Julian Gomez Ramirez – 1923 No. 464

Description

Julián Gómez Ramírez was born in Madrid in 1879. At the early age of 13, he started working in Augustín Andrés’ workshop. In 1910, Julián entered the workshop of José Ramirez I where he worked for four years. He finally moved to Paris in 1914, where he became France’s first representative of Spanish guitar-making. This new way of building guitars was particularly appreciated as the Spanish fan-braced guitars were richer and more powerful than the small-bodied romantic guitars, whose popularity had decreased a lot with the immense success of the piano in the Parisian salons. In 1938, Robert Bouchet visited Julián Gómez Ramírez’s workshop as a customer. Quickly, the two men became friends, and J. G. Ramirez taught R. Bouchet the art of the lutherie, founding the pillars of the French twentieth-century school of guitar making.
This guitar was built in 1923 by Julian Gomez Ramirez in his Parisian workshop in the Rue Rodier and is an excellent example of his finest guitar. Moreover, the guitar is in great condition for its age. The spruce soundboard has three repaired cracks, two of which are barely visible, parallel to the fingerboard in the upper section of the top. The third one is located under the bridge; all three have been skillfully fixed and are stable. Meanwhile, the pre-CITES Brazilian rosewood back and sides are in excellent condition.
Furthermore, the tuning machine of the bass strings is original, and the other set for the treble strings was replaced using the tuning machine from a similar epoch. This guitar was built for “Monsieur Azam Gabriel,” as written on the label. Acoustically this piece of art is simply a dream to play through its exceptional sustain and balance. It sounds homogeneous in chords and precise in counterpoint. It is, therefore, an absolute pleasure to play a guitar that is almost a hundred years old and still able to meet the expectations of a demanding guitarist.

Watch the presentation video of this particular guitar below, where you will find a lot of additional information about its playability and sound.