1970 José Ramírez "1a" No. 4294 CD/CSAR

This 1970 José Ramírez "1a" No. 4294 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides, one of the last guitars built in the Ramírez workshop by Ignacio Manzano Rozas before he moved to Contreras.

The José Ramírez Workshop in 1970

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. The 1970s carried on what many call the golden era of the workshop – an exciting time, with the Ramírez name at the height of its fame and the elite players of the world beating a path to its door.

Stamped "IM": Ignacio Manzano Rozas

Stamped initials internally are IM (Ignacio Manzano Rozas), who worked for José Ramírez from 1959 to 1969 and then in the Contreras shop from 1970 to 1987 before setting up on his own – so this must have been a guitar he completed at the end of his stint with Ramírez, labeled and sold the year after his departure (our full list of the Ramírez makers of this period has more).

Sound

The tone of this guitar has that classic, identifiable Ramírez sound from this era – a rich, thick and yet clear voice throughout, with that essential warm, mysterious and moody quality that made Ramírez famous.

Condition

The label is signed by José Ramírez III, numbered 4294 and dated 1970. Condition is excellent; apart from one cleat up against the fingerboard in the upper bout on the treble side, it just has some normal playing wear in the finish from regular use over the past five decades. An absolutely fantastic example of a top Ramírez from their golden era, made with gorgeous materials.

For the story of the workshop, read The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar and The José Ramírez Dynasty; for some interesting fact-checking, see José Ramírez: myths and facts.

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".