Weekly Wednesday Q&A with Juha Ruokangas

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 broadc...

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, decora...

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 tes...

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 ...

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/...

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 ...

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 ...

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 Wednesda...

... 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 B...

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 wo...