I can't keep it a secret any longer...

[BattleAngel]

this is one piece of a very, very special guitar coming my way in the next few weeks...



More pictures, and a TON of sound clips on the way.

[jamess]

VERY cool design and awesome inlay craftsmanship.

Ron Thorn, by any chance?

[BattleAngel]

This is a Juha Ruokangas guitar and working on it with Juha and Eero from Ruokangas has been the thrill of a life time.

The design is from my band Arizona's album "the sun and the room"

[Scott Peterson]

That is some incredible work. Congrats!

[eric102673]

Wicked!

-e.

[BattleAngel]

Thanks Scott and Eric :-) Working with Ruokangas on the guitar has been an absolute pleasure... I've never had a custom guitar built, but I imagine that these guys are on the top of their game. The experience has been just wonderful and Ruokangas' support of their clients is undying. Eero lent me a VSOP king to track the first wave of my next record with and the guitar has left me speechless. Literally above and beyond "the tone in my head" when coupled with the jamison.

Can't wait to be able to show you guys full clips and pics :-D

[graydane]

wow wicked indeed!

[R3deemed]

DAAANG! And that's a part from the back?! Can't wait to see the front!

[BattleAngel]

:-D Yeah, it should be a pretty classic guitar... there isn't any other inlay on the guitar except for the back, but the rest of the appointments are very special. It's going to have buzz feiten, wildly figured arctic birch fingerboard, top, and pickguard, with 3 of Ruokangas' amazing sounding (and looking) P90 pickups. Dot inlays, gold hardware, trem (my first guitar in years with a trem) wonderful neck carve. I've played a ton of high end guitars from just about everybody, and I've owned a number of them (nothing in comparison to some of the armories on here). The Ruokangas guitars that I've played (A Duke and a Mojo for an hour or so, and a VSOP King hours for every day of the last week and a half or so) so far speak to me more than anything else I've ever played. I think the VSOP has just a classic styling, I know it sounds amazing and the neck is incredible. If anyone here has been thinking about Ruokangas, I can only give you my strongest recommendation. This is my first custom guitar and it is the result of many years of dreaming turned into reality by Juha's skill, passion, pride, and genius artistic intuition. The guitar will be in my hands for the first time very soon. I already know it's going to be better than I've hoped; Eero and Juha have been incredibly accomodating (Eero had me to his house to check out the guitars through a surprisingly vibrant sounding Crate Tube Combo and he also is letting me use his first ever Ruokangas on my upcoming record) - originally the artist in my band was going to configure the inlay; he's busy doing an animated video for one of our songs and so Juha had to go off a digital image of our album cover. He's managed to capture the essence of the Jubilee figure in a way that is both accurate to the album cover and also very unique to Ruokangas as an artist. I think the selection of material in contrast to the wood is genius, to me it is as if that character were coming straight out of the guitar. This guitar, combined with the updated rig should sound absolutely rediculous.

[rjmmusic]

Sounds like it will be awesome - the Ruokangas guitars I've played were fantastic!

[BattleAngel]

http://www.inaspoon.com/proganim.html

This is the evolution of that character if anyone is interested.

[Phloored]

Originally posted by BattleAngel
http://www.inaspoon.com/proganim.html

This is the evolution of that character if anyone is interested.

[eric102673]

I really dig the painting. Who's the artist?

-e.

[BattleAngel]

My good buddy Deems, he's Arizona's official artist

[Izy]

Awesome work i must add and that is only the back?

Can't wait to see the front.

Got to post pics! please......