This 2026 Vladimir Druzhinin "Special No. 2" is a classical guitar with a spruce top and African rosewood back and sides, built near Moscow, Russia, by a former physicist who trained in Moscow.
A Tribute to Timofey Tkach
This is a fantastic guitar from Vladimir Druzhinin, who lives and works just outside of Moscow, Russia. Just a look at this instrument reveals a very tasteful and skillfully executed style, highlighted in his classic rosette, elegantly carved headstock and beautiful selection of materials - including a quartersawn spruce top and a striking set of African rosewood for the back and sides. This guitar is the second of three "Special" models in an exclusive series of instruments that marks an important milestone in Vladimir's work (15 years as a guitar maker) and explores the shared principles of the larger stringed-instrument family. The primary influence behind it came from Vladimir's long-time colleague, close friend and mentor Timofey Tkach (1966–2026), who passionately passed on his deep knowledge of instrument building in the violin-making school he established many years ago in Moscow. Tkach was convinced that the art of lutherie should be driven by a knowledge base suitable for building any acoustic stringed instrument - the lute, harp, guitar, the violin family and so on.
Where the Guitar Meets the Violin
For this instrument, Vladimir drew primarily on the classical guitar and violin traditions, seeking to fuse the best qualities of both into a single instrument. To do this, in the summer of 2025, he spent three months immersed in Tkach's classical violin school and built a violin side by side with Timofey. From this experience Vladimir turned back to his primary vocation - guitar making - with the aim of uniting these two seemingly different schools of instrument making in what became this series of 3 instruments, his "Special" models. Their features include a reworked body shape and building method, classical-style inlays, and a ground and oil varnish developed from traditional 17th-century violin techniques, which gives the guitar a warm amber tone, enhances the contrast of the wood grain and creates a vivid visual depth that shifts subtly with the light and the viewing angle.
Sound: Dark and Luminous at Once
Sound-wise, this guitar (No. 2 of 3) has many qualities already found in Vladimir's prior work, where the primary aim is beauty of sound - singing and lyrical trebles with smooth, lush yet firm basses. It is lightly and efficiently built, with a very focused and fast attack to every note, and the volume is excellent for any concert setting, solo or with an ensemble. And yet there is a sense that this is a "musical instrument" first and a "guitar" second - it has a unique harmonic steadiness in the sustain, especially in the trebles, and a rich, resonant quality in the mid and lower registers that is both dark and luminous at the same time. Vladimir has achieved something remarkable here, and it reminds us how very pleased we remain to be working with such a thoughtful and fine maker as his exclusive representatives in the USA. We believe his unique approach creates a beautiful, nuanced and highly satisfying instrument for player and listener alike.
Photos of this guitar taken during construction, background on the model and the music performed in the video (with a link for a FREE sheet music download)
