1956 José Ramírez II SP/CSAR

This 1956 José Ramírez II is a spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar made in Madrid a year before his death – from the Russell Cleveland collection, and featured in "The Classical Guitar – A Complete History".

From the Russell Cleveland Collection

This guitar comes from the Russell Cleveland collection and is featured on pages 46-47 of the book "The Classical Guitar – A Complete History".

The Influence of Manuel Ramírez

This guitar was made one year before the death of José Ramírez II and already shows the growing influence of Manuel Ramírez over the Francisco González-inspired style of his father, José Ramírez I, in the plantilla, internal bracing and even decorative decisions. It has a lightweight build, huge volume (even by 'modern' standards) and almost plays itself with a beautifully shaped neck and easy setup.

A Great Period of the Ramírez Dynasty

This was a great period of the Ramírez dynasty – several important makers were working at the Ramírez shop during this period, including Paulino Bernabé, Marcelo Barbero, Manuel Rodríguez and of course his son José Ramírez III, who would eventually take over the running of the shop in 1957 and continue to make history for this famous shop in the decades to follow. Apart from a small crack in the back, the guitar is in excellent, original condition. This is truly a great "classic" all around.

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.