1969 José Ramírez "1a AM" No. 3339 CD/CSAR (ex Andrés Segovia)

This 1969 José Ramírez "1a AM" No. 3339 is a cedar-top classical guitar with CSA rosewood back and sides, built in Madrid by Antonio Martínez – one of the primary concert instruments of Andrés Segovia from 1969 until 1980, heard in the 17 videos above.

Andrés Segovia's 1969 Ramírez

Stamped internally "AM" (designating that it was constructed by Ramírez worker Antonio Martínez), this is one of the primary instruments the great Andrés Segovia owned and played from 1969 until 1980, as documentation from José Ramírez III attests (in translation): "...the classical guitar number 3.339...was habitually played by maestro Segovia in his concerts, during 1969 and successive years". The label, signed by José Ramírez III, bears that same number.

A Transcendent Musical Instrument

We decided to keep this instrument here in our facility for over two years for the purpose of being able to show it to several leading concert players, aficionados and lovers of the guitar. Response to it was overwhelming and unanimous – it is not just a transcendent Ramírez, it's a transcendent musical instrument that happens to be a guitar, and all of this regardless of its provenance (although the provenance is fantastic, of course). It is such a rare privilege to have an instrument of this caliber and historical value that we held the guitar back from sale in order to show it to the public, players, luthiers and aficionados, and to document it with several videos and recordings – indeed this is the most "video'd" guitar ever in GSI history!

Scott Tennant's "The Segovia Sessions"

Another highlight is that we were able to have Scott Tennant record his CD "The Segovia Sessions" with it, which drew enormous attention from the press, as you can see in these feature articles in "Classical Guitar" Magazine and "Guitar Aficionado" Magazine. We even had a farewell party for it – a fantastic event here in the GSI showroom where it was played by many of our friends and supplemented with lectures by our very own David Collett and Segovia buff David Norton. One of the most memorable guitars to ever pass through our doors for sure!

Testimonials from some of the players who recorded on this Ramírez. This guitar is featured in Orfeo – 34 Classical Guitars in Life Size.

From the Russell Cleveland Collection

This guitar is from the Russell Cleveland collection. Featured on pages 55–57 of the book "The Classical Guitar – A Complete History".

The José Ramírez Workshop of Madrid

Founded in Madrid in 1882 by José Ramírez I, the Ramírez workshop has produced guitars for more than a century and through five generations of the family. José Ramírez III (1922–1995) took over as maestro in 1957 and developed the Ramírez concert guitar we know today – large in body, with a long string length and a cedar or spruce top, with great power, sustain, sweetness and balance across the entire register. He popularized western red cedar as a soundboard wood, and from the 1960s Andrés Segovia played José Ramírez guitars to the end of his days.

Ramírez Craftsmen and the Next Generations

From the 1960s to the 1990s the workshop trained many of the most talented guitarreros of the day, among them Paulino Bernabé and Manuel Contreras. In 1995 the shop moved from Calle Concepción Jerónima 2 to Calle de la Paz 8, and since the death of José Ramírez IV in June 2000 the business has been directed by his sister, Amalia Ramírez, who inspects every guitar during and after construction.

Ramírez Models, Labels and Builders' Stamps

For decades the workshop sold its guitars by class rather than by model name. The "1a" (first class) was the standard concert guitar; the "2a" (second class) was built the same way, and the shop explained its lower price tag by materials that might have minor aesthetic blemishes, or by its having been built by an apprentice rather than a foreman. Flamenco guitars add an "F" – "1aF" and "2aF". Until 1967 the labels carried only the year; from 1967 they were signed by José Ramírez III and gave the guitar's number and class, and from 1973 the 2a had a grey label of its own, with a red border and "R" numbers. Until 1971, many Ramírez guitars were stamped inside with the initials of the craftsman who built them – AM for Antonio Martínez, MT for Mariano Tezanos, PB for Paulino Bernabé and many more (see our list of Ramírez workshop luthiers). Later decades brought new models: the "Centenario", which roughly marked the workshop's hundredth anniversary; the "Da Cámara"; the shorter-scale C86 of 1986; and, under José Ramírez IV, the "Tradicional" and the "Especial".