We are passionate about exceptional woods

We are passionate about craftsmanship

We are passionate about music

Heritage

Our history started in 1979 in Devin Village with the creation of a violin workshop overlooking the castle. Afterward came the concept of unique guitars, inspired by the violin maker’s know-how, experiences and intuition, each one unique and individual.

Stanislav Petko Marinov

More about Stan

Family of guitar makers

The love of music and wood is obviously hereditary. Erika followed in her father’s footsteps, and our production began to move even more toward high-end all-solid guitars. And personalised custom orders clearly became the biggest passion. We enjoy turning dreams into reality.

 

Erika Maťo Marinová

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Research and development

What drives Dowina forward is the constant work of our R&D department as well as the ideas and invention of the entire team. 

Peter Kičák a Ján Sárkány

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Our team

Dowina is created by people. Artists and musicians who understand guitars and the materials they work with.

Zuzana Jariabková

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Our History

1989

1990

1999

2003

2010

2013

2015

2017

2018

2019

2020

2022

1989

The fall of the Iron Curtain

The fall of the Iron Curtain was the beginning of a new chapter and history of Czechoslovakia. After more than 40 years we were able to breath freely again and the lot of secret ideas could become a reality.

1990

Establishment of Expos music

Expos music was the first company Stan founded with his friends just few months after the Velvet Revolution. As there were no internation brands present on the market it was the ideal time to bring Fender, Taylor and other famous brands and introduce them to people.

1999

Stan´s visit of Japan and China

An unique opportunity to see guitar and bow instruments production on another level provoked the idea of starting an acoustic guitar production under own name.

2003

The origin of Antique series

Stan spent more than two years in Asia working on first Dowina guitars. He personaly did all the top plates and was controling the entire production.

2010

New factory workshop in Bratislava

The distribution activites and growing demand for Dowina allowed us to move to larger property in Bratislava and established guitar production in here, finally.

2013

First exibition at Frankfurt Messe

The first opportunity to present Dowina to European market. The personal selection of wood, unique sound and vision attracted a lot of new business partners and distributors.

2015

Erika joined the company

Stan welcomed with great pleasure Erika´s decision to join the company and help him with the management. Due to severe health problems he was thinking about selling Dowina but Erika – that time mother of two tiny toddlers – persuaded him to continue.

2017

Hybrid concept

The concept of unique hybrid guitar combining the qualities of acoustic and classical guitar was triggered by constant requests of our clients who were missing a nylon string guitar in our portfolio. We didn´t want to offer just another standard classical guitar with wide nut, for us a comfortable playability is a must, so we came with the hybrid concept of 48 mm nut with rounded freatboard.

2018

Bona Vida concept

Bona Vida is not a parlor style guitar. It is an instrument that makes your life more cheerful. Hence the name. Stan designed a special bracing design for this sweet guitar to make it sound as voluminous and light as possible. It is a true game changer.

2019

Custom shop

People are creative and we love that. It was fantastic to see how authentic and out of the box their design ideas are. It started slowly and unexpectadly. Our friends kept asking: “I love Cabernet design but can I add my initials on freatboard?” or: “How dramatic the Acero with ebony binding will look like, right?” And just after a while we realized third of our production is somehow customized. So why not offer it anybody.

2020

Research and Development

Peter Kičák is our Tech manager and a true whizz. He invented most of the secret hacks, technological improvements and smart design ideas on Dowinas. Together with Stan, former professor at University, they create the base of our R&D team. We were always testing different approaches to lutiership, investigating the effect of thermal treatment, bracing patterns, etc. on the sound and stability of the guitar. In 2020 we decided to cooperate on big project with Slovak Technical University which dispose of profi acoustic laboratory.

2022

Aura concept guitar

Aura is the result of two years effort and work of our R&D team. It brings a completely new approach to body-neck joint. Shiffted X bracing moves the acoustic center in the middle of the top plate and lets sound be spread evenly through the wood. A built – in heal, allows guitarists to go further and beyond the classic reach.

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