1981 José Ramírez "Centenario" No. 24 CD/CSAR

This 1981 José Ramírez "Centenario" No. 24 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides – one of the earliest of the special "Centenario" guitars, made from the workshop's finest materials.

The Ramírez "Centenario"

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. The "Centenario" model roughly marks the hundred years of guitar making in the Ramírez family. It is made from the workshop's finest materials, collected over many, many years: the tops are the first pick of the first-class soundboards, and the same goes for the back and sides. As the photos show, there is a lot of extra detailing on this model, including a sculpted heel cap, boxwood inlay in the headstock, tapered ebony on the back of the neck ending in a "rosewood bouquet" on the back of the headstock, and extremely intricate wood inlays in the purfling and rosette. Although Ramírez states that it is made in exactly the same fashion as the other 1a models, our experience is that these are the best guitars made by the workshop, bar none – great power, beauty of sound and wonderfully easy to play.

The Label

The Centenario has a label of its own: "Centenario" is printed where the class normally goes, and this one, signed by José Ramírez III and dated 1981, is numbered 24.

Sound and Condition

This example from 1981 is one of the earliest we have seen and a very rare find. It is in excellent condition for its age, with minor wear and tear and an expertly repaired crack in the back. The sound is typical of a top Ramírez: dark, mysterious and full of vibrant character.

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".