“The relic on this guitar represents the destruction in Ukraine”: Guitarist whose home was hit by a Russian airstrike has finished his first build – and it's made with remnants of his destroyed apartment
Nikita Zhemerenko launched SWFT GTRS following the destruction of his home in Kharkiv in 2022. His new brand hopes to show that “even in the most hopeless situations, one can fulfill one’s dream”
(Image credit: SWFT GTRS)
Just over two years after his home was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, Ukrainian guitarist Nikita Zhemerenko has completed the first build of his new guitar firm, SWFT GTRS.
Vying to bounce back from the tragedy, Zhemerenko – an avid guitar fan – launched his own brand to prove that “even in the most hopeless situations, one can fulfill one’s dream”.
“I want to tell all the people who know my story that even in the most difficult situations, when it seems that everything is lost and there is nowhere else to move, you need to believe in life and choose life,” he once told Guitar World. “In this world, much is possible if you have a goal and the desire to accomplish it.”
Zhemerenko named his against-all-odds luthier venture after the birds that flew over his ruined home, and has received guidance from experienced and esteemed builders – such as Ken Lawrence, Dean Zelinsky, and Manson Guitar Works – during his journey so far.
Called the 'Swell', SWFT's first electric guitar is a relic'd Stratocaster-style model, sporting a bold yellow nitro finish as a nod to his homeland. It represents the culmination of over 20 hours of craftsmanship.
(Image credit: SWFT GTRS)
“The relic on this guitar represents the destruction in Ukraine,” explains Zhemerenko. “I went to my destroyed apartment in Kharkiv, tore off several parquet boards, and made knobs and a tremolo handle out of them.
“This guitar is all about connections and filled with great history, it will be a great part of a collection or, conversely, a main stage instrument.”
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Handmade by Zhemerenko and bearing a serial number of 0001, it combines a two-piece alder body, roasted maple AAAA neck, and a Richlite fretboard, while curly maple is used for its headstock.
Its fretboard is adorned with 22 Jescar jumbo frets and mother-of-pearl inlays, while Luminlay side dots help players navigate its notes in the dark.
Its trio of EMG SA pickups is a tribute to Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, while its hardware is rounded out with a Gotoh SGS510Z bridge and Gotoh EV510T-BS tuners.
(Image credit: SWFT GTRS)
Zhemerenko wants his guitars, and the SWFT story, to someday help rebuild his home country, which is still locked in a conflict with Russia.
“I had never worked with wood professionally and had no connections,” he says. “But I had faith and a desire to fulfill my dream and to help my country. The world is limitless, and many people in it will share views and give support.”
Support for SWFT has come from far and wide, with the likes of Tinytone, Hipshot, Kahler, EMG, Seymour Duncan, Graph Tech, Guitar Monkey, and Grover all offering their support and parts to the cause.
The guitar is listed on SWFT’s Reverb store and is priced at $3,399 plus delivery. That includes a hardshell case and, interestingly, a suede belt.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
