José Ramírez III (1922–1995) stands as one of the most consequential figures in the history of the classical guitar. Born in Madrid in May 1922, he inherited a workshop tradition stretching back to his grandfather, José Ramírez I, and transformed it into a global standard for concert instruments. His decades of methodical research reshaped how luthiers everywhere approach tonewoods, scale lengths, and construction principles — and his instruments were played by the greatest guitarists of the twentieth century.
Early Years and the Family Workshop
José Ramírez III began working in his father's Madrid workshop at the age of eighteen. He entered as an apprentice without special privileges and proved himself as a first-class officer. From the outset he was driven by a desire to push the guitar beyond what it had achieved as a concert instrument.
His father, José Ramírez II, was a skilled craftsman but a cautious businessman. The younger Ramírez's experimental instruments were often sold before he could refine them, a source of lasting frustration. His closest ally within the family was his brother Alfredo, who handled administrative matters and believed deeply in his brother's vision. When Alfredo died in 1954, José lost both a collaborator and a protector of his research. Despite this setback, he pressed forward.
The Cedar Revolution
The innovation that secured Ramírez III's place in lutherie history came in 1965, when he introduced red cedar as a soundboard material. At the time, nearly every classical guitar maker used European spruce for the top — a tradition so entrenched that switching to cedar drew immediate criticism from traditionalists who considered it a departure from proper practice.
Ramírez was undeterred. He had identified in cedar a tonewood with faster response, a warmer fundamental, and a natural openness that suited the modern concert hall. Within a generation, the majority of classical guitar makers worldwide had adopted cedar as a standard option alongside spruce. The impact of this single decision on the sound of the classical guitar can scarcely be overstated. You can explore how the two materials compare in our detailed guide on spruce vs. cedar classical guitars.
Varnish Research and Scale Length Studies
Ramírez III's curiosity extended well beyond tonewoods. Dissatisfied with the shellac finishes standard at the time, he worked with the owner of a laboratory who sympathised with his goals to develop a urea–formol varnish. The resulting finish was harder and more resonant than shellac, protecting the wood effectively while contributing to the instrument's projection.
He also conducted systematic experiments with vibrating string length. He concluded that a scale of 664 mm offered excellent sound projection without making the instrument uncomfortable to play. Recognising that not all players could comfortably manage that reach, he later designed a second model — named the C86, after its year of creation in 1986 — built on a 650 mm scale. His son José Enrique Ramírez later revised that design while retaining the shorter scale.
Extended Instruments: Ten and Eight Strings
Always alert to the expressive possibilities of the guitar, Ramírez III was drawn to extended-range instruments. In the early 1960s he began developing a ten-string guitar, initially drawing inspiration from the baroque viola d'amore. Those early prototypes did not satisfy him, and he sought a performing collaborator: Narciso Yepes, the Spanish guitarist who would become the instrument's foremost advocate. Together they refined the design into the ten-string concert guitar that Yepes would play for the rest of his career.
A parallel project with guitarist José Tomás produced an eight-string guitar, further demonstrating Ramírez's willingness to treat the guitar as a work in progress rather than a fixed object. These collaborations were characteristic: he consistently looked to performing artists for feedback, treating the concert stage as a laboratory extension of his Madrid workshop.
The Chamber Guitar
In 1983 Ramírez III introduced the chamber guitar, a design aimed at reducing the so-called "wolf notes" — the uneven resonances that can cloud specific pitches on a standard guitar. The chamber design achieved greater clarity and evenness across the frequency range, making it particularly useful for studio recording work, where those anomalies are most audible.
Segovia, Bream, and Williams
The measure of a luthier's achievement is often taken by the artists who choose their instruments. Ramírez III built guitars for three of the most significant classical guitarists of the twentieth century. Andrés Segovia, who had done more than any other individual to establish the classical guitar as a serious concert instrument, adopted a Ramírez guitar in 1969. That endorsement carried enormous weight in the guitar world and brought global attention to the Madrid workshop.
Julian Bream and John Williams — two of the most celebrated British guitarists of the era — also played Ramírez instruments at key points in their careers. Williams in particular used a Ramírez for much of his early recording work, and the sound of those recordings shaped how a generation of listeners understood what a classical guitar could do. For more on the great players who defined this era, see our overview of great classical guitarists.
Things About the Guitar
Ramírez III was not content to let his knowledge remain in the workshop. He set down his ideas, experiences, and philosophy in a book titled Things About the Guitar — a rare first-hand account by a master luthier of the reasoning behind his choices. The book addresses acoustics, materials, construction methods, and the relationship between maker and player. It remains a valuable document for anyone who wants to understand why the guitars of this period sound the way they do.
Legacy and the Ramírez Tradition
José Ramírez III led the family workshop until his death in 1995. The house he built — methodical, research-driven, and always in dialogue with performing artists — continues under the stewardship of later generations. The instruments he made during what many regard as the golden era of the workshop, roughly the 1960s through the 1980s, are now sought-after by players and collectors worldwide. You can browse available instruments in our José Ramírez collection.
His contribution to the modern classical guitar is threefold: the adoption of cedar as a standard soundboard material, the development of extended-range instruments in partnership with leading performers, and a body of written knowledge that made the logic of lutherie available to a wider audience. Taken together, these achievements justify placing him among the handful of luthiers who genuinely changed what the instrument is. For context on the broader tradition he worked within, our article on the history of the classical guitar traces the full arc from early origins to the modern concert instrument.
