1949 Jose Ramirez II SP/CY

Jose Ramirez II (1885-1957), the eldest son of Jose Ramirez I, took over the Ramirez workshop in 1925 after a twenty-year stay in South America. At this time, the Ramirez workshop employed four workers: two journeymen Alfonso Benito and Antonio Gomez, an advanced apprentice Marcelo Barbero, who years later would become a famous guitar maker, and varnisher Manuel Rodriguez (nicknamed "Marequi"), whose son Manuel became a well-known guitar maker years later. Under Ramirez II's direction, the workshop produced mostly plain, inexpensive but adequate guitars, particularly after 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, when high quality materials were difficult to obtain. Despite these challenges, Ramirez II was able to fill the economic niche for well-made guitars bearing the name of a famous workshop. These instruments were very usable for serious musicians both in flamenco and classical genres. This particular guitar is a fantastic example, with a top built from four pieces, a wenge fingerboard and bridge, and a simple but elegant rosette. The guitar is lightly built - only 5 fans under the top and no bridge plate. The sound is therefore explosive - very loose and responsive with a quick and sharp attack - typical of only the best flamencos from this period. The guitar is in completely original condition (apart from replaced tuning machines) with original varnish and materials. There is one repaired (nearly invisible) hairline crack on the top, north of the upper harmonic bar. It is an exceptionally well-preserved and very playable example from the workshop of Jose Ramirez II. Very suitable to both collector and performer.

For more information on Ramirez, be sure to read The Ramirez Family: Masters of the Guitar, or for information on the Ramirez family members, from Amalia Ramirez back to Jose I and for some interesting fact-checking on myths and facts about this legendary workshop.