CRAFTSMANSHIP as tailor-made precision and SOUND as art...

Helmut Hanika was born in Schönbach on 25 May 1932. The Hanika family settled in the Bubenreuth region after fleeing from Egerland (in the former Sudeten German region).

He learnt to make violins from his grandfather, Anton Mayer (born on 22 April 1883), who ran a small workshop in Baiersdorf that made violins and other stringed instruments. The workshop supplied the US occupational forces and produced instruments for ‘Framus Mandolinen’.

Helmut Hanika founded the ‘SOLI’ company at the age of 18 in 1953 and started building folk guitars. He moved to a new and larger workshop on Egerstraße in Baiersdorf near Erlangen. The ‘Hopf’ company was his main customer. ‘SOLI’ started to grow and the company employed up to four people.

There was no outsourced home worker production and no purchases from other manufacturers. Guitars that people took on hiking trips and classical guitars were added to the range of folk guitars. The ‘Mufag’ company in Hanover later became the main customer and the sale of ‘SOLI’ guitars and business with ‘Hopf’ started to decline.

Folk guitars were built and sold under the ‘SOLI’ brand until 1964. The ‘Otto Gläsel’ music shop and ‘Willi Hödl’ master instrument maker (special workshop for manufacturing and repairing musical instruments in Meggen / Lenne in Westphalia) sold ‘SOLI’ guitars under their own labels that they stuck inside the body.

Armin Hanika was also born in the same year.

Helmut Hanika acquired his master craftsman qualifications in Nuremberg in 1966. The name of Hanika is to this day associated with the manufacture of high-quality classical professional guitars. After the popularity of folk guitars dwindled, Helmut Hanika had the foresight to leave mass production to other guitar makers and started to build exclusive classical guitars that earned him global recognition as a guitar-maker.

Armin commenced his apprenticeship at his parents' company.

Armin Hanika, representing the second generation, took over the running of the business and, like his father before him, he continued to manufacture high-quality classical professional guitars. From the high-quality Studio Line to the exclusive specially made Professional Line – Armin Hanika knows how to build top instruments with great sound qualities.

As in the past, HANIKA still builds guitars with top price-performance ratios across all price categories. The success of the HANIKA brand is also reflected in the sales that increase year on year and the steadily growing ‘fan base’.