Each year, Iris offers a limited run of guitars with hand-painted artwork by Sarah Ryan, a Vermont artist based along the Winooski River. Although you may have seen Sarah’s unique style in the electric guitar world, the first time she put her art on an acoustic guitar was the first run with Iris in 2021. Each design is limited to 12 guitars per year, and they are available with any variety of Iris specs and features.
Making its debut at the NAMM Show, the 2024 Sarah Ryan design features a desert landscape feature beautiful cactus blossoms, a steer skull and the iconic saguaro cacti. The motif is so Southwestern, so it fits the Telluride vibe perfectly. At the show, we loved how it looked on the Burgundy top finish, so we ordered a DF to exactly the same specs as the NAMM sample.
This Iris DF (serial #1016) was made with a Sitka top and Walnut back and sides. Like every Iris, it features hand-scalloped Adirondack Braces. It can produce a powerful, throaty growl, or it can be sweet and pretty when you play with a softer touch. The Walnut gives it nice clarity and mid-range punch. It has a 25" scale length and a 1-11/16" nut width. The string spacing is 2-7/32" at the bridge.
***Please Note: As you can see in the photos, there's a slight pick smudge on the treble side of the strings. The Iris Satin finish can be somewhat unforgiving, so unfortunately this one shows a little shop wear right in the playing area.
Dimensions:
- Depth: 4-7/8”
- Body Length: 20-1/4”
- Total Length: 40-7/8”
- Upper bout: 11-1/2”
- Lower bout: 16-1/4”
- Waist: 10-1/8”
Specs:
- Top: Sitka Spruce
- Back & Sides: Walnut
- Braces: Scalloped Adirondack Spruce
- Neck Joint: Bolt on Mortise & Tenon
- Nut: Bone, 1-11/16" Spacing
- Saddle: Bone, 2-7/32" Spacing
- Scale Length: 25"
- Fingerboard & bridge: Indian Rosewood
- Top Binding: Ivoroid w/ Black/White/Black purfling
- Back Binding: Ivoroid
- Pickguard: None
- Finish: Nitrocellulose Satin w/ Burgundy Top and 2024 Sarah Ryan Design
- Tuning Machines: Golden Age Relic Brass w/ off-white buttons
- Case: Hardshell by TKL