1973 José Ramírez "1a" No. 7403 CD/CSAR

This 1973 José Ramírez "1a" No. 7403 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides, with a striking set of figured CSA rosewood and no cracks.

A 1973 Ramírez Concert Guitar

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. It was made in what collectors often call the golden era of Ramírez – not because later guitars are any less fine, but because the guitars were still something of a novelty, future master luthiers were still in the workshop, and the great players of the day flocked to Madrid.

Tone and Playability

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. 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, including a striking set of figured CSA rosewood for the back and sides.

Condition and Label

Signed by José Ramírez III, the label gives the number 7403 and the year 1973. It has no cracks anywhere; however, it does appear that at one time the bridge had been off and re-glued, which caused a couple of small hairline cracks in the varnish (which do not go into the wood). There is also a dinged area behind the high-E string at the bridge. Other than these minor cosmetic issues it is in great condition for its age.

Curious about the family? Our blog has The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar, the whole line from Amalia Ramírez back to José I, and a little fact-checking on the 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".