2009 José Ramírez "1a C650" No. Y8-120 CD/IN

This 2009 José Ramírez "1a C650" No. Y8-120 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides – the 650mm Tradicional, with the new rosette and purfling.

A 2009 José Ramírez from Madrid

This guitar was built in the famous José Ramírez workshop in Madrid, which for well over half a century has made instruments for countless professionals – Sting and Segovia, Chet Atkins and Sabicas, 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.

A First-Class Ramírez

Among the best new Ramírez guitars we had seen in many years when they appeared, the 1a Tradicionales are truly outstanding performance instruments by any standard. The workshop went back to basics here and made a first-class concert guitar that anyone can play easily, and the new rosette and purfling are absolutely stunning.

Sound and Condition

Thick yet clear, the tone has the warm, moody character that made the Ramírez name famous. The neck is slim and comfortable and the action easy – it plays more like the Madrid guitars of the 1950s than many later concert guitars. For attention to detail, quality of construction and sound, we rate it very highly. No. Y8-120 is written on the label, which is dated 2009 and signed by Amalia Ramírez, and the model code "C650 Tradicional" is written by hand beside the class.

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.