Weekly Wednesday Q&A with Juha Ruokangas

Ok… Are you ready for it? The time has finally come to reveal the big news I’ve been holding back for far too long! With 2025 marking the 30th anniversary of Ruokangas Guitars, we’ve poured our passion into something new throughout 2024 - something we believe will spark your creativity and inspire you to shape your tone to new heights!

Join the YouTube live stream tomorrow, on February 5th, to be among the first to hear the good news… and some more good news! 

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basse...

Wrapping up the year 2024 and wishing you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2025. On this video I'll share with you some of my thoughts on the past year, reflecting on changes in our shop and what the future might bring. I hope you enjoy the podcast. This is not a live stream like the Weekly Wednesday broadcasts typically are.

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in my company Ruokangas Guitars. I'm doing this...

Cremona is known for its history as the center of classical musical instrument making - the home of Amati, Rugeri, Stradivari, Guarneri, and many more. So, why are we exhibiting our electric guitars in such a place? Isn’t this an odd fit? Join the Weekly Wednesday Live, Episode 61, to find out the answer to this question and more!

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in my company Ruokangas Guitars. I'm doing this for yo...

We've had the tube-powered Valvebucker pickup for some years now. We've integrated it into our existing guitar and bass models, successfully inspiring players with its unique sound. But the exploration doesn't end there, does it? One path forward is to design an instrument specifically with the Valvebucker in mind. In this episode, I will reveal to you the result of one such path we've explored!

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in my company...

Today, we’re going to explore an interesting parallel between two eras that have shaped, and are shaping, our world: the Industrial Revolution and the rise of AI. This isn’t just a history lesson - it’s about understanding what’s happening right now and where we might be headed.

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in my company Ruokangas Guitars. I'm doing this for you, who are interested in learning more about your ins...

A comeback stream after a year and a half hibernation? Well, that might be an overstatement, but I've been missing you people too much - I hope there's still some viewers and listeners left after all this time! This episode is simply about answering questions I've gotten from you over time. Have to admit I'm a bit nervous not having done this in a long time - wish me luck!

The two links I mentioned during the live stream:
X-Lok in Instagram:   / xlokguitar 
Nick Cave / Red Hand Files:
https://www.theredhandfiles.com

Th...

First I turned down the idea of making a nylon-stringed electric guitar - but eventually I changed my mind. Why? You have to watch this stream to find out. :)

I'd like to dedicate my last Weekly Wednesday Live broadcast for this year to all You out there, who work hard in the field of making music - composing, recording & gigging - in order to bring joy, consolation and a feel of unity to people's lives. It is so very important, and often understated, in these challenging times.

This broadcast is targeted to all of you...

Why is ebony so highly valued in the world of musical instruments? Let's discuss about tradition and sustainability - and how those two concepts conflict in the case of ebony.

Historically, ebony - this mythically exquisite wood from the dry and intermediate zones in Western Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Southern India and Indonesia - was available only to master craftsmen because of the nature of the material and its great expense. The use of it has a long history of use in cabinetwork, decorative items, crucifixes – and in a wide array of musical instruments.

In th...

What is ear training about? Active listening? Biomechanical method of teaching guitar..!!? Half a year ago I had no idea - but thanks to Ruben Roeh we'll all know a lot more after watching this interview!

Ruben is a hard working musician and guitar teacher based in Hamburg, Germany. Most of you who follow us most likely have come across demos or other content involving Ruben's input. Yes, we're good friends and work together - would be fair to say that Ruben has become also one of our main test pilots for the Valvebucker invention early on...

Both Jussi and I grew up in Rovaniemi, a little town smacked right on the Arctic circle, next to Santa's workshop. While I remained in Finland and learned over the years to make a lot of sawdust, Jussi's path took him to Amman, Dar es Salaam, Muscat, Beirut, Helsinki, and eventually to Boston and New York where he continued building his career as a musician, recently relocating to Amsterdam. But that's just a scratch on the surface! In this episode of the Weekly Wednesday Live Q&A, Jussi and I will discuss his journey, entwining into a fascinating transcultural...

