Saeid Aboutalebian

Valencia, Spain

Saeid Aboutalebian was born in Isfahan in 1980 and came to lutherie through music itself. A graduate of the Isfahan Conservatory of Music, he began his journey on the setar and started building traditional Iranian instruments in 2000, developing a deep, experience driven understanding of acoustics and resonance. Since 2017 he has devoted himself entirely to classical guitars. After emigrating to Spain in 2018 he founded his workshop, Shivana Art Center, first in Barcelona and now in Valencia, where Persian sensitivity meets the living tradition of Spanish guitar making.

Aboutalebian builds cedar and balsa double tops with elevated fingerboards, slim comfortable necks, and tall, cleanly finished frets. Where many balsa double tops lean bright and immediate, his guitars stand apart with a deeper, richer tonal profile that still keeps the explosive responsiveness players expect from the design. Each instrument refines the last in small, deliberate ways. With only 67 guitars completed to date, his work has already reached players such as Alvaro Pierri, and international demand has produced a waiting list spanning years.

We have described his 2024 double top, No. 58, as stepping on the gas of a sports car: thunderous, breathtakingly responsive, yet sweet and chimey in the trebles. A 2022 instrument originally built for Alvaro Pierri returned to Saeid's bench in 2025 for his newest soundboard, and it may be the finest Aboutalebian we have encountered. A brand new 2026 example, No. 67, continues that evolution with deep, drop D like richness even in standard tuning. Our expert team is glad to arrange a showroom visit with whichever example is in stock.