1900's Manuel Ramírez SP/CY

A small-bodied Manuel Ramírez guitar from the early 1900s, in spruce and cypress, fitted by Yuris Zeltins with mechanical pegs (the original pegs are included).

Two videos above feature this guitar: Flynn Hase Spence plays Agustín Barrios' Valse, Op. 8, No. 4, and Adam Levin plays the "Mazurka-Choro" from Heitor Villa-Lobos' Suite Populaire Brésilienne.

Golden, Vibrant Trebles

This guitar is a perfect example of the style and sound that had such a profound impact on players and listeners of its day: a small-bodied instrument with deep basses, golden and vibrant trebles, and rich textures of sound interwoven with clear, bell-like fundamentals. Being so light, it has incredible volume and an instant response, and its sound is unmistakably Spanish – deep, dark and mysterious – with the special character that only a century of playing gives.

Pegs and Condition

It was fitted by Yuris Zeltins with machined "Planetary Pegs" for a vintage look with easy use; the original pegs are included, should a future owner wish to reinstall them. It is in excellent condition, with one well-repaired, nearly invisible hairline crack in the top (glue only) and one in the side, repaired internally with old music-notation paper. Built before "classical" and "flamenco" were told apart, it would make a fantastic concert and recording guitar in either style.

Manuel Ramírez (1864–1916): The Madrid Workshop After Torres

The Manuel Ramírez shop was undoubtedly the most important guitar workshop of the early post-Torres era. Brother and former pupil of José Ramírez I, Manuel committed himself to carrying the Torres design into the 20th century, and he gathered the finest builders of his day to do it: Santos Hernández, Domingo Esteso, Modesto Borreguero, Pascual Viudes and, very likely, Enrique García. Together they produced guitars that secured the legacy of Torres for every generation of makers that followed.

Segovia's 1912 Manuel Ramírez

The shop's most famous instrument is the 1912 guitar played by the young Andrés Segovia, built by Santos Hernández and today housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, alongside Segovia's 1937 Hermann Hauser I.

The "Viuda de Manuel Ramírez" Label

After Manuel's death in 1916, the workshop went on completing instruments under the label of his widow ("Viuda de Manuel Ramírez"). His craftsmen later founded workshops of their own – Santos Hernández on Calle de la Aduana and Domingo Esteso at Gravina 7 – carrying the shop's sound and standards deep into the 20th century.