David Rubio, 1984

Every so often a guitar arrives that reminds you why certain instruments become the stuff of legend, and this 1984 David Rubio is exactly that. Built during Rubio's celebrated Cambridge period and carrying the David J. Rubio label, it comes to us in truly exceptional condition, with no cracks and no repairs anywhere on the instrument.

Rubio is the maker who, more than any other, established the modern English school of lutherie, and his guitars are dream instruments for players and collectors around the world. This one shows exactly why. From the very first chord you feel an unusual warmth and presence, a richness that is genuinely hard to put into words. It is a rare opportunity not only to acquire a Rubio, but to acquire one in this kind of condition, with playability that is guaranteed to be excellent.

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Specifications

Luthier: David J. Rubio

Year: 1984 (Cambridge period)

Action: 3.5mm bass / 2.7mm treble at the 12th fret

Tuners: Rodgers (engraved, kidney buttons)

Condition: Excellent, no cracks or repairs

Strings: D'Addario XTC45FF with normal tension nylon first string
https://ddar.io/guitar-collection

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Sound & Playability

From the first note, this guitar offers a warmth and presence that feels immediately special. There is a depth and richness to the sound that recalls the two makers Rubio most admired: you hear the influence of Robert Bouchet and the French school, alongside the voice of Francisco Simplicio and the Barcelona tradition. This guitar is a beautiful marriage of those two worlds.

The basses are vibrant and alive, never rambunctious, but clear, regal, and carrying a richness that is hard to compare to anything else. The trebles are extremely creamy, with real clarity that leans toward that singing Simplicio character. The first string in particular is one you can drive hard, and everything comes out cleanly. High up the fingerboard the trebles sound like little pearls, each note eager to be released from the guitar. Moving the right hand over the fingerboard yields an exquisite richness, while playing closer to the bridge gives a bright, brilliant edge and a wide palette of color, the kind of sound we associate with the great Bream recordings.

Playability is a highlight. Although the scale is 660mm, you would never know it under the hands, helped by a standard 52mm nut width and a comfortable medium C-shaped neck that is neither too thick nor too thin. The action sits at a low 3.5mm on the bass side and just 2.7mm on the treble side at the twelfth fret, which makes this guitar ridiculously easy to play. When you are considering a vintage instrument at this level, playability of this caliber genuinely matters, and here it is exceptional.

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Construction & Design

The spruce top has aged to a beautiful color and is braced with a six-fan bracing design underneath. It is set off by a very handsome rosette. The bridge is made from a beautiful piece of Brazilian rosewood with a nicely aged tie block, and there is still a little room left at the saddle should you ever wish to go lower, though it is already quite low. The back and sides are a very straight-grained set of Indian rosewood in beautiful condition.

The headstock carries that iconic Rubio shape, and it is crowned by a set of old Rodgers tuning machines with beautiful engraving and kidney buttons. They remain wonderfully smooth to this day and are among the finest tuners you will find on any guitar.

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About the Luthier

David Rubio (born David Joseph Spinks, 17 September 1934 to 21 October 2000) was an English maker of stringed instruments and one of the most important figures in the modern history of the classical guitar. He acquired the name Rubio in his twenties while working as a professional flamenco guitarist, which he had learned studying in Seville with players including Pepe Martínez. Some of his earliest labels read Jose Rubio, from that Spanish period.

In the early 1960s he traveled from Spain to New York as accompanist for the Rafael de Cordoba flamenco dance company. It was in New York that he set playing aside in favor of building, opening his first workshop on Carmine Street in Greenwich Village. He later returned to England, establishing a workshop in Duns Tew near Oxford before relocating to Cambridge, where this guitar was built.

Over a forty-year career Rubio made more than a thousand instruments, and his curiosity extended far beyond the guitar to lutes, harpsichords, theorbos, vihuelas, citterns, violins, violas, and cellos. He investigated the technology of instrument making deeply, working with Professor Ralph Raphael and other Cambridge scientists to study the surface treatments used on Cremonese instruments by makers such as Stradivari, research that was published in Nature. He also generously shared his knowledge with a younger generation of makers. He died in Cambridge in 2000 at the age of 66.

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Historical Context

Rubio's reputation was cemented by his association with the legendary guitarist Julian Bream. In the mid 1960s Bream was searching for a replacement for his beloved Robert Bouchet guitar, which had been stolen from him. He discovered Rubio's work and encouraged him to build, and from 1965 into the late 1960s Bream performed and recorded on Rubio guitars. Most famously, he used a 1965 Rubio to record Benjamin Britten's Nocturnal on his landmark album 20th Century Guitar, one of the most influential guitar records ever made.

Hearing an instrument like this, you understand immediately why Rubio guitars caught the ear of a musician like Bream, who had access to virtually every great guitar in the world, and why they remain so coveted today.

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This guitar is in excellent condition throughout. There are no cracks and no repairs to the top, and the back and sides are likewise crack-free and unrepaired. The spruce top has a lovely aged color, and the original Rodgers tuners remain smooth and fully functional. For a Cambridge-period Rubio, this is about as clean an example as one could hope to find.

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