The history of guitars and folk instruments under the brand ‘Doff’ began in 2002, when a group of enthusiasts purchased the equipment and remaining materials from the once famous Lunacharsky factory of musical instruments in Leningrad (now Saint-Petersburg) dreaming to make their own acoustic guitars. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it took some time to learn how to actually manufacture decent guitars.
In 2009 the company faced a tough question whether to wind up due to the influx of cheap imported instruments or change something in the very paradigm of guitars production.
Simply copying foreign guitars, just hitting off some iconic designs, didn’t really look very promising, so it was decided to play our own songs. That was the moment when a guitar made by Ivan Krasnoschekov, a great Russian luthier, came into our hands. This tiny parlor guitar with seven strings really astonished us, as it sounded much clearer and fuller than any modern dreadnought guitar. That was the very moment when we realized how our dream guitar looked like and what shall be our source of inspiration.
We have visited various museums of musical instruments and restored numerous vintage Russian guitars, and it helped us to understand how to preserve traditions of Russian luthiers and combine them with modern technologies and processes in guitars production. All our guitars and folk instruments owe their existence to famous Russian luthiers – Krasnoschekov, Arkhuzen, Paserbsky, Tsimmerman.
Their secrets, our technologies, selection of best woods and quality control help us create unique and gorgeous guitars with the sound like no other and this elegant vintage flavour which makes them so special. I hope that our instruments will bring joy and warmth into your lives!
General Director of LLC “Doff” Dzudtsov Alan Elbrusovich
