1976 David Rubio SP/CSAR (ex Alice Artzt)

A 1976 classical guitar by David Rubio, with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, made in England for the concert guitarist Alice Artzt – with her dedication inscribed inside the heel.

In the video above, Giovanni Piacentini plays "Una Flor en la Laguna" from Julio César Oliva's "Suite Montebello" on this guitar.

Built for Alice Artzt

This guitar was built for Alice Artzt, a leading recording artist and solo concert player from the 1970s through the 1990s, as a backup to her 1967 Rubio. Although she never took possession of it, the dedication survives as an inscription on the inside of the heel (see photo).

Inlays from the Harpsichord Workshop

It shows Rubio's superior craftsmanship, with understated but tasteful inlays in the headstock – a fusion, it seems, of his admiration for Simplicio and the flourishes of his baroque instruments, particularly his ornately inlaid harpsichords. The materials are exquisite, above all the CSA rosewood of the back and sides.

Sound and Condition

The tone is thick and rich with incredible sustain in the trebles, and its excellent, never-boomy volume suits any recital or concert. Since our photos were taken it has been fitted with a new set of Rodgers tuners; otherwise it is in excellent original condition, with no damage or repairs.

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.