RKS Guitars Launches Major Roll-Out of Revolutionary New Electric Guitars, Which Have Just Won 2 Industrial Design Excellence Awards

RKS Guitars Launches Major Roll-Out of Revolutionary New Electric Guitars, Which Have Just Won 2 Industrial Design Excellence Awards

'IDEA' Awards Areco-Sponsored by Industrial Designers of America and BusinessWeek Magazine, Whose Current Cover Features an RKS Guitar

RKS Guitars Principals are Industrial Design Icon Ravi K. Sawhney, Guitar Legend Dave Mason & Business/Technology Visionary Dale Jensen

LOS ANGELES, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The eye-popping, ear candy-generating electric guitars from Southern California-based RKS Guitars represent the most revolutionary innovation the instrument has seen in fifty years. Based on a unique, patented "open architecture" concept, they reinvent the electric guitar via an unprecedented aesthetic and structural overhaul. Boasting rich timbre and resonant tone as stunning as their radical look, RKS Guitars push the envelope in every way at the same time that they fully honor the legacy of the musical heritage they carry on. When singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones played one recently on Late Night, host Conan O'Brien remarked, "that is the coolest guitar I've ever seen."

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050627/LAM037)

A neon green RKS Guitar from the company's "Pop Series" currently appears on the front cover of BusinessWeek Magazine. The premiere business journal co-sponsors -- with Industrial Designers of America (IDSA, the leading voice of the industrial design profession) -- the prestigious Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), and the 2005 winners were announced in the magazine's June 24 issue. RKS Guitars was honored with two Silver 2005 IDEAs in the annual competition, which celebrates the previous year's best and most innovative designs.

In its official statement, IDSA wrote, "The electric guitar evolves. RKS thrills musicians with new structure and colors and environmentalists by reducing the amount of exotic wood used by 66 to 80 percent." In creating its new guitars, sustainable materials were a key component in RKS' proprietary "Open Architecture" construction, which won in the Design Strategy category. RKS Guitars' second 2005 IDEA was in the Consumer Products category for its distinctive, electric-hued "Pop Series" of instruments, a perfect example of the dramatic flexibility of the Open Architecture paradigm.

With different models for every player from absolute beginner to marquee level artist, RKS Guitars fuse CNC machining technology with final precision hand-assembly, and have evolved through thousands of hours of designing, prototyping, and testing. They benefit from the synergistic collaboration of world-renowned industrial designer and CEO/President of award-winning RKS Design Ravi K. Sawhney, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer/guitar hero Dave Mason (of Traffic and solo stardom).

The unique essence of the RKS Guitar lies in the patented, futuristic "Open Architecture" construction. Each guitar begins with a core instrument perfected for balance, ergonomics and tone. Then ribs and bodies in a huge variety of finishes and colors are attached to affect different looks and contours suited for a broad range of markets and demographics. The dramatic neck-through-body design, featuring an accessible and streamlined pickup selector, brings out the maximum richness, complexity, precision, and remarkable clarity and sustain of the instrument for an organic, full-spectrum sound.

RKS Guitars are also meticulously designed to provide a luxurious experience for the player, a sublime integration of man and machine in either a sitting or standing posture. They're available in four main product lines: the classically-skewed "RKS Original," the crisp, aerodynamic "RKS Wave," the robust, aggressively shaped "RKS Boomerang" and the "day-glo "RKS Pop Series." Each distinctive model is available in both signature "Open-Ended Hollow Body" and "Solid Body" configurations.

In planning all-new product lines from square one, RKS Guitars also had the opportunity to address contemporary environmental concerns, and maximize the use of sustainable materials in their production. Traditionally, guitars are made using 6 to 8 pounds per instrument of specific "tone woods" from South and Central American rain forests. RKS Guitars, which are made in the United States, use almost entirely domestically raised tone woods, primarily alder and maple, cultivated on tree farms in the Pacific Northwest. RKS also heavily employs its patented, recyclable wood-based polymer, and each finished guitar averages wood usage of under 2 pounds, a striking 66%-80% reduction from the norm.

As the company progresses to the next level on development, production, distribution and marketing, Arizona-based entrepreneur and information technology trailblazer Dale Jensen joins the RKS Guitars team as third principal and co-founder. In an outside-the-box, three decades long career, Jensen's imprint has been felt in 8 vertical markets in 45 companies in 5 states -- plus a 3-continent tour with rocker Alice Cooper and via significant ownership in the Arizona Diamondbacks MLB team.

Initially drawn to RKS Guitars by what he calls "the undeniable cool factor of their look," Jensen was knocked out by the spirit of the entire project. His enthusiasm aligns with a riff Ravi coined to describe an RKS Guitar: "Love it with your eyes, hear it with your mind, feel it with your soul."

RKS Guitars are available through the RKS Dealer Network. Digital photos are available through Jensen Communications. For more information, log on to:

www.rksguitars.com

"Looks Better -- Sounds Better -- Plays Better"

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050627/LAM037 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: RKS Guitars

CONTACT: Michael Jensen, or Meghan Helsel, meghan@jensencom.com, +1-626-585-9575, both for RKS Guitars

Web site: http://www.rksguitars.com/

------- Profile: Ent