This episode addresses many questions asked about our new Valvebucker Mk2 pickup in the aftermath of its launch 2 weeks ago. Many magazines and online medias, Guitar World, Guitar Player, Planetsixstring amongst others, chose to title their articles rather provocatively, focusing to the price of the pickup, and... this calls for addressing..!

P.S. Wanna watch more my Weekly Wednesday streams on YouTube? Here's the playlist to all them, featured in chronological order: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts...

This episode of the Weekly Wednesday live is many things. It's a wrap-up of my experiences as a YouTuber since I started these live broadcasts a year and a half ago. We'll do a bit of reflecting upon the topics, the people I've interviewed and how we - you and I - have become a little tribe. We'll also talk about what's coming next - both for this YouTube channel and my company Ruokangas Guitars. This is the last episode for 2021 - hope to see you onboard!

P.S. Blogpost by Juha Javanainen (in Finnish language) I...

One week ago, I removed all social media apps - Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter - from my phone, and have kept notes of how it has felt and what thoughts have emerged. On this episode of the Weekly Wednesday Live I will report to you the results of this cruel human experiment - how is life like without social media in my pocket? 

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in my company Ruokangas G...

Terms such as 'sustainable', 'organic', 'ethically correct' are the trend of the modern age. We're looking for ways to calm down our conscience with the consuming choices we make & save our planet on the side. But... a vegan compatible guitar? Why!?

Today we're celebrating the 50th episode of my Weekly Wednesday Live broadcasts by closing a circle.  With this video, we're going back to the very beginnings of my Guitar Love rants on YouTube. A couple of years before the Weekly Wednesday Live, I had already done a couple of videos in a similar style - the f...

... I proclaimed to my mom that I didn't need a high school education and I wasn't going to return to school. My mother wasn't thrilled. "You only have two more months until graduation," she said, incredulous. "Thing is, Mom," I confessed, "I haven't been in school this entire year; I haven't been to class once." ... "So, what are you going to do?" she asked, resigning herself to my decision. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be a rock star." - Jay Jay French (quote from the book 'Twisted Business')

When I got Jay Jay's book in...

Petteri Sariola is an internationally touring fingerstyle virtuoso singer-songwriter guitarist from Finland. What makes Petteri tick? What can we learn from Petteri's experience? Let's find out!

Last week I interviewed Mika Tyyskä and asked how does he make a living in music, in the modern age. Well, this week we'll get to hear the story of yet another man who has literally forged his own path as a musician over the past decades. How does he do it? How has the pandemic affected to Petteri's work as a musician? These questions and more will be answered in t...

Many of us have faced this situation. You love music and you've found your instrument to express yourself with - and all you'd want to do is play! But.. how to make a living in music? Is it even a viable option in the modern world we live in? Or would it be better to work elsewhere and have music as a hobby?

There aren't obviously any single correct answer to these questions. Mika Tyyskä is, however, one of those musicians who have found a way to make a living in music, in the modern age. How d...

I've been asked repeatedly to comment the very popular '5-step setup' video by the famous YouTuber Paul Davids, and... Well, after watching his video a couple of times... ok! I'd like to mention a thing or two about it. Let's see where this leads!

I admire Paul's YouTube channel greatly! He is a super talented guitarist and his videos are always very entertaining. Paul is a fantastic teacher, too - top notch ! But... how does he succeed in his tutorial showing how to do a full setup to a guitar? Watch this live broadcast to find...

"I often talk about the future of guitar - future of music - future of design. Hmmm maybe not a coincidence I'm a also a big fan of science fiction literature and movies, ha! Needless to say that I'm very excited of this possibility to interview a man who seems to own a better crystal ball than most of us do." 

Let's have a chat with Douglas Castro,  the founder of Darkglass Electronics and Neural DSP. Why has he succeeded so remarkably well... twice!? Two companies built from ground up to market leaders in just a bit ov...

"There are many legendary guitarists who have become known of playing just one guitar - Brian May, Danny Gatton, John Schofield, Mike Stern and Larry Carlton, to name of few. It is an intriguing thought, isn't it? Just one guitar! But... is it possible? Can one guitar be the answer to all my needs as a player..!?"

