All three strings were in the same plane at the bridge, so that a bow could make them all sound simultaneously.

The player held the gudok on his lap, like a cello or viola da gamba.

It was also possible to play the gudok while standing and even while dancing, which made it popular among skomorokhs.

The Russian gudok ceased to exist as a folk instrument for several centuries.

All present instruments are replicas, based on several parts of gudoks found in the Novgorod excavations.