1973 José Ramírez "2a" No. R1156 CD/CSAR

This 1973 José Ramírez "2a" No. R1156 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides – from the first year of the separate red-bordered 2a label, with no cracks or repairs.

The Ramírez "2a"

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 "2a" models are pretty much identical to the standard "1a" model in all ways; the Ramírez shop claimed back in the day that the lower price tag was due to either using materials that may have minor aesthetic blemishes, such as small knots, or what in Spain are called "cocas" (darker areas of resin concentration in the grain), or if they were built by an apprentice and not a foreman. However, after many decades of discussion, many players and aficionados have concluded that a great 2a can be identical to a great 1a.

Sound and Playability

The tone and workmanship are first-class, and this guitar offers a sound that is on par with the best that the Ramírez workshop has to offer. 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. The tone is thick yet clear, and has that essential warm, mysterious and moody quality that made Ramírez famous.

The Label and Condition

It has the red-bordered 2a label that Ramírez used from 1973: dated 1973, signed by José Ramírez III and numbered R1156 – the "R" marks the 2a numbering. It also carries the small green sticker of the American distributor, Antigua Casa Sherry-Brener ("Modelo Segovia – Hecho a Mano"). It features beautiful materials and is in great condition for its age – no cracks or repairs, just some mild playing wear. An excellent example of a fine Ramírez for the active concert player or recording artist.

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".