Rubato

(Italian – ‘to rob’)

Adding artistic expression to a piece of music by playing certain phrases faster, or slower, without altering the original length.

Musicians are masters of invention. Whether adding a new twist to a composition, or trying out a new playing technique, there’s always another, more interesting way to do things. And that applies to designing and making instruments too.

For us, it’s about reinterpretation and evolution. About taking something that’s already elegant and beautiful and putting our own stamp on it.

When it comes to playing, and listening to guitars, we know what works best for us. So we’ve developed an instrument that combines all the elements we think matter most, to give us the playing experience we love.

The Rubato Lassie is our small, but passionate, contribution to the great big, wonderful world of music. It’s not intended to replace the much-loved guitars we’ve spent a lifetime playing but it’s a very special addition to our collection … and we hope the guitar fraternity will feel the same way.

The Rubato Team

We’re father and son, Roger and Oliver Lambson, and as engineers and lifelong music lovers there’s little we appreciate more than a lovingly-crafted guitar that sounds as good as it looks.

We’ve collected – and coveted – a few over the years and the genius luthiers at Gibson, Fender, Paul Reed Smith and other innovative outfits have been our inspirations along the way.

In 2016, we decided to design and build a carbon fibre guitar for fun. With mechanical engineer, Roger, in Johannesburg, South Africa at Rubato Guitars HQ (aka the garden workshop), and Oliver studying Mechatronic Engineering 1200km away at Stellenbosch University in the Cape Winelands, the logistics were challenging.

Three years in – with every spare night, weekend and holiday absorbed in what became an obsession – it dawned on us that other musos and guitar fans might enjoy adding an unusual piece of top-end kit to their collections too.

So we notched things up, ground out some serious CAD, built ourselves a 375L carbon curing oven (… yup, ‘geeks’ with a capital G …) and refined the prototypes until we were satisfied we’d produced a premium instrument that met the exacting specs we, and other guificionados, would demand.

Support Crew

We’re not the only members of the team. Our support crew doggedly worked the nightshift too. That’s why every Rubato Guitar model will carry the name of one, loyal, much-loved member of our four-legged family.

Clapton

German short-haired pointer (GSP)

Mallow

Lab/Retriever and wrecking ball

Lassie

Scottie

Splodge

Dalmation

Frankie

Wire-haired dachshund

Smudge

Dalmation