Wintersun Aristides Baritones Coming Soon! And update to my Kaur Kukkur and Ruokangas "Alien" guitars.

Here's a quick guitar update: Last year, I ordered two new Aristides baritone models (27" scale), and it looks like they'll soon be finished! The next album will use Drop B-flat tuning, so a longer scale is necessary to achieve a tight rhythm sound.

The Kaur Kukkur and Ruokangas "Alien" guitars I got in 2023 are still great (the ones I introduced in the "Warning" instrumental track).

Unfortunately, the neck of the Kaur Kukkur guitar, which is my best guitar now for rhythm sound, is twisted pretty badly. Wood is known for "living/changing" with the moisture changes of summer and winter. However, I plan to take it back to Kaur and hope that he can help with the situation.

My experience and conclusion now with Mahogany wood guitars is that they are great-sounding for rhythm tones, but the wood is not very stable, which is unfortunate.

The Ruokangas "Alien" guitar has been nicely stable (although not as stable as my Aristides 25,5" scale guitars, which are insanely stable). It is made from different woods (Spanish Cedar) and has a Neck-Through design, as the Kaur Kukkur "Alien" was made from Mahogany and has a Set Neck design.

The Ruokangas guitar is lighter and is better suited for leads and solos. I already recorded one solo with it for the new album, and it was a bliss to play! It is the best guitar for leads and soloing I've ever played, with a 26,5" scale length!

The Aristides guitars are not made from wood but their own patented material, so I hope these new Aristides Baritone guitars will bring a great tone for low-tuning rhythm and stability in the same package! We shall see... 🙂 - Jari