Description
David „José” Rubio is one of the most famous guitar makers worldwide. After having moved to Sevilla and then to Madrid, to learn flamenco guitar performance, he developed a strong interest for guitar making. It was in New York, USA, after having moved to attend high school there in 1961, that he opened his first own workshop in 1963. His first meeting with Julian Bream happened a few month later and was the starting point of a close friendship. Julian Bream played several of Rubio’s guitar, noticeably a 1966 instrument on which he recorded “Julian Bream and his Friends” (1968). From 1967 on, D. J. Rubio moved back to England. He stayed until 1969 in Julian Bream’s house in Semley before opening a workshop near Oxford in 1969.
Not only did he build guitars, but also lutes, vihuelas, theorboes, harpsichords, violas da gamba, baroque guitars, etc. Julian Bream played a 1967 D. J. Rubio lute that appears on four of his albums throughout the 1970s, noticeably on the album: “The Lute Music of John Dowland” (1976). David “José” Rubio eventually moved his workshop to Cambridge in the 1980s.
This 8 courses lute is a gorgeous example of David José Rubio’s high-quality workmanship. It is generously decorated with fine marquetry inlays on the head and the neck. This instrument was built based on the model of Bream’s 1967 8 courses lute, featuring the two first two strings as single-strings, the inlaid frets and the elevated first-string peg. This lute is in excellent condition, no cracks nor repairs have occurred. This lute only has some handling wear on the top of the head and some imperceptible playing marks on the top. It is a rare opportunity to see a lute made by this great English master and an even bigger event to have the chance to approach such a gorgeously decorated instrument made on the model of Julian Bream’s one.
Luthier: | David “José” Rubio |
Construction year: | 1981 |
Top: | Spruce |
Back and sides: | Maple |
Scale: | 630 mm |
Nut: | 83 mm |