1970 José Ramírez "1aF AM" No. 4487 w/pegs CD/CY

This 1970 José Ramírez "1aF AM" No. 4487 is a flamenco guitar with a cedar top and cypress back and sides, fitted with wooden pegs and built in Madrid by Antonio Martínez; Jerónimo Maya plays his "Tablao de la Morería" on it in the video above.

A 1970 Ramírez Flamenco by Antonio Martínez

Over more than half a century the famous Ramírez workshop of José III built guitars for countless professionals – everyone from Segovia to Sting, Sabicas to Chet Atkins and Christopher Parkening to Lee Ritenour. Inside, it carries the stamp "AM" – Antonio Martínez, the maker who built the Ramírez guitars of Segovia and Parkening (a complete list of the Ramírez luthiers of this era is here). It is similar in design to the Ramírez that Sabicas would use later in his career.

Sound and Condition

This is an extraordinary example of an older concert flamenco from the golden era of Ramírez, and it is in incredible condition – with no damage or repairs. Lightweight and comfortable, it has that dry and aggressive old-world flamenco sound. It is fitted with traditional wooden pegs, which can easily be switched to "machined" pegs.

The Label

The label is signed by José Ramírez III, numbered 4487 and dated 1970. An excellent example of a fine Ramírez for either collector or concert player, made by one of its iconic and most sought-after builders.

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".