides with dark tortoise binding. It has a very distinct bright loud tone with strong fundamentals and quick decay. Very nice for fingerstyle and cutting through in stage or jam settings is my feel. It has the 1 3/4" nut option I like and the narrower 2 7/32" string spacing on saddle I am not so excited about, but I can deal with it.

I like the shimmering maple that moves when the light hits it and when I move the guitar, just beautiful. The craftsmanship is really nice and I like the dark binding.

The fret-wear was basically non existent, but I will have to do a full set up in a few months when it adapts to my dry desert climate having come from Florida. I got relief pulled back, but then the strings were just a bit too low, so my luthier installed a temp shim under the saddle for a few months while I let it settle out and acclimate. I have learned that the nicer boutique lightly built guitars really do move around some as they dry out, no matter how much I try and humidify them. My luthier agrees it takes a while, especially with the dense woods used in guitar necks. He says he can measure it by weighing a guitar over time and seeing the water weight go away and the guitar becomes lighter after a few months, I found that very interesting.

It has some similarity in tone to my euro topped/Honduran figured mahogany 12 fret slot-head Iris OG, but brighter and louder. The 12 fret is sweeter and has very unique tone and bell like highs and ringing harmonics. Both guitars were built at same time with their serial numbers only 5 digits apart and I am betting the Euro tops are from the same tree. I think for my style, that Euro top is just perfect, fingerstyle folk and blues, and likely better than a stiff Adi top for milking some subtle nuances out of the tone with my fingers. And this one might be better for playing on stage or in a jam setting with other instruments is my feel on it now. I know my Iris 12 fretter tone really changed quite a bit since I first got it and I suspect this one might do the same as I play it more and more, guess I will see. I have been using the DiAddario light gauge Nickel Bronze on my 12 fretter, but put a set of the light gauge XT's PB I had handy on the maple OG. I will try a few different sets over the summer and see what works best for me.

I will try and post a few pictures here, seems my tech skills are hit or miss on posting pictures, maybe someone can help if they do not come through.

Very Nice - the pictures are not showing up for me for some reason. However, I saw the pictures of that maple OG for sale, and was tempted myself. If I had not just purchased a Huss and Dalton OM, I probably would have grabbed that one. Iris is putting out some amazing instruments at any price, but a true bargain for a small shop vintage guitar that sounds like a 50 year old Gibson out of the gate. Adam says they currently have over 700 build orders on the books! I've had my DF 12 fret slot head Smeck for about 3 months now, and cannot help but smile every time I pick it up. I can't imagine how good these things are going to sound 5-10 years down the road! Enjoy the new Iris and Happy Birthday as well!

[mcmars]

sorry about the pictures, guess I need to do my homework. I see them on my screen and the preview worked for me as well. Thanks all!

[foxo]

Originally Posted by mcmars

sorry about the pictures, guess I need to do my homework. I see them on my screen and the preview worked for me as well. Thanks all!

Strangely the pictures work on my phone but not on my laptop, tried both Firefox and Microsoft Edge browsers. I find the easiest way to post photos on AGF is Imgur.

[mcmars]

Originally Posted by foxo

Strangely the pictures work on my phone but not on my laptop, tried both Firefox and Microsoft Edge browsers. I find the easiest way to post photos on AGF is Imgur.

The pictures are from my Iphone 13 that I moved over to my PC with windows 10 via google photos and I learned today the new format for newer Iphone pictures is HEIC instead of the standard JPG or PNG and not all platforms support HEIC. I am betting that is the issue. All this changing proprietary tech stuff is just a pain for me, I have enough moving targets in life. Maybe someone here knows an easy go around?

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by mcmars

The pictures are from my Iphone 13 that I moved over to my PC with windows 10 via google photos and I learned today the new format for newer Iphone pictures is HEIC instead of the standard JPG or PNG and not all platforms support HEIC. I am betting that is the issue. All this changing proprietary tech stuff is just a pain for me, I have enough moving targets in life. Maybe someone here knows an easy go around?

Postimages.org Super easy…and free.

[sinistral]

That is a beauty! I’ve picked up two Iris guitars used—a CH and DF—and really want to order an RCM/000. That maple looks amazing. It doesn’t hurt that Adam has all of that wood at Allied Lutherie.

[mcmars]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Postimages.org Super easy…and free.

OK, I will give it a go and see how Postimages works here: https://i.postimg.cc/ZqgKgjKX/IMG-1610.jpg