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, with a top full of "aguas" and in almost like-new condition.

Hauser I and the Early Madrid School

This is a fantastic guitar from Vladimir Druzhinin, who lives and 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 - including a quartersawn cedar top with an abundance of "aguas" and a striking set of African rosewood for the back and sides.

Vladimir's "symmetric classical construction" - as he calls it - grew out of years of study of the 1930s structural designs of Hermann Hauser I. Like Hauser at that time, he has absorbed the lessons of the early Madrid school (Manuel Ramírez, Santos Hernández, Domingo Esteso, etc.).

Beech Linings and Refined Bracing

With this guitar, Vladimir continues to refine his structural design, slightly re-arranging his fan bracing positions and bevels compared to his previous instruments. He also used a solid beech lining instead of cedar kerfing, as well as bevels on the under-rosette plates.

His design keeps evolving, informed by science as much as by tradition - Vladimir holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in physics alongside his music studies. He aims for top, back and sides to vibrate in coordinated resonances, balancing their contribution, which brings dynamic efficiency, color, balance and a solid, focused, brilliant sound.

Sound and Condition

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. Although "used," this instrument is in excellent, almost like-new condition with hardly any signs of prior use. 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

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.