2004 José Ramírez "SP" No. 04-048 CD/IN

This 2004 José Ramírez "SP" No. 04-048 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides, French polished – the cedar-top version of the reissued "SP" model.

The Ramírez Workshop in 2004

For more than fifty years, guitars from the José Ramírez 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 workshop moved to Calle de la Paz 8 in 1995, and five years later Amalia Ramírez took over from her brother José IV; this guitar was made there during her first decade in charge.

The "SP" Model

This is the reissued version of the old classic "SP" model, designed for the semi-professional (hence the name). It features a striking rosette designed by Amalia Ramírez and a simpler, smaller label, similar in many ways to labels from previous periods. This is the cedar-top version, which many players believe gives Ramírez its classic sound – Ramírez were the first to popularize cedar, from the mid-1960s.

Playability, Label and Condition

Playability and tone are superb, with plenty of volume for the concert stage. Although used, it is in great shape, with only some superficial scratches and small dings in the finish on the soundboard – otherwise no damage or repairs. Its oval "Guitarra SP" label is numbered 04-048. A truly remarkable guitar for the player who needs a top-level instrument.

To learn more about the family and its workshop, read The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar, our history of the family from Amalia Ramírez back to José I, and 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.