1965 José Ramírez "1a PC" CD/CSAR

This 1965 José Ramírez "1a PC" is a French-polished classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides from Madrid, built by Pedro Contreras Valbuena; Julius Reder Carlson plays Gardel's "Volver" on it in the video above.

A Ramírez by Pedro Contreras

The José Ramírez III workshop, where this guitar was made, supplied countless professionals over more than fifty years: Andrés Segovia and Sabicas, Christopher Parkening and Chet Atkins, Lee Ritenour and even Sting. Stamped initials internally are PC – Pedro Contreras Valbuena (a complete list of the Ramírez luthiers of this era is here).

Playability and Sound

The neck is lovely and the action easy, so it is very easy to play – despite the way many of the guitars of this period were set up. The sound is the classic one: thick yet clear, full of that warm, mysterious and moody quality for which Ramírez became famous.

Condition

Condition is astounding for its age – there are barely even any signs of regular playing wear, let alone damage or repairs. The label is dated 1965, the first year the workshop offered cedar tops to the public.

To learn more, read The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar; meet the family members from Amalia Ramírez back to José I; and for some interesting fact-checking, see our article on myths and facts about this legendary workshop.

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".