2012 José Ramírez "2NCWE" No. 068 CD/IN

This 2012 José Ramírez "2NCWE" No. 068 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and laminated Indian rosewood back and sides – a cutaway with electronics from the NE line.

A 2012 Ramírez from Calle de la Paz

The Ramírez workshop, where this guitar was made, has supplied countless professionals over more than half a century: Andrés Segovia and Sabicas, Christopher Parkening and Chet Atkins, Lee Ritenour and even Sting. Amalia Ramírez, who took over from her brother José IV in 2000, inspects every guitar from the workshop during and after construction; this one comes from her second decade in charge.

A Ramírez NE Guitar

In 2008 Amalia Ramírez gave the "E" line of José Ramírez III (1986) a new look – updated rosettes, purflings and tie blocks – and the result is the NE line, built to her father's original designs. The NE guitars are slightly lighter in weight, but they still sing with the same beautiful, rich tones that are characteristic of José Ramírez guitars. This is the NE-line version of the popular "2CWE", revamped with updated aesthetics: a cutaway with electronics, easy to play and with the famous Ramírez tone – perfect for jazz and crossover artists as well as for the gigging classical professional.

Specifications and Label

It has a 650mm scale, a 50mm nut and laminated Indian rosewood back and sides. A new HumiCase Protege hardshell case was included. Its orange "Guitarras de Estudio" 2NCWE label – No. 068 – is dated 2012 and carries the "Calidad Ramírez" stamp.

Curious about the family? Our blog has The Ramírez Family: Masters of the Guitar, the whole line from Amalia Ramírez back to José I, and a little fact-checking on the 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.