Iris Guitars. (DF)

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DenverSteve
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Real Name: Denver Steve
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Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6207Post DenverSteve
Thu May 04, 2023 7:24 am

Thanks for the explanation. That must have been a severly-stressful build. Sorry to hear it but thanks for the synopsis.
Shalom, Steve
A Few World-Class Tools..........

dave42
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Location: Central Ohio

Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6229Post dave42
Sun May 14, 2023 11:25 am

On a lesser note, I had trouble with TNAG trying to ship me the wrong Iris guitar... sitka vs Adi and 1 11/16 vs 1 3/4" nut. Seems the guy who initially took the order quit after taking the order. A very disorganized group of folks. I would never suggest to anyone to order from them.

And they merged or something with Carter? What a shame.

Red Oak
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Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6231Post Red Oak
Mon May 15, 2023 2:19 am

dave42 wrote: Sun May 14, 2023 11:25 am On a lesser note, I had trouble with TNAG trying to ship me the wrong Iris guitar... sitka vs Adi and 1 11/16 vs 1 3/4" nut. Seems the guy who initially took the order quit after taking the order. A very disorganized group of folks. I would never suggest to anyone to order from them.

And they merged or something with Carter? What a shame.
Nothing short of the guitar buying experience from hell.

Wishing you better times for the future.

Dogsby
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Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6399Post Dogsby
Wed Oct 18, 2023 2:04 am

Lot of Iris crapping on this thread. I'd like to offer a comment in support. I will say that I own one of their AB models and think it is a great instrument and comparable in tone ,playability, fit and finish to guitars in any category. Sure it doesn't have gloss finish or waverlys, but it still sounds feels and plays amazing!

irisadam
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Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:01 pm
Real Name: Adam Buchwald

Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6430Post irisadam
Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:04 pm

MattS67 wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:04 am They are decent guitars for the money. The builders, on the other hand, are people that will never see another penny from me. There are too many reputable, hard-working builders out there who value customer service and reputation over profit hunting. If you like dealing with slimy used car salesman antics, go for it.
This is Adam from Iris Guitars and I am shocked to see this from you. We bent over backwords making you something we didnt do. and the guitar wasnt even ordered with us, it was thru TNAG

irisadam
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Real Name: Adam Buchwald

Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6431Post irisadam
Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:05 pm

dave42 wrote: Sun May 14, 2023 11:25 am On a lesser note, I had trouble with TNAG trying to ship me the wrong Iris guitar... sitka vs Adi and 1 11/16 vs 1 3/4" nut. Seems the guy who initially took the order quit after taking the order. A very disorganized group of folks. I would never suggest to anyone to order from them.

And they merged or something with Carter? What a shame.
The guitar you custom ordered had a Adirondack top, i have pictures of it being built.

irisadam
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Real Name: Adam Buchwald

Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6432Post irisadam
Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:08 pm

MattS67 wrote: Thu May 04, 2023 1:18 am I'll try to make this as concise as possible.

I started by ordering a stock DF from TNAG. Sounded great, but the tuners were so close to the headstock that they were actually rubbing when turned. More importantly, the body dimensions bothered my shoulder, so I opted to return it.

Adam Buchwald found out and personally reached out, offered to build me a custom DF with "whatever dimensions" I wanted. I told him I wanted a 15 3/4" wide lower bout and a slightly lesser body depth, along the lines of a Martin-dread depth. He agreed to do this, so I paid the deposit. I was happy, because the DF sounded great and I can play a Martin-sized dread without issues or pain.

We upgraded several things for a significant upcharge. Adi top, Panama RW back and sides. I opted to have the smaller OG-style pickguard installed, instead of the big ugly batwing guard. EVO frets as well.

Most of the way through the build process, Adam sent an invoice for me to pay the balance. Somewhere around $850 was tacked onto the final price from what was initially quoted with no explanation. I was expected to pay this, until I confronted him about it. He called it an "error."

The final spec sheet did not reflect any change to body dimensions. I told Adam that this was the whole point of the custom build in the first place, and he said he could no longer offer me any changes in dimensions. I told him I wanted to cancel the order, at which time he backtracked and said he would make it happen. All good, the build continues and I pay the invoice.

Body is assembled, I notice in the photos that the top grain looks different. I initially had a nice Adi top picked out, and this had vastly different grain and really resembled SItka. I sent photos to John Arnold who said it was Sitka. I asked Adam why my top was switched without him saying anything, and he said there was an "issue" with the original top. I asked if this was indeed red spruce, and he said it is. Interesting.

Come finish time, he sends me photos of the finish sprayed. The wrong pickguard is installed - it has the ugly batwing that I specifically said I didn't want. Too late, finish is sprayed over the guard.

The day the guitar is being fretted, Adam says he ran out of EVO frets and tries to talk me into nickel frets. I tell him I don't want nickel frets, he can order EVOs and I'll wait. He then somehow magically found a set of EVOs and installed them.

I received the guitar, and guess what? The dimensions weren't what I specified. The dimensions weren't really measurably different from a standard DF and I ended up having to sell the guitar because of shoulder pain.

I don't know about you all, but one or two of these "incidents" would be one thing...throw it all together, and you have an obvious trend. And that is why I'll never own another Iris.
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Hmmmmm. he loved the guitar, said ok to the frets....never an issue with the top. We didnt even bill him for the guitar, TNAG did. Never requested the small pickguard. Amazing how the lies just kept coming.

MattS67
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Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:55 am
Real Name: Matt

Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6433Post MattS67
Thu Nov 16, 2023 12:22 am

Yeah, amazing. Wanna see more lies? Pretty convenient that you left these messages out of the picture, so I'll help you out.

Image

Image

Image

Image


I never said you build bad guitars. Quite the opposite, I'll give credit where it's due and state that you build great guitars. You're just a shady person to deal with, and no one should have to deal with this crap when spending thousands of dollars on an instrument when there are plenty of other builders who provide a polarizing (great) experience. And on that note, this is my last post in this thread because I'm done wasting my time with you.

dave42
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Location: Central Ohio

Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6434Post dave42
Thu Nov 16, 2023 11:56 am

irisadam wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:05 pm
dave42 wrote: Sun May 14, 2023 11:25 am On a lesser note, I had trouble with TNAG trying to ship me the wrong Iris guitar... sitka vs Adi and 1 11/16 vs 1 3/4" nut. Seems the guy who initially took the order quit after taking the order. A very disorganized group of folks. I would never suggest to anyone to order from them.

And they merged or something with Carter? What a shame.
The guitar you custom ordered had a Adirondack top, i have pictures of it being built.
Nice! The trouble was with TNAG's confusion as to which guitar they received was mine.
As I said in an earlier post,
"I've had an Adirondack/1 3/4" nut version for a year. Loud and light. 25" scale.

Great tone, but not a Gibson j45 tone. Different, so I've kept it. I've owned/own a '44 J45, Fairbanks, Kopp, John Walker... this is what I draw my opinion from."

But I have moved it on. The shoulders of the neck were thin. Reminded me of Larrivee guitars I've owned. But my Fairbanks F35's neck is great, though.

Georgelange
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Location: Ancaster, Canada

Re: Iris Guitars. (DF)

Post: # 6487Post Georgelange
Wed Jan 17, 2024 10:35 pm

Sorry to hear about this. I think it is not fair to string you along with this custom guitar thing and then you end up with what you didn’t order. I have never heard of this before.

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