Audiophile Axe

With its tube-powered pickup, the Ruokangas Duke Valvebucker is a high-fidelity experience.

- Art Thompson

Founded in 1995 by guitar maker Juha Ruokangas, the Finland-based company that bears his name handcrafts astonishing instruments that are built by a small team of highly skilled people. There are seven basic models in the Ruokangas line, which includes the Duke Classic (the Duke series also features the Artisan and Supersonic models), spotlighted here as equipped with the optional tube-powered Valvebucker pickup. I was initially turned on to the Valvebucker by Sonny Landreth, who said the sound of this unique pickup that he experienced on a Ruokangas Mojo guitar had such uncanny transparency and note detail that it sounded like it was running through a vintage Neve console pre and EQ.

Intrigued by Sonny’s comments, and with his assistance, we eventually obtained a review sample from Ruokangas. Removed from its cream-colored case, the lightweight solidbody was a visual knockout, with a shapely offset-cutaway body made of Spanish cedar and capped with a carved top of thermally aged (or roasted) Arctic birch finished in a lovely amber Honeyburst shade. “I find birch to be a perfect match with Spanish cedar, so I’ve stuck with that combo for nearly 25 years now,” Ruokangas says. “The tone of birch is not too far from maple, but it has its own kind of low-mid shine, and, aesthetically, birch trees have way more variety than maple. They can be rather plain looking, but it can be anything — wildly flamed, curled, burled or quilted. I have collected birch for over 20 years, and as most of our guitars are custom made, the buyer gets to hand-pick the top.”