1949 José Ramírez II SP/CY

This 1949 José Ramírez II is a spruce and cypress flamenco guitar made in Madrid – exceptionally well-preserved, with its original varnish and the explosive sound of the best flamencos of the period.

In the video above, Tavi Jinariu plays "Turégano" on this guitar.

Four-Piece Top and Wenge

This particular guitar is a fantastic example, with a top built from four pieces, a wenge fingerboard and bridge, and a simple but elegant rosette. The guitar is lightly built – only 5 fans under the top and no bridge plate.

A Flamenco Sound, Original Varnish

The sound is therefore explosive – very loose and responsive with a quick and sharp attack – typical of only the best flamencos from this period. The guitar is in completely original condition (apart from replaced tuning machines), with original varnish and materials. There is one repaired (nearly invisible) hairline crack on the top, north of the upper harmonic bar. It is an exceptionally well-preserved and very playable example from the workshop of José Ramírez II. Very suitable to both collector and performer.

José Ramírez II: Twenty Years in South America

José Ramírez II (1885–1957), the eldest son of José Ramírez I, grew up in his father's shop, learning from his father and from journeymen such as his uncle Manuel Ramírez and Enrique García. A guitarist as well as a maker, at 20 he left on what was meant to be a two-year tour of South America – it turned into almost twenty years in Buenos Aires. After his father's death he returned to Madrid, and in 1925 he took over the Ramírez workshop.

The Ramírez Workshop under José II

At this time, the workshop employed four workers: two journeymen, Alfonso Benito and Antonio Gómez, an advanced apprentice, Marcelo Barbero, who years later would become a famous guitar maker, and the varnisher Manuel Rodríguez (nicknamed "Marequi"), whose son Manuel later became a well-known guitar maker himself. In 1929 José II won the Gold Medal at the Ibero-American Exposition in Seville. Under his direction, the workshop produced mostly plain, inexpensive but adequate guitars, particularly after 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, when high quality materials were difficult to obtain. Despite these challenges, Ramírez II was able to fill the economic niche for well-made guitars bearing the name of a famous workshop – instruments very usable for serious musicians in both flamenco and classical genres.

Read More about the Ramírez Family

For more information on Ramírez, be sure to read The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar, or for information on the Ramírez family members, from Amalia Ramírez back to José I, and for some interesting fact-checking on myths and facts about this legendary workshop.