Classical Guitars: 2009 MARIO RUBIO SOLD

MARIO RUBIO SOLD

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650 mm Scale, 52 mm Nut. Medium grain Domed Spruce Soundboard, Indian Rosewood back and sides. 7 fan braces and 2 bottom chevrons with a Bridge Strap. This has a cut kerfing piece attaching the soundboard and the back to the sides.

In Milan there's a world famous lutherie school which is little known to the people of Milan. Here both modern and old instruments have been made for nearly forty years in the Lombard lutherie tradition. Mario Rubio is one of the teachers at the school. In his laboratory in the Ripamonti area, he has been designing and making classical guitars, which are totally handmade, for nearly twenty years.

It's a slow process that begins in val di Fiemme, on the Dolomites, where the fir tree is first cut during nights where the full moon shines bright, then taken to the workshop, where it is carved together with other fine woods like ebony, cedar and rosewood. Getting to the finished product takes a long time, at least 300 hours of work, from the first carve until the last coat of varnish. In between, there's a lot of patient and careful work which demands competence and absolute passion.

The Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia used to say that playing the guitar is like watching an orchestra with upside-down binoculars: all its instruments are included in it but in smaller auditory dimensions. There is an infinite range of colours, tones and qualities to be discovered. A technically perfect instrument is not enough. You also need soul. And maybe this is the secret of Mario's guitars.

Since 2015 Mario Rubio, has been one of the teachers at the Civica Scuola di Liuteria in Milan.