2020 José Ramírez "1a C650" No. X9-023 CD/IN

This 2020 José Ramírez "1a C650" No. X9-023 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides; Mircea Gogoncea plays Nico Rojas's "Guajira a mi madre" on it in the video above.

From the Ramírez Workshop in Madrid

Segovia, Sabicas, Christopher Parkening, Chet Atkins, Lee Ritenour, Sting – the list of professionals who have played instruments from the José Ramírez workshop over more than half a century is practically endless. Since 2000 the workshop has been in the hands of Amalia Ramírez, and this guitar was made well into her direction.

The "1a Tradicional"

The Ramírez "1a" may well be the most played and best-known Spanish-made guitar in history – a truly outstanding performance instrument by any standard. The C650 is the 650mm-scale "Tradicional": the classic Ramírez concert guitar, given a standard string length and an easy neck angle. It has one of their classic rosettes and purflings, which are absolutely stunning. This one has a particularly striking and beautiful set of rosewood for the back and sides.

Playability and Condition

You hear it straight away: the warm, colorful and moody Ramírez sound, thick yet clear. It plays easily, with a comfortable neck and a low, easy action. Signed by Amalia Ramírez, the label gives the year 2020 and the number X9-023 – with the model code "Tradicional C-650" written beside it.

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.