1967 José Ramírez "1a AM" No. 2019 CD/CSAR

This 1967 José Ramírez "1a AM" No. 2019 is a cedar-top classical guitar with CSA rosewood back and sides, built in Madrid by Antonio Martínez – from the Russell Cleveland collection; Taso Comanescu plays Tárrega's "Capricho Árabe" on it in the video above.

A 1967 Ramírez by Antonio Martínez

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. Its builder was Antonio Martínez, as the "AM" stamp inside attests – the same maker behind the Ramírez guitars of Segovia and Parkening (our full list of the Ramírez makers of this period has more).

Playability and Sound

It plays very easily, with a lovely neck and easy action – not always the case with guitars of this period, given the way many of them were set up. The tone is thick and yet clear, with the essential warmth and the mysterious, moody quality that made these guitars famous. It features first-rate materials.

Label and Condition

On the label: José Ramírez III's signature, the year 1967 and No. 2019. It also carries two small stickers of the American distributor, Antigua Casa Sherry-Brener ("Guitarra Concierto" and "Modelo Segovia"). The guitar is in great condition for its age – there are no cracks or repairs of any kind, and apart from the tuning machines (a replaced set of Reischls) it is in completely original condition. An excellent example of a fine Ramírez for either collector or concert player.

From the Russell Cleveland Collection

From the Russell Cleveland collection. Featured on pages 55–56 of the book "The Classical Guitar – A Complete History".

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".