1966 José Ramírez "1a AM" CD/CSAR

This 1966 José Ramírez "1a AM" is a classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides, built in Madrid by Antonio Martínez; Alex Park plays Albéniz's "Leyenda" on it in the video above.

From the José Ramírez III Workshop

For more than half a century, guitars from the José Ramírez III workshop have been in the hands of countless professionals, from Segovia to Sting, from Sabicas to Chet Atkins and from Christopher Parkening to Lee Ritenour. The 1960s were a big, exciting era for the Ramírez workshop – its concert guitar was a novelty, the bench was full of luthiers who would later make their own names, and the great players of the world were beating a path to its door.

Stamped "AM": Antonio Martínez

The internal stamp reads "AM" for Antonio Martínez, who built Ramírez guitars for both Segovia and Parkening (see our list of Ramírez workshop luthiers).

Playability and Sound

It is very easy to play, with a lovely neck and easy action, despite the way many of the guitars from this period were set up. You hear it straight away – a thick yet clear tone with that essential warm, moody and mysterious quality that made Ramírez famous. It features first-rate materials and top-quality workmanship.

A Great Player's Guitar

It does have three cracks in the back and one in the top – all of which have been expertly repaired. The finish is original, the label is dated 1966, and the guitar sounds spectacular. This is a great "player's guitar" for the player seeking a fine vintage Ramírez with the classic sound.

There is much more about the workshop on our blog – The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar, the family members from Amalia Ramírez back to José I, and some fact-checking 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".