Ruokangas Duke Classic Goldtop Relic 2007

Handmade masterpiece from the boutique forge of Juha Ruokangas.

Made in Finland. Year of manufacture: 2007.

Instruments from the Ruokangas workshop are among the finest guitars on the globe. Uncompromising craftsmanship, best playability and sounds at the highest level - this is also true for this Duke Classic Relic.

The neck and body are made of Spanish cedar with a top of Arctic birch.

But the most interesting detail on this Ruokangeas is definitely the fingerboard made of Rio rosewood (Brazilian Rosewood) - and a legal one at that! This coveted tonewood was used e.g. by Gibson until 1966 and is strictly protected since 1991. Export, import, processing, sale, etc.: strictly prohibited. Unless it exists demonstrably and officially sanctioned from legal prior stock. Juha Ruokangas has a very small, appropriately certified stock, which is only used in selected guitars - like this Duke Classic.

This can be read on the Ruokangas homepage. The corresponding certificate from the responsible Finnish environmental authority is of course enclosed. So this is a rare opportunity to buy a guitar with a legal Rio rosewood fingerboard - and an absolute high-end instrument at that. Something like this will certainly not come again so quickly...

The neck profile is called "Bigger C" and is comparable to the "Slim Taper 60ies" profile of Gibson. The Duke Classic is also equipped with 22 wear-free jumbo steel frets and open vintage tuners by Gotoh.

The good tone is provided by a Häussel Vintage Plus humbucker in the neck position and a Gibson Burstbucker 2 at the bridge, which the previous owner placed there to produce a little more steam in this position.

Visually, the Duke is a crossover between Strat (body shape) and Les Paul - but in terms of playability, sound and construction (even the scale length measures the classic 62.5 cm), it is clearly a guitar in the Gibson tradition. For me, one of the best Paulas I've ever had in my hands.

Comes exactly as pictured in Ruokangas-Hiscox deluxe case with certificate and cites papers.

Good condition - see pictures. It is a Relic model with deliberate factory added wear - e.g. the scraped area under the pickups (can also be seen in a YT video with the same model, by the way). Over the years, some minor signs of use have been added, such as a few belt buckle marks on the back. There is of course no real damage, repaired breaks or the like.