Let's talk about the "Ultimate One Guitar Collection" - on my Weekly Wednesday Live episode #44.  Looking forward! Thank you Manuel V. for the inspiration to make this video. 

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy gu...

Last week Erik M. asked me in the Weekly Wednesday stream chat: "Do you have a theory on what the 59 burst magic is about?". Stephan S. emailed me a day later, continuing the question: "Do you think a new guitar can not cope with a burst?". Thank you guys - you're the inspiration for this week's topic! ;)

At the time of its production, the 1958–1960 sunburst Les Paul was considered a commercial failure, with low sales. This led Gibson to discontinue the model for nearly 10 years. Today, however, the Les Paul is one of the best-known electric guitar ty...

"Never before in the history has there been so much information easily available to us. For those of you who want to learn to make guitars - play guitar - or basically learn any new skill - there's an endless supply of content to learn from - books, videos, online courses and what not. But how to choose the good stuff..?"

Last week we talked about future guitar design, and I was asked to make a video about books that would be helpful in learning to make guitars. I had already promised to make such a video...

"We've seen the Telecasters, Stratocasters and Les Pauls in an endless variety of reincarnations. We've seen the radical deviations from tradition by Steve Klein, Ned Steinberger, Ulrich Teuffel and their modern day incarnations such as Strandberg and the like. We've seen the beautiful designs by Ritter, Pagelli, Spalt, Ergon and so many more contemporary master guitar makers. But... what is next? Or have we seen it all?"

I've flirted with this topic before. A couple of years ago, on my video 'Electric Guitar... Dead?' I mused on the future of electric guitar and guitar driven music...

"Can something bad happen to my guitar because of winter? How should I prepare my guitar for the seasons changing?"

A lot of players keep asking me about seasonal changes - what does the shift from summer to winter do to their guitars? There are many perspectives to look at! The winter doesn't mean the same thing for all of us. A new guitar reacts to seasonal change often differently from an old guitar. The country of origin of the instrument makes a difference as well. Many variables here to address!

On this episode of...

"Why does a guitar need a truss rod? How come fret files are so expensive? Can rosewood be replaced by thermally aged other species? How can I make my guitar strings last longer?"

These questions and much more have been waiting in my questions-to-be-answered pile. Let's continue the "interrogation" we started a few weeks ago! On this episode I'll answer as many of your old and new questions as I can..! 

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not a...

"How high should the pickups be adjusted? Which guitar companies are your idols? Can a heavy weight guitar sound good? What's the weirdest tool you own?"

These questions - and tons more - have poured in in the live chat, comments and private messages during the first 12 months of the Weekly Wednesday Live existence. Some questions I've answered live when they've been asked, but a lot of them we've only gathered for future addressing. I started doing the show a year ago - so it's long overdue for me to sit down "under your interrogation" and answer...

"Medium or Jumbo frets? Narrow or wide? Nickel silver or stainless steel? EVO gold - what the heck is that anyways..!?"

Don't fret - you're not alone if you're confused about guitar frets, considering how many choices there are available these days. On this episode of my Weekly Wednesday Live Q&A I'll address what are the meaningful differences between different fret sizes and materials. 

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in m...

"I bought a guitar.. but the neck profile is not comfortable. The pickups could be hotter, too! Should I get another guitar - or have this one modded? Is it worth the money?"

Let's talk about guitar modifications! On this episode you'll find out whether it is worth modding your guitar or not? We'll discuss on the various aspects that are good to take into account next time you're pondering whether you should have the neck profile of your guitar shaved slimmer, have the pickups changed or the paint stripped off...

This broadcast is targeted...

Should I go for bolt-on? Set neck? Neck-through-body? The web is full of advice - but can I trust it?

Do an internet search, and you'll find TONS of articles and videos comparing neck joints of guitars. The forums are saturated with opinions on the topic as well. So why to make yet another video about neck joints?? Well, a lot of the content available tends to repeat the same old myths: Bolt-on loses energy... set-neck has the best sustain... neck-thru is the most stable... blah blah blah.

Unfortunately, a lot of the available content...

