We are proud to introduce our new ARCTIC KELO finish, which is now available for all of our models.
Getting bored with all those vintage and typical aged-style guitars which you can nowadays see everywhere?! Well, we did, so we wanted to develop something new and unique, something which no one else has and which truly represents the heart of our beautiful nature up here in the North. Kelo is Finnish and refers to a certain kind of old and dried-out silver-grey tree, which you can find in our vast forests.
The first piece of our Kelo-finish Routa models was introduced at the Finnish Metal Expo 2008, and now we are ready to tell you a little bit more about this new and impressive finish, which you definitely have not seen anywhere else before!

The woods which are used in this series are maple and alder. We use our own special technique and “recipes” to make the wood look like original old Kelo wood.
The hardware, including the frets (YES, also the frets), are blackened, aged, and rusted, just like all the other metal parts in this instrument series. Anyway, the Kelo instruments are also available with all of our fret options: normal nickel/silver, stainless steel, or golden colored.
One thing which we really want to stress here is that the wood is NOT PAINTED to look old; everything is made by using our own method, which we have just developed … and all these guitars are made for playing. The Arctic Kelo finish takes time, so the delivery time for this series is up to 8 months or more.

You can order a Kelo series instrument with special handmade metal ornaments, such as those of the Routa Kelo, which is shown in the pictures. These hand-forged custom parts (cover plates, pickup rings, etc…) are made by a professional blacksmith and especially designed for you.

We also offer our Kelo series without special metal ornaments.
In such instruments, the cover plates and pickup rings are made of wood and include the same Kelo finish.

The prices differ from model to model. You can find the ROUTA KELO prices HERE.

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Few words about this custom made Routa Kelo

Once again we want to say a big thanks to our customers.
In this case, biggest greetings go to Johannes Luomala, because of his great ideas and because of asking us to build this guitar for him! Warm greetings and thanks to blacksmith Juha Korkala, who gave the guitar its spirit by designing and making the metal ornaments, and who actually used own free time for this project! Just a few words about his ideas for this: All cover plates are done of the metal of an old KIUAS. A kiuas is the stove with which we heat the Finnish SAUNA.

This guitar is once again a great example of something you can’t explain – you have to feel it. For us the instrument is part of the music and life, not just a tool. Many companies offer plenty of different custom options in their custom quotes. But these options are standardized and limited. You just fill out the quote and try to get the guitar as cheap as possible. This is usually the way most of the companies work. We, however, prefer to discuss everything directly with the customer. Actually, the best ideas and the spirit of the instrument emerge and take shape when speaking about normal, everyday life and not just about guitars. And this is what makes a huge difference between us and normal custom companies. We do not have any standardized criteria that put a limit on what we can build for our customers. The main thing is to make YOUR sound and YOUR image!

We are ready to put your feelings and emotions into your instrument…even those ones that might not be easy to speak about and that might even hurt. But that’s the real life. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

This guitar was supplied with a special flight case. But that’s another story, which will be written about here later.