Born in Madrid, she began her apprenticeship in the workshop in 1976 under the guidance of her father. He had to stop his instruction during the period in which he was training in other disciplines, which would later help him to carry out his work in the company. He returned in 1988 to help his brother with the restructuring and management of the business. Between the two of them the functions were divided; José Enrique mainly dedicated to the construction in workshop and Amalia to the commercial aspect, although he also returned to build guitars after the establishment of the premises in General Margallo street number 10.
This change was made at the beginning of 1993, returning to the original scheme of a reduced workshop and a limited production. Nowadays, all our handcrafted guitars are made exclusively under request, in order to meet the needs of each individual guitarist. On the other hand, the shop also works as another customer to offer the guitarist the possibility to try different models.
In the summer of 1995, the shop was also moved from Calle Concepción Jerónima 2 to the new establishment, not far from the previous one, at Calle de la Paz 8. After the death of her brother José Enrique in June 2000, Amalia Ramírez took over the management of the business, dividing her work between the workshop and the shop. Likewise, she is in charge of the revision of the guitars built in the workshop during and at the end of the realization process, as well as the design of the new models of Studio and Professional. Among his experiments it is worth mentioning his work with new materials to increase the projection, volume and openness of the sound with the line he has called “Auditorium Model”. He has also worked with the golden proportions, just like his father, as shown by one of the guitars we keep in our collection.
It can be said that during his period the most beautiful and original designs of guitars have been made, a characteristic that has helped even more the Ramírez brand to stand out. Designs as spectacular as the handmade guitar “Aniversario” or as the commemorative study models: “125 años”, “130 años” and “Guitarra del Tiempo”.
He also created the SP guitar, now SPR, which is an intermediate model between the studio guitars and the handmade guitars. For this model, half of the process is carried out in Spanish factories and the other half in the workshop, finishing with the adjustment and supervision in our workshop. This point is very important, because Guitarras Ramirez does not only receive its design from the factory to sell it directly, but it takes approximately half an hour in each guitar to adjust and revise it to offer the quality expected from the brand.
The “Guitarra Conservatorio” has been another of Amalia’s contributions to provide a first step towards the highest quality professional guitars. She designed this model of “simple” construction and more affordable. Currently, it has been replaced by the “Simple Concert Model” in which construction improvements have been applied.
She has been the teacher of her nephews, Cristina and José Enrique Ramírez, both sons of José IV, who are proud of their tradition and have taken the reins of this centenary business. They are currently running the company as the fifth generation of guitar makers, always under the supervision of Amalia Ramírez, who is still designing each of the models created in the workshop with the help of the new generation.
Amalia Ramírez was one of the first women to enter the world of guitar building, revolutionizing the way the instrument is conceived and making it easier for her niece Cristina, as well as other guitar makers, to get ahead in a trade that is still difficult for women. This would not have been possible without the support of the men of this house, who always trusted in their work, their initiative and their creativity.
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