Julian Gomez Ramirez – 1936

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 the first representative of the Spanish guitar-making in France. 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’ 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 1936 by Julian Gomez Ramirez in his Parisian workshop in the Rue Rodier and is an excellent example of his finest guitar. Numbered 724 and hand-signed by the famous luthier, it has the characteristics of careful and meticulous work for this special order of “Le Petit Pierrot […]” (partially readable on the label). As a sign of the special care and attention to detail that went into this custom order, this guitar has Rio Rosewood (pre-CITES) back and sides, a top made of high-quality spruce with a very narrow grain, a light neck reinforcement of wood in the continuity of the center filet of the back, an ebony fingerboard and a bridge that is also decorated with fine ornaments. This guitar, which is now in perfect playing condition, has been restored several times in the course of its almost one hundred year history. The cracks on the top and the back have been stabilized and the varnish renewed so that this is a restored instrument ready to be played.

The sustain and the balance of the sound of this guitar are impressive. Not only is the playability ideal and the sound quality phenomenal, but this guitar also has something very modern in terms of balance and stability of sound. It sounds homogeneous in chords and precise in counterpoint. It is therefore a real pleasure to play on a guitar that is almost a hundred years old and still able to meet the expectations of a demanding guitarist.