Dowina

Guitars with soul for a resonance of life

"Words failures music begins"

Heritage

The ancient castle of Dowina – today’s Devin – is situated on the junction of the rivers Danube and Morava, between Bratislava (Slovakia) and Vienna (Austria). The 9th Century Latin (864 AD) Fulda Chronicle (Annales Fuldenses) says “Dowina – id est puella“. This translates as Dowina means a girl in ancient Slavonic language. Nowadays the castle ruins remind us of an era of great glory and are a luminous inspiration for sensitive artists. This magical place also gave birth to Dowina guitars. The guitars derive their name from this famous castle and its heritage.

Today

Our history started in 1979 in Devin Village with the creation of a violin workshop overlooking the castle. Afterwards came the concept of unique guitars, inspired by the violin maker’s know- how, experiences and intuition, each one perfect and individual. As from 2010 we are moved to our larger property in Devinska Nova Ves, encompassing a production center, warehouse, custom shop and administration.

Creation process

It all starts with the selection of the materials used. Of crucial importance for guitar sound is the acoustic quality of the top plate and bracings, requiring superb stiffness with little weight. As a standard we utilize either selected Sitka or Cedar from Alaska / West Coast USA. Furthermore we use selected Spruce from the Dolomite Alps – Val di Fiemme, Italy. Among other superior features it has an extraordinary acoustic ratio “A”. For the technically minded this is the ratio of the speed of sound through the wood (m/s) to the wood density (kg/m³), up to a phenomenal 16.0 m4kg–1s–1. This figure is up to 35 % better than standard tonewood spruce (e.g. German Spruce, Engelmann Spruce and the like). It is no wonder that Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri and other famous violin makers used Dolomite Spruce from Val di Fiemme.

Our “Winelist”

Solid top series WOODY- models Puella / 111 / 222 / 333 / 555 / 888 / 999 feature optimized sound quality, playability and value-price ratio features. They are designed as a universal music instrument for daily playing and practicing. Unlike in violin construction, development of the flat top guitar shape is not finalized yet. This gives space for new ideas, experiments and improvisations. This is also the idea realized in crafting of all solid VINTAGE series models. Their names are not assigned randomly but are inspired by the local wine varieties – Chardonnay, Cabernet, etc. Advanced guitars of the Vintage series satisfy even the most demanding musicians. VINTAGE guitars are for those who appreciate a superior guitar sound, just as a connoisseur appreciates superior wine. They are individually created with the application of the same construction philosophy applied to a master violin. Among other secrets this means:

– Superior tonewood selection

– Individual graduation of the thickness of the top in specific areas to allow the top to flex more near the edges, and hence, gain more of a deep, fundamental tone.

– Discrete bracing design matched to the top’s characteristics.

– Tops are individually finally tuned to basic harmonic tones in optimal tonal scale range.

– Each instrument is individually crafted for professional application by one of our master luthiers.

After our final quality control we can give our promise that each one of Dowina guitars will play easily and well. It is an instrument from musician to musician, from friend to friend…..