The Wishlist

Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for…

VERSOUL RAYA €4,700 CONTACT Versoul PHONE +358 9 5651876 WEB www.Versoul.com

Versoul is the work of one man, Kari Nieminen – with the occasional help of his two sons. Based in Finland, you’d never think his biggest customers would be Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards and Billy Gibbons. “Ronnie’s Versoul collection is up to 15 instruments,” Kari tells us on a recent promo trip to the UK. “He also has a Versoul combo amp and fuzz pedal; Keith now has three custom 10-string acoustics,” he beams. And in case you’re wondering, “Ronnie has bought all his Versouls, except two that were given as birthday gifts (for his 60th and 70th). All Keith’s Versouls are bought, too.”

Ronnie’s main Versoul is his Raya ‘Blue Light’ that he’s used at most Stones shows since 2007. At the famous 2016 Havana concert, for example, Ronnie slung it on for the opening Jumping Jack Flash and again to close the show with (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.

That famous ‘Blue Light’, like our model here, is based on Kari’s long-standing Raya model (which starts at €3,800) but, typically, the final spec is down to you. Here, for example the Finnish alder body shape is slightly altered with an “off-set shape, and it’s a bit thinner than the normal Raya model,” says Kari, finished in a terracotta nitrocellulose paint and lacquer. The guitar is centred around its 645mm (25.4-inch) scale length and uses a transparent dark brown/black stained one-piece European curly maple bolt-on neck (finished in a gloss nitro), with reverse six-in-a-line headstock, topped with a 305mm (12-inch) radius East Indian rosewood fingerboard. Kari’s flourishes abound, like the use of gold leaf for the side position markers, which match the gold-plated Gotoh hardware, the white mother-of-pearl rectangular strip face inlays and the beautifully cut Finnish wild moose shinbone nut. Another custom feature are the stainless steel frets and what about those pickups?

There’s a big girthsome sound here with an extraordinarily vocal midrange that’s honky and quite nasty – in a good way! – at bridge with a much thicker, greasier voice at neck. It’s hugely dynamic too, switching from muted jazz comping to gnarly blues and rock ’n’ roll with a twist of the volume and tone. Wired like a Strat means we also get a pair of parallel mixes that are textured but full and rich. Satisfaction guaranteed.

With their gold-plated mesh covers these Versoul humbuckers are made by Kari and feature an Alnico 5 magnet at the bridge and an Alnico 2 in the neck and middle. They have a DCR of 8.19 kohms (bridge) and 7.9 kohms (middle and neck) Kari Nieminen, who founded Versoul in 1994, refers to himself as a “guitar researcher and builder, Industrial Designer,” while he also has a Master of Arts in Design. In 1998, he was awarded ‘Industrial Designer of the Year’ by the Association of Finnish Industrial Designers. His work is beautifully considered, like this headstock with its gold leaf detail in front of the moose shinbone nut. In October 1999 his Zoel acoustic design was featured in one of Finland’s special stamp editions showcasing six products of new Finnish design 1

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There are no tricks to the wiring or the drive. The three humbuckers are controlled by a Strat-style five-way lever switch – the tip is handcrafted from rosewood with a green abalone inlaid dot – along with master volume and tone 4 Versoul’s most highprofile customer at work during the Stones’ ‘No Filter’ tour at The London Stadium in 2018. His Raya ‘Blue Light’ was originally designed for Billy Gibbons