2003 José Ramírez "Centenario" No. 150 CD/CSAR

This 2003 José Ramírez "Centenario" No. 150 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides, French polished; Mario Da Silva plays Celil Refik Kaya's "From My Window" on it in the video above.

From the Ramírez Workshop in Madrid

Over more than half a century the José Ramírez workshop has built guitars for countless professionals – everyone from Segovia to Sting, Sabicas to Chet Atkins and Christopher Parkening to Lee Ritenour. It was made at Calle de la Paz 8 in the first decade under Amalia Ramírez, who took over the family business after the death of her brother José IV in 2000.

About the "Centenario"

The "Centenario" celebrates a hundred years of guitar making by the Ramírez family, and it is made from the finest materials the workshop has gathered over many years – the first pick of the first-class soundboards, and the same for the rosewood back and sides. The photos show the extra detailing of the model – the sculpted heel cap, the boxwood inlay in the headstock, the tapered ebony strip down the back of the neck that ends in a "rosewood bouquet" on the back of the headstock, and the intricate wood inlays of the rosette and purfling. The tuners are by Rodgers. Ramírez says it is built in exactly the same way as the other 1a models, yet in our experience these are the best guitars the workshop makes, bar none.

Sound, Label and Condition

It has great power and beauty of sound and is wonderfully easy to play. The sound has all the color and warmth of a classic Ramírez – thick yet clear, warm and a little mysterious. Although previously owned, it has barely any signs of playing wear and is in fantastic condition. The label (Calle de la Paz 8) is signed by Amalia Ramírez, dated 2003 and numbered 150.

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.

For more on Ramírez, be sure to read The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar; meet the family members from Amalia Ramírez back to José I; and for some interesting fact-checking, see our article on 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.

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.