1989 José Ramírez "1a" No. A-1924 CD/IN (ex Gianvito Pulzone)

This 1989 José Ramírez "1a" No. A-1924 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides, built with a mahogany band in place of the usual cypress lining and once owned by Gianvito Pulzone; Mateusz Kowalski and Wesley Park play it in the videos above.

A Step Toward the Especial

Possibly one of the most played and best-known Spanish guitars in history, the Ramírez 1a model continues to satisfy players as a truly outstanding performance instrument by any standard. This particular guitar was built with "almost" all the same specs as the traditional 1a guitars that came before it; however, instead of the cypress lining on the inside of the sides, it features a band of mahogany (about half the depth of the box) that runs all the way around the sides, attached at the soundboard lining. Gianvito Pulzone spoke about this model many years ago with Carmelo Llerena, then the first official in the Ramírez shop, and was told that it was one of a series that would ultimately lead to the development of the Especial model (which has no lining to the sides at all). The idea was to add back a bit more of the vibrational body resonance, for a more old-world, traditional sound as an alternative to the more focused, sturdy and "boxy" sound of the cypress-lined guitars. To our ears it simply sounds like a great Ramírez, with that immediately identifiable, classic sound that only comes from this famous workshop.

Label and Condition

The label is numbered A-1924 and dated 1989. This 1989 model is in great condition, with one repaired crack in the top, conservatively done by Andrea Tacchi; otherwise it has some normal, superficial wear in the finish from years of regular use.

Ex Gianvito Pulzone

Gianvito Pulzone is a member of the Guitart Quartet in Italy; as a soloist, he was the only Italian guitarist to reach the final round of the 2020 Latin Grammys, with his CD dedicated to Leo Brouwer.

More reading on our blog: The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar, The José Ramírez Dynasty (from Amalia back to José I) and some interesting fact-checking in 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".