I'm Just Sayin'

[markcrawford]

I am not sure if I am supposed to do this but I wanted to share a deal. I played an Iris MS00 in Durham NC that was really good. Really good...and brand new. I love my two CEO7s but this guitar got my attention. Specs were off for me. Anyway, I see this guitar at Carter Vintage. Not sure how good it is, but if the guitar I played had these specs and sounded the way the one I was playing sounded, I would have walked out with it.

[Arapaho G]

Looks like Carter wants $300 over MSRP for this guitar. With burst finish and 12 fret neck on Iris website it's $2900.

[Mr. Jelly]

I know my IRIS OG 12 fret slot head is one of the best guitars I've played. I have owned very high-end Martins, Santa Cruz and Collings guitars. If the MS00 12 fret had a slot head it would have a sold sign on it.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by Arapaho G

Looks like Carter wants $300 over MSRP for this guitar. With burst finish and 12 fret neck on Iris website it's $2900.

The guitar also has white/ivoroid binding, which is an additional $50. There may be something else I’m missing that accounts for the $250 difference (or maybe not). A call to Carter would answer the question. That dark burst is perfect.

[Br1ck]

Is it the burst that accounts for the difference?

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Is it the burst that accounts for the difference?

We had already taken the burst finish into consideration. The base price for a 14-fret MS-00 is $2,450. The dark burst finish is $250, the 12-fret option is $200 and the ivoroid binding is $50. So that gets to $2,950. There may be other upgrade options that were added that are not in the specs, or Carters is charging $250 more than the factory direct price. It’s unclear.

[dnf777]

All other considerations aside, I would not pay one dollar extra for that burst, unless its just a bad photo. Other than a small patch around the bridge, its almost all black. Purely personal aesthetic preference.

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by Arapaho G

Looks like Carter wants $300 over MSRP for this guitar. With burst finish and 12 fret neck on Iris website it's $2900.

There's a button to click on the ad that says "Make Offer" so you likely could get it for MSRP or less?

[hubcapsc]

Originally Posted by dnf777

All other considerations aside, I would not pay one dollar extra for that burst, unless its just a bad photo. Other than a small patch around the bridge, its almost all black. Purely personal aesthetic preference.

There's precedent for bursts like that though, 1930s L-00s were often
like that...

-Mike

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

There's precedent for bursts like that though, 1930s L-00s were often
like that...

-Mike

I was going to note the same thing.

Here’s an example of a 1933 L-00 with a dark burst:

1933 Gibson L-00

A lot of archtops had them, too (this one for $150k):

Retrofret—Gibson L-5 Master Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar (1924)

Here’s an example from David Flammang:

Flammang—J35 Jumbo Acoustic Guitar

That’s why it’s great that Iris offers several different burst options ( Sunburst, Tobacco Burst, Dark Burst, Cremona Burst, Iced Tea Burst, Cherry Burst). Iris’ bursts were great before Dale Fairbanks joined, but their “burst game” has definitely been upped under Dale F’s tutelage. Dale F’s guitars at TME look amazing:

The Music Emporium—Fairbanks Guitars

I do think burst finishes look better with a gloss or vintage gloss/crackle gloss finish, as opposed to a satin finish.

[guitargeorge]

I am warning you, be careful about buying an Iris guitar. They are addicting. The first Iris I bought was an AB model Adi/hog. When I first played the guitar I was blown away. It really sounded like an old guitar, and it was unusually light in weight.

A year later and I own 5 different Iris models, with no thought of selling any. They are consistently great in terms of tone. If I had the money I'd buy more.

Check out this demo of an OG (I don't have an OG). Notice how lightly the player is playing the strings and notice the lively tone:

https://themusicemporium.com/product...rondack-spruce