2003 José Ramírez "Centenario" No. 155 CD/CSAR

This 2003 José Ramírez "Centenario" No. 155 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides in fantastic condition, donated to the GSI Foundation.

From the José Ramírez Workshop, Directed by Amalia Ramírez

It comes from the famous José Ramírez workshop – today directed by Amalia Ramírez – whose instruments have been played by countless professionals over more than half a century, from Segovia and Sabicas to Sting, Chet Atkins, Lee Ritenour and Christopher Parkening. It belongs to the first years of the Amalia Ramírez era – she has directed the workshop since her brother José Ramírez IV died in 2000, and she inspects every guitar during and after construction.

The Ramírez "Centenario" Model

Named for the family's hundred years of guitar making, the Centenario uses the workshop's finest materials, laid down over many years: its tops are the first pick of the first-class soundboards, and its rosewood is chosen the same way. Look closely and you will see the additional decoration: intricate wood inlays in the rosette and purflings, boxwood in the headstock, a sculpted heel cap and a tapered line of ebony on the back of the neck, finishing in a "rosewood bouquet" on the headstock. The tuners are by Rodgers. Its dimensions and proportions are those of the other 1a models, according to the workshop – but in our experience the Centenario is the best guitar Ramírez makes, bar none.

The Label and Condition

Powerful and beautiful in sound, it has a lovely neck and an easy action. Its voice is the immediately identifiable, classic sound that only comes from a great Ramírez concert guitar. It was previously owned but has barely any signs of playing wear, and the Rodgers tuners work perfectly. A hardshell case was included. Its label is dated 2003, numbered 155 and signed by Amalia Ramírez.

GSI Foundation

This guitar was donated to our non-profit charitable organization, the GSI Foundation. Guitar sales through the GSI Foundation raise money to directly benefit music education in public schools.

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.

The Workshop Under Amalia Ramírez

Under Amalia Ramírez the workshop has kept the classic concert guitar at the heart of its range – the "1a" (first class) in the "Tradicional" design, its model code written by hand on the label: C650 for a cedar top with Indian rosewood, "-A" for a spruce (abeto) top, "-P" for CSA rosewood (palosanto) and "-AP" for both, with F656 and F656-A for the cedar and spruce flamencos. Around it she has built a wider family of models: the "Centenario" and "Elite", made with the workshop's most precious woods; the reissued "SP" and "2a"; the "Auditorio", "Antigua" and "Guitarra del Tiempo"; anniversary series such as the "125 Años" and "130 Años"; replicas of historic guitars, from the 1912 Manuel Ramírez played by Segovia to the 1913 "Guitarra de Tablao" of José Ramírez I; and the studio lines NE, R and FL. The concert guitars carry the Calle de la Paz 8 label, signed by Amalia Ramírez with her star signature and numbered with a letter-and-number code (Centenario and Elite have numbers of their own), while the studio guitars have an orange "Guitarras de Estudio" label, "Diseñada, Revisada y Certificada por Ramírez", with the red "Calidad Ramírez" stamp.