Adrian Heinzelmann

Berlin, Germany

Adrian Heinzelmann is one of the most talked-about young luthiers in the world. Trained in Mittenwald and Markneukirchen, he won the 2012 Luby guitar-building competition and the 2016 German Musical Instrument Award before founding his own workshop in Berlin-Schöneberg in 2014, which he shares with his partner Friederike Linscheid.

He is best known for his “Groove Top” construction, in which fine grooves are carved directly into the soundboard, here cedar, and overlaid with a thin cedar lattice. The result is a guitar with remarkable power, clarity and warmth that still preserves the Spanish character and balance so often missing in modern double tops. As Adrian himself puts it, he aims to keep the essence of the great Spanish masters alive inside a thoroughly modern design.

His instruments are as visually elegant as they are sonically intoxicating, and his reputation keeps climbing: 2025 Guitar Foundation of America and Koblenz competition winner Virgile Barthé performed and won on a Heinzelmann. He has built guitars specially for us, and his previous spruce/maple instrument became one of the most-watched reviews on our channel.