2024 Vladimir Druzhinin CD/AR

This 2024 Vladimir Druzhinin is a classical guitar with a cedar top and African rosewood back and sides, built near Moscow, Russia, returning to the Manuel Ramírez shop for its symmetrical top.

A Cedar-Top Druzhinin After the First Madrid School

This is a fantastic guitar from Vladimir Druzhinin, who works just outside of Moscow. One look at this guitar shows Vladimir's tasteful, skillfully executed style - the classic rosette, the elegantly carved headstock and the beautiful choice of materials - a quartersawn cedar top and a striking set of African rosewood for the back and sides.

The design is Vladimir's latest, incorporating ideas from his friend and mentor Timofey Tkach (1966–2026) - regarded as Russia's leading teacher of lutherie, with a deep knowledge of the designs and structures of countless historical and contemporary makers. Here Vladimir returned to the "First Madrid School," re-evaluating several details mainly from the Manuel Ramírez shop, in particular a symmetrical design of the top. The two had long exchanged ideas, and since 2022 Vladimir has applied Timofey's design in his guitars - aiming to raise the sound potential while keeping the natural timbre and color of the sound. Their joint articles, linked below, go into the details.

Coordinated Resonances

Vladimir also brings science to the bench: with degrees in physics (Bachelor's and Master's) as well as music, he understands the nature of sound production unusually well. He aims to make top, back and sides vibrate in coordinated resonances, balancing their contribution to the sound - for dynamic efficiency, color and balance, and a solid, focused, brilliant sound. In the spirit of the early Spanish masters it is light and efficient, with very focused, fast attack. The sound is beautiful, with singing, lyrical trebles and smooth, lush yet firm basses, and the volume suits any concert setting, solo or ensemble. As his exclusive representatives in the USA, we are very pleased to work with this fine maker - his approach makes for a beautiful, nuanced and deeply satisfying instrument for player and listener alike.

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.