2023 Vladimir Druzhinin SP/AR

This 2023 Vladimir Druzhinin is a classical guitar with a spruce top and African rosewood back and sides, built near Moscow, Russia, featuring his newest design improvements.

New Design Ideas from Vladimir and Timofey Tkach

A fantastic guitar from Vladimir Druzhinin, who lives and works just outside of Moscow. His tasteful and skillful style is evident at first glance, in the classic rosette, the elegantly carved headstock and the beautiful selection of materials - here a quartersawn spruce top with a striking set of African rosewood for the back and sides.

It follows Vladimir's latest design, which draws on the work of Timofey Tkach (1966–2026), his good friend and mentor and Russia's most respected teacher of lutherie, known for his deep knowledge of historical and contemporary guitar designs. Vladimir revisited the "First Madrid School" - especially details from the Manuel Ramírez shop - and adopted a symmetrical top design, which he began using in 2022 after years of discussion with Timofey. The goal: more sound potential, with no loss of the natural timbre and color. The two articles they wrote together (links below) explain it all in greater detail.

Sound and Condition

Alongside the historical research, his scientific training plays its part - Vladimir holds a Bachelor's and a Master's in physics as well as his music studies, and uses them to understand how the sound is produced. His goal is coordinated resonances of top, back and sides, each contributing in balance, which gives great dynamic efficiency, color and balance and a solid, focused, brilliant sound. Like the early Spanish guitars that inspire him, it is lightly and efficiently built, giving every note a focused, fast attack; the trebles sing, the basses are smooth, lush and firm, and there is excellent volume for any concert, solo or with an ensemble. We are proud to be Vladimir's exclusive representatives in the USA - his unique approach yields a beautiful, nuanced and highly satisfying instrument. Although used, this instrument is in excellent condition, with only some very modest signs of wear in the finish.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Featured Article: "The Evolution of the Classical Guitar & the Issue of the Longitudinal Coupling in the Design of the Soundboard"

Featured Article: "Reproducibility and evaluation of the result in the Spanish Classical Guitar Making" by Druzhinin & Tkach

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.