José Enrique Ramírez García (known as José Ramírez IV) was born in Madrid in May 1953. In 1971 he entered the workshop as an apprentice at the age of eighteen, and by 1977 he had reached the rank of first officer. In 1988 he assumed the management of the business together with his sister Amalia.
Entering the Workshop and Early Recognition
One of his first decisions after assuming greater responsibility was to define the existing models, responding to the change in sound preferences that had become noticeable among several guitarists in the mid-1980s. This sensitivity to the evolving needs of professional musicians would mark his entire tenure at the head of the workshop.
A particularly meaningful moment occurred in 1979. Among several guitars selected to be taken to Andrés Segovia, one instrument built by José Ramírez IV was included. Only two years had passed since he had become an officer in his father's workshop, and it came as a surprise and great satisfaction that Segovia unknowingly chose the guitar he had made. Out of gratitude he decided to give it to the maestro, who wrote an emotional dedication that was signed and placed next to the label. Segovia played this guitar in many of his concerts until the end of his life, as confirmed in a letter written to the maker. This episode stands as one of the most remarkable endorsements in the long history of the Ramírez guitar workshop — a silent confirmation that the fourth generation had inherited the craft at the highest level.
Defining New Models for a New Era
In 1991, José Ramírez IV continued building a guitar that preserved the sound characteristics of the 1960s, known as the Traditional Model. At the same time, he began designing another instrument with a new concept that offered a clearer and more direct sound aligned with contemporary preferences. This instrument became the Modelo Especial, completed in 1992.
The development of these two distinct models reflects his understanding that the guitar world was not moving in a single direction. Concert repertoire was expanding, performance styles were diversifying, and guitarists required instruments capable of meeting a wide range of tonal and dynamic demands. By maintaining the Traditional Model alongside the Modelo Especial, the workshop could serve both those rooted in the mid-twentieth-century aesthetic and those seeking a more transparent, projecting tone suited to modern concert halls.
José Ramírez IV refined, developed and perfected the models created by his father, adapting them to the needs of musicians of that period. He also introduced new construction techniques that made the instruments more comfortable to play and more structurally stable, reducing or preventing deformation caused by wood movement. These refinements were not cosmetic — they addressed practical concerns that professional guitarists encounter over years of intensive use, and they reflected a commitment to the longevity of each instrument as much as to its immediate playability.
The Study Guitar Programme
An important chapter of his work concerned study guitars for beginners, students and musicians needing amplified instruments. Already during the time of José Ramírez I, these guitars had been sold in the shop as an alternative to handmade models, which were naturally more expensive and of superior quality.
Initially, José Ramírez I did not label these study guitars. Over time, however, problems arose when claims were made about guitars allegedly purchased in the shop but lacking identification. To prevent confusion, he eventually introduced special labels distinct from those used on the professional models.
José Ramírez II not only continued selling these series-built study guitars but also designed additional models to be manufactured by leading makers in Valencia. José Ramírez III, like his grandfather, did not value these instruments and was unconcerned by the gradual disappearance of his father's designs.
José Ramírez IV held a very different view. He considered these guitars essential for beginners, students and musicians seeking an amplified option with guaranteed quality from the Ramírez workshop. His conviction was that those who begin playing should not and often cannot start with a professional instrument. Therefore, the study guitars needed to be affordable, pleasant to play and of dependable quality. This concept was well received and served as a valuable entry point toward a professional instrument.
For performers requiring amplification in ensemble settings, these guitars also offered a safer alternative than modifying a handmade instrument. In 1986 he persuaded his father to design a study line called "E", made exclusively for Ramírez with specially selected woods.
Later, in 1991, coinciding with the changes to the handcrafted models, José Enrique developed another study line that was more economical than the previous one. Based on the template of the professional model C86, he named this series "R".
Legacy and Place in Guitar History
José Ramírez IV died in 2000 at the age of forty-six. His passing cut short a career that had already produced two landmark models and had reoriented the workshop's approach to accessibility and inclusiveness in guitar making. He had steered the family business through a period of significant change in the classical guitar world, and he did so with both creative ambition and a practical respect for the instrument's role at every level of study and performance.
The Ramírez name remains one of the most recognised in classical guitar. Generations of players — from conservatory students to concert soloists — have passed through the workshop's doors or played instruments bearing its label. Understanding the contribution of José Ramírez IV means understanding a bridge between the mid-century tradition established by his father and the demands of a new generation of performers. His instruments continue to be played and sought after on the professional market today.
For those interested in exploring the legacy of this workshop, the Ramírez collection at Siccas Guitars offers an overview of instruments associated with this dynasty. The broader history of the classical guitar also intersects with figures such as Andrés Segovia, whose relationship with the Ramírez family forms one of the most important chapters in the instrument's twentieth-century history. Collectors and players drawn to instrument-making history may also find the articles on Hermann Hauser I and Daniel Friederich of interest as points of comparison within the tradition of master luthiery.
The four generations of the Ramírez family represent a continuous thread in the history of classical guitars — a thread that José Ramírez IV helped weave with care, precision and a clear sense of responsibility to both the instrument and the guitarist.
