Iris Guitars DF 12 fret- K&K Pure Mini

Iris Guitar Company DF 12-Fret – Sitka / Mahogany – Sunburst – K&K Pure Mini Installed – Excellent Condition

Up for sale is an Iris DF 12-fret, hand-built by Circle Strings in Burlington, Vermont. Iris builds vintage-inspired instruments the old way: light builds, hide-glue-era voicing, hand-scalloped bracing, thin satin nitro finish. They play and sound like the pre-war guitars they're modeled after, and the DF is the model that put them on the map.

The DF is Iris's slope-shoulder dreadnought, sized like a Gibson J-45. This is the 12-fret version, which moves the bridge toward the center of the lower bout and gives the guitar a rounder, warmer voice with a bit more low-end bloom and sustain than the 14-fret. It's a fantastic strummer with a big, woody, dry tone, but it has enough clarity and headroom for flatpicking and fingerstyle too. Great for singer-songwriter work, recording, or gigging.

This one is the sunburst satin finish over a Sitka spruce top with Maple 🍁 back and sides. The back has some beautiful figure in the Maple that really shows under the burst. Ivoroid binding with black/white/black purfling, firestripe pickguard, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and the solid headstock with the classic Iris logo inlay and Golden Age tuners with off-white buttons.

It also has a K&K Pure Mini professionally installed, so it's stage-ready right out of the case. The K&K is the go-to passive pickup for this style of guitar: natural, transparent acoustic tone with no batteries, no preamp, and nothing cut into the side of the guitar.

Specs

• Model: DF 12-fret, solid (non-slotted) headstock
• Body: Slope-shoulder dreadnought, J-45 sized
• Top: Sitka spruce
• Back & sides: Maple
• Bracing: Hand-scalloped Adirondack spruce
• Neck: Mahogany, 25" scale, 1-3/4" bone nut
• Fingerboard & bridge: Rosewood, bone saddle
• Binding: Ivoroid with B/W/B purfling and rosette
• Pickguard: Firestripe
• Tuners: Golden Age with off-white buttons
• Pickup: K&K Pure Mini (professionally installed), endpin jack
• Finish: Sunburst satin nitrocellulose
• Case: Hardshell case included
• Serial: #485 (on label)

Condition
Excellent condition with no cracks, repairs, or structural issues. Finish is clean with no notable dings or scratches, and the frets show no wear. Comes from a smoke-free home, kept humidified and on a stand. Set up with comfortable action and plays great up and down the neck.

Ships insured and well-packed in the hardshell case within the continental US. Happy to send more photos or a quick video on request.