José Ramirez III – 1968 1A

Description

The Ramirez family has been building fine and high-quality guitars since 1882 already. Their instruments have been and are played by some of the greatest guitarists in the world, such as Julian Bream, Andres Segovia, Laurindo Almeida, Oscar Ghiglia, Jose Luis Gonzales, and many others. Ramirez is an important part of the history of guitar building. Jose Ramirez I (1858-1923) trained a large number of guitar builders in his workshop at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. And José Ramirez III (1922-1995) was a pioneer in the use of cedarwood as top wood for guitars and built several guitars for Andres Segovia.

José Ramirez III (1922-1995) was a pioneer of cedar tops for guitars. His instruments gained international fame in the 1960s through Andrés Segovia and his many students. Starting in 1965, José Ramirez III began developing a new instrument built with a top made of Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) and featuring double sides (rosewood and cypress). This revolutionary new way of building guitars and the use of this innovative type of wood spread very quickly in the guitar world. In addition, Andrés Segovia played several J. Ramirez III as his main concert instrument. He played four instruments over an extended period of time [1962 (but dated 1963), Spruce, 1965, 1967, 1969 (all three cedar)].

Guitars by José Ramirez III are excellent instruments and pioneering in the development of guitars with cedar tops from 1965 onwards. They were built with amazing precision and beautiful Brazilian rosewood (in the case of this guitar from 1968 with CITES certificate) influencing a whole generation of guitarists and marking a turning point in guitar making. This beautiful guitar bearing the number 2991 was built in the workshop of José Ramirez III. Based on the stamp “CLL” inside on the guitar’s heel, the experienced luthier Carmelo Llerena Martínez can be identified as the maker of this 1968 model. This wonderful instrument is in excellent condition, with no cracks or repairs. In addition, the playability is amazingly good despite its 665 mm scale, and it has an inspiring sound that convinces with its intriguing warmth and richness.