Dave Mason, Ravi Sawhney, and RKS Guitars

by Rick Messock

RKS Guitars has created a line of instruments that demand attention. And attention was exactly what they received when introduced by the company at the recent 2005 Winter NAMM Show.

At first glance, the instruments look futuristic and almost impossibly glossy. Closer inspection reveals innovative construction with a central "core" that consists of the headstock, neck, and pickups that form the actual guitar. Surrounding the core is a "body shell" that can be composed of wood or polymer, and may be finished in a variety of trims such as translucent or solid colors (urethane color coat and polyester clear coat), or even chrome or gold plating. The body is joined to the "core" with wooden or aluminum ribs that are visible from the front, and the result is a striking, open look. The back looks a bit more conventional with the two halves of the body shell joined at the centerline.

The beginning

RKS Guitars is a cooperative venture between world-renowned industrial designer Ravi Sawhney and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dave Mason. The RKS saga began about four years ago, when Sawhney approached Mason with a foam prototype.

"It was ¾ size, so I said, well, ok...but I think you're going to need to make this a little bigger, guys, unless you're making this just for kids. And there was no headstock, so I sat down with one of the guys and designed the headstock for it. None of us had built a guitar before," recounted Mason.

The concept behind the RKS guitar caught Mason's attention and for the next few years, Mason, Sawhney, and a small team worked on developing the instruments.

Mason relates, "Originally, we had the naive concept that the bodies could be interchangeable. Basically, this is the guitar [referring to the neck-through construction] and everything else is body styling. We thought, well, maybe you could swap bodies, but that quickly fell by the wayside as we got more into it because at first we weren't focused on resonance or related tone issues. It was a matter of a lot of trial and error. We worked on it for 3 years. It would evolve into something and then I would take it out on the road and come back and say, 'Guys, you've got to change this or that.' We took it from a design concept to a professional piece. The trick was to be innovative but at the same time not so bizarre that people would say, 'What is that?'"

Construction

The RKS guitar "core" is machined from hard maple (neck) and alder (neck-through), with a rosewood fingerboard bonded to the neck over a dual action truss-rod. The body shells are joined to the core with wooden or aluminum ribs. The Solid Body Original model has a maple body shell and the Open-Ended Hollow Body Original model has a molded polymer shell.

"Some of the guitars have metal ribs and we also do a version with wooden ribs that give it a slightly more woody resonance whereas the metal is more edgy. And of course, we make the Solid Body, which is just one piece of wood, attached to the core. You get a different tone with that - a little thicker, a little warmer," said Mason.

There are 20 finishes available, ranging from subdued colors to flashy chrome. Close inspection of the guitars reveals flawless workmanship and stunningly deep, glossy finishes. A number of different pickups are available, with a five-way selector switch that allows various combinations and coil tap options. While RKS guitars can accommodate any variety of pickups, standard equipment includes two custom-wound humbuckers designed to provide an output similar to a P.A.F.

The neck has a scale length of 25.5" and a compound fretboard radius (9" to 12" over the length of the neck). The neck-through design means no heel, and the body is sculpted to fit just about anyone comfortably. The control switches and knobs are cleverly positioned within the channels between the core and the body shell. Although the guitars we saw were hardtails, a tremolo option is available.

Because the guitars are symmetrical, they can be configured as either left or right-handed models.

The bottom line

RKS prices are not for the faint of heart (or short of cash). Retail prices for these U.S.-made guitars range from $2,500 to $6,500. On the other hand, they are visually striking, totally unique, and designed and manufactured with a great deal of care. Mason explained, "Obviously, they're not cheap. They're high-end. I think they're aimed, to a degree, at the baby boomer market. But I'd like to see them in the hands of some young kids too."