As you know, I'm not typically doing these Weekly Wednesday Live about my own guitars. But.. since the broadcast IS about answering your questions and possible concerns, I thought it would be useful for you if I addressed a bunch of rather common negative associations linked to ordering a custom instrument. 

Some of these points may seem valid about ordering basically any custom guitar, while others are more focused to the specific niche my instruments represent within the spectrum of "what's out there". In any case - I want to point out that these are all aspects I...

FUGUE /fjuːɡ/

1. In MUSIC - a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.

2. In PSYCIATRY - a state of loss of awareness of one's identity, often coupled with flight from one's usual environment, associated with certain forms of hysteria and epilepsy.

On this episode of my Weekly Wednesday Live James and I will discuss about makig music - being an artist in the world we live in - virtuosity - inspiration... and a...

"Some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof!" - Robert M. Pirsig

Let's discuss quality! What is it? How can you tell something has it? Or is 'quality' one of those words that have simply degraded to one more of those endless empty marketing terms..!?

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about...

The Perfect Tone... Does it even exist? And if it does, why does it keep eluding me? On this episode of my Weekly Wednesday Live I'll talk about the 4 key elements that define your electric guitar sound, and explain some of the reasons why we the search of that holy grail of sounds often may appear endless!

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in my company Ruokangas Guitars. I'm doing this for you, who...

Last week the title of my show was "How To Become The Guitarist I've Always Wanted To Be". In other words, we discussed about setting goals and how to reach those goals. But what if the world doesn't get it? What if my music is the most original ever - I feel my ideas could change the world - but nobody seems to listen! 

Well, you're not alone with those questions. This Wednesday we'll continue right where we left off a week ago. Let's dig deeper into how to make the world listen to what you have t...

Easy, right? You become who you want to be by practising more! But... is it really that easy? Typically life steps on the way, and we don't always get to fulfill our fantasies or reach our goals. On this episode of my Weekly Wednesday Live I will teach you a method that has been very helpful for me and my company over the past years in getting us where we've wanted to go.

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not...

Be it cars, electronics, kitchen knives or guitars,  “Made in Japan” equals high quality. But… why? It wasn’t always that way. When it comes to industrial goods, "Made in Japan” used to be the “Made in China” back in the 1960's. The cheap option. 

Let’s talk about what changed all that, and more importantly: What can we learn from the Japanese way!

This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars and basses, be it players, enthusiasts or collectors alike! The program is not about the guitars we make in my company Ruokangas...

Class society - the way of the western world back in medieval times. The noblemen and clergy at the top, merchants and craftsmen next, followed by the common folk - the working class. And finally, the thieves, prostitutes and beggars at the bottom of the barrel. Oh - almost forgot... under all the rest, there they are, lurking in the dark: The performing artists - the musicians - the freelancers...

How far have we progressed from the medieval class society? Let's discuss that in my last Weekly Wednesday Live episode for the very peculiar and controversial year 2020. 

My mind has been buzzing since our company 25th Anniversary online celebration. A lot of thoughts cruising on my mind's highways - so I thought that in this episode I would try to organize my brain a little!

I've done a lot of reflecting on the past lately, and this has inevitably brought me to the troubling thought of: "What about tomorrow? What's next?". And I'm not talking about myself or my company's doings here, but more the future of guitar driven music. 

Let's talk about that! Where is the next frontline? The next generation p...

During the past two week episodes I’ve reflected on my past from a couple of different perspectives. We began two weeks ago by jumping straight into the deep end. Crossroads that I feel have had a significant impact on how I have become who I am. Last week I took a bit lighter approach reflecting the past 25 years from another perspective, celebrating my love for guitars by talking about a few of my favourite European guitars and their makers. Today we will continue my 25th anniversary reflections - again from a different point of view. Let's talk about mu...

Today, I will reflect another facet of my 25 years in guitar business - not as a guitar maker, but as a guitar enthusiast - a player - a fan - just like you! 

My 7 favourite electric guitars made in Europe. That should be fun! I set some rules for myself to make this impossibly difficult task a bit easier - but you'll have to watch the show to find out what those rules are - and what those 7 favourites could be!

A little disclaimer. This broadcast is targeted to all of you who enjoy guitars, b...