1992 (1985) José Ramírez "1a" No. I2-025 CD/IN (ex Andrés Segovia)

This 1992 (1985) José Ramírez "1a" No. I2-025 is a cedar-top classical guitar with Indian rosewood back and sides that first belonged to Andrés Segovia, relabeled by the workshop after it came back from him.

Andrés Segovia's Ramírez – and Its Two Labels

This is a great example of a classic long-scale Ramírez 1a, currently bearing a label dated 1992 with the serial number I2-025. According to documentation provided by Amalia Ramírez, its first owner was actually Andrés Segovia, who owned it briefly before his death in 1987. The original label was dated 1985, with the serial number H5-665. It is unclear why the label was changed when Ramírez received the guitar back from Segovia, but there is no doubt that this is the case – there is a handwritten receipt from the Ramírez shop stating that the guitar would be polished (but not re-varnished) and have the label changed, with a new serial number. A small second label inside records it: "Nº Serie Original H5-665, Año 1985".

Sound and Condition

Apart from this unusual story, the guitar itself is a great player's guitar, with substantial power and beauty of tone and that moody, mysterious, dark quality found in the classic Ramírez sound. It is wonderfully easy to play, with a lovely neck and easy action, even for a long scale. It has barely any signs of playing wear and is in fantastic condition, with no damage or repairs. A great Ramírez with a very interesting back-story!

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".