2020 Vladimir Druzhinin CD/AR

This 2020 Vladimir Druzhinin is a classical guitar with a cedar top and African rosewood back and sides, built near Moscow, Russia, a pre-owned guitar in excellent condition.

A Used Druzhinin, Built in the Spirit of Hauser

This is a fantastic used guitar from Vladimir Druzhinin. His tasteful and skillful style is evident at first glance, in the classic rosette, the elegantly carved headstock and the beautiful selection of materials.

It is built in what Vladimir calls his "symmetric classical construction," which he began exploring years ago through Hermann Hauser I's structural designs of the 1930s - taking, as Hauser did then, the early Madrid school (Manuel Ramírez, Santos Hernández, Domingo Esteso, etc.) as his foundation. Vladimir's main approach is to make the top, back and sides vibrate in coordinated resonances, equalizing and balancing their contribution, for great dynamic efficiency, color and balance and a solid, focused and brilliant sound.

Sound and Condition

Also in the spirit of these early Spanish masters, the guitar is lightly and efficiently built, with a very focused and fast attack to every note. The quality of sound is beautiful - singing and lyrical trebles with smooth, lush yet firm basses - and the volume is excellent for any concert setting, solo or with an ensemble. Although a used guitar, it is in excellent condition with only some very modest wear in the finish. We are very pleased to be working with this fine maker as his exclusive representatives in the US.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction, and Vladimir's interview in Gendai Guitar magazine

Vladimir Druzhinin: From Physics to Guitar Making

Vladimir Druzhinin was born in 1983 in Novosibirsk, Russia, into a family of scientists. He earned his Bachelor's (2004) and Master's (2006) degrees in physics at Novosibirsk State University, specializing in accelerator physics, and worked at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics from 2002 to 2008. At the same time he studied the double bass at the Novosibirsk Music College and played in the local philharmonic big band, on the city's jazz scene and as a studio musician.

Timofey Tkach and the Moscow School

In 2010 Vladimir moved to Moscow, where he was accepted as an apprentice guitar maker by Timofey Tkach (1966–2026), considered the leading teacher of lutherie in Russia, and from 2011 he worked in the Liuteria workshop, a luthiers' union founded by Tkach. Today he builds in his own workshop in Sereda, outside Moscow. His focus is the classical Spanish school, which he approaches both historically and with a physicist's understanding of how sound is produced. GSI is his exclusive dealer in the USA.