~ Ruokangas Guitars ~

Ever since Juha Ruokangas first picked up an electric guitar as a kid, he saw it as an "interesting object constructed in a certain way of certain materials" - and he wanted to see inside it. So he tore his first cheap (brand new) strat copy to pieces just to know more. He's still on that journey. When the design process of Juha's first guitar (Duke) started in the late 80s and continued half way through 90s, he wanted to create an instrument that sounded like the early Les Paul, that was lightweight, open and resonant - way different guitar from the modern Les Paul. There were a number of issues Ruokangas wanted to develop further though - balance, playing position, overall ergonomics and so on. He had the absurd idea that when a guitar is "good enough", it will melt into your hands. Yeah, he admit he's a romantic fool...

Juha Ruokangas had his own sense of aesthetics too. He likes traditional guitars - but very few if any electrics have it exactly the way he saw it in his mind - flowing curves that breathe from the divine beauty of a woman, if one wants to sculpt it into poetic form. He knew what he wanted to achieve, but the challenge of such an equation is of course that the amount of variables is huge. Every detail of a Ruokangas guitar originates in Juha's personal analytic process of splitting the guitar making process into thousands of tiny pieces and honing each of those pieces to tonal, ergonomic and visual perfection. As he's learned along the way, the perfection he seeks is the very same as ancient artists called the "Golden Ratio," or as Fibonacci interpreted into mathematics as well as music. Once one understands this perfection, the simplicity and beauty of it is breathtaking. Some call it the fingerprint of God. In any case, this perfection and beauty is seen everywhere around us in the nature.

In Juha Ruokangas' words:
"It's not easy to maintain motivation running a small company in the modern world. Still, I can only do what my heart tells me to. I want to make the right decisions - the ones that are responsible and true. What did I start this company for? That's easy - to design and make the best guitars in the world! And following that lead results in one and only conclusion - I have to be able to love what I do and to be a happy person, so that I'm able to continue building these best guitars in a consistent manner. And this analogy leads to bigger questions... like, what is happiness?"

" We come down to the fundamental priorities of life that get so often lost when the modern business wheels start turning. I prioritize well-being above all. I know this means we can't produce much. I know it makes these guitars cost more. I know that I would earn more by compromising. But still, I know for a fact that a happy luthier can build better guitars than a stressed out one! To enjoy each day at work, not working overtime, not too much routine, focused in the beauty of the process itself. To live in the moment - that is happiness - that is how you keep on building the best guitars in the world - and that is by the way the meaning of life too!!! And still I'm a romantic fool..."