1964 "Jose" David Rubio SP/CSAR

A 1964 classical guitar by David Rubio, with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, built in New York under the name "Jose" Rubio – one of his earliest guitars, from the years he began working with Julian Bream.

In the video above, Ricardo Giuffrida plays Garoto's "Jorge do Fusa" on this guitar.

An Early New York Rubio

Rubio was still in New York when he built this guitar, the year before the 1965 Rubio that Bream played, and before he returned to England. Like most great Rubios it is very even and balanced in all registers, with a bold, robust tone and the beauty and lyricism for which he is best known.

A Flamenco-Like Attack

It has a very strong attack – a lot of punch at the birth of every note, a bit like the responsiveness of a traditional flamenco, while staying very much a classical in its sound.

Condition

There are 3 hairline cracks in the top, all expertly repaired by Yuris Zeltins. The guitar was also refretted, so playability and setup are a breeze. Both historic and highly collectible.

David Rubio: From Flamenco Guitarist to Master Instrument Maker

David Rubio (1934–2000) is arguably the most important guitar maker to emerge from England, and the founding father of the English school. Born David Spink and raised in London, he studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin, then left for Spain, where he earned his living as a flamenco guitarist accompanying singers and dancers – and picked up the nickname "Rubio" for his red beard. A touring flamenco company brought him to New York, where, from what he had seen in the guitar shops of Spain, he taught himself to build guitars under the name "Jose" Rubio. Within a few years Julian Bream was playing his instruments.

Guitars, Lutes, Harpsichords and Violins

Rubio returned to England in 1967 and, from workshops near Oxford and, from 1979, in Cambridge, built a remarkably wide range of instruments: guitars and lutes, harpsichords, baroque and modern violins, violas and cellos. In the late 1960s and 1970s he trained three young makers in his methods – Kazuo Sato, Edward B. Jones and Paul Fischer – who built guitars of his design marked with their initials. Late in his life he developed a radical 8-string guitar, the "Brahms" model, with Paul Galbraith. He died in Cambridge on October 21, 2000, leaving more than a thousand instruments.