José Ramírez
Encyclopedia
Ramírez Guitars is a Spanish
manufacturer of high-quality classical
and flamenco guitar
s.
The company was founded in 1882, when José Ramírez
opened a workshop at 2 Concepción Jerónima, Madrid
.
Following José Ramírez' death in 1923, his son José Ramírez II, who was married with two children, José III
and Alfredo, returned from South America where he had been working as a guitarist. Himself also a guitar maker, by 1925 José II was running the business.
Considerably hindered by material shortages during the Spanish Civil War
, José II and his son José III, by now himself a guitar maker, began experimenting with non-traditional woods and design techniques. José II's other son Alfredo managed the business.
Alfredo died in 1954, and José II in 1957, forcing José III to take over the management of the shop and for a time abandon guitar-making himself. However, he continued to experiment, putting designs on paper to be built by journeymen, and supervising every phase of construction of the instruments. He worked closely with top performers, which brought acceptance to his innovations.
For Andrés Segovia
, he built concert guitars larger and more powerful than those of Torres
. These guitars featured a longer scale length, and asymmetrical bracing unlike the symmetrical Torres pattern. Both of these innovations, and many others, are standard today.
More radical still, in 1963 he built a ten-string guitar
for Narciso Yepes
, to accommodate Yepes' unique chromatically balanced tuning, and later an eight-string guitar for José Tomás
. High-end professional models based on both of these extended-range guitars remain in the company's current catalog.
In the 1960s, to cope with increasing demand, José III moved the workshop to General Margallo street, and greatly expanded the number of employees, leaving the original premises as a shop only. In the early 1970s this was replaced by a larger shop at 5 Concepción Jerónima, directly in front of the original establishment. The original shop was restored and reopened at the end of the 1980s by José III's children, José Ramírez IV and his sister Amalia, both themselves by then guitar makers.
In 1988 Jose III passed control of the business to José IV and Amalia. In 1993 they undertook a major restructure of the business, concentrating on wholly handmade professional instruments, and contracting out the construction of top-quality student instruments to be built to their designs and delivered to their own workshop for final inspection and adjustment.
In 1995 they were unable to renew the lease on the original shop, and moved to the current address nearby at 8 Calle de la Paz. José IV died in 2000, leaving Amalia to oversee the entire operation. this consists of a team of fourteen, including Amalia herself, four other guitar makers, and three apprentices.
and flamenco
guitarists have used Ramírez guitars, as have pop music
performers on occasion, including:
1
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
manufacturer of high-quality classical
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
and flamenco guitar
Flamenco guitar
A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar. Flamenco guitar also refers to toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of Flamenco.-Brief history:...
s.
History
Ramírez guitars have now been produced by four generations of the family.The company was founded in 1882, when José Ramírez
José Ramírez
Ramírez Guitars is a Spanish manufacturer of high-quality classical and flamenco guitars.-History:Ramírez guitars have now been produced by four generations of the family....
opened a workshop at 2 Concepción Jerónima, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Following José Ramírez' death in 1923, his son José Ramírez II, who was married with two children, José III
José Ramírez III
José Ramírez III was a luthier and the grandson of José Ramírez, founder of Ramírez Guitars. He was responsible for major changes both to the company and to the classical guitars it produces....
and Alfredo, returned from South America where he had been working as a guitarist. Himself also a guitar maker, by 1925 José II was running the business.
Considerably hindered by material shortages during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, José II and his son José III, by now himself a guitar maker, began experimenting with non-traditional woods and design techniques. José II's other son Alfredo managed the business.
Alfredo died in 1954, and José II in 1957, forcing José III to take over the management of the shop and for a time abandon guitar-making himself. However, he continued to experiment, putting designs on paper to be built by journeymen, and supervising every phase of construction of the instruments. He worked closely with top performers, which brought acceptance to his innovations.
For Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
, he built concert guitars larger and more powerful than those of Torres
Antonio Torres Jurado
Antonio de Torres Jurado was a Spanish guitarist and luthier, and "the most important Spanish guitar maker of the 19th century."...
. These guitars featured a longer scale length, and asymmetrical bracing unlike the symmetrical Torres pattern. Both of these innovations, and many others, are standard today.
More radical still, in 1963 he built a ten-string guitar
Ten-string guitar
There are many varieties of ten-string guitar, including:* Both electric and acoustic guitars.* Instruments used principally for classical, folk and popular music.* Both coursed and uncoursed instruments.-Ten-stringed harp guitars:...
for Narciso Yepes
Narciso Yepes
Narciso Yepes was a Spanish guitarist.-Biography:Yepes was born into a family of humble origin in Lorca, Region of Murcia. His father gave him his first guitar when he was four years old. He took his first lessons from Jesus Guevara, in Lorca...
, to accommodate Yepes' unique chromatically balanced tuning, and later an eight-string guitar for José Tomás
José Tomás
José Tomás Pérez Selles , was a Spanish classical guitarist and teacher. Considered a major influence on the evolution of classical guitar technique in the second half of the 20th century, he trained many guitarists from all over the world.-Biography:José Tomás was born in Alicante and began his...
. High-end professional models based on both of these extended-range guitars remain in the company's current catalog.
In the 1960s, to cope with increasing demand, José III moved the workshop to General Margallo street, and greatly expanded the number of employees, leaving the original premises as a shop only. In the early 1970s this was replaced by a larger shop at 5 Concepción Jerónima, directly in front of the original establishment. The original shop was restored and reopened at the end of the 1980s by José III's children, José Ramírez IV and his sister Amalia, both themselves by then guitar makers.
In 1988 Jose III passed control of the business to José IV and Amalia. In 1993 they undertook a major restructure of the business, concentrating on wholly handmade professional instruments, and contracting out the construction of top-quality student instruments to be built to their designs and delivered to their own workshop for final inspection and adjustment.
In 1995 they were unable to renew the lease on the original shop, and moved to the current address nearby at 8 Calle de la Paz. José IV died in 2000, leaving Amalia to oversee the entire operation. this consists of a team of fourteen, including Amalia herself, four other guitar makers, and three apprentices.
Performers
Well-known classicalClassical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
and flamenco
Flamenco guitar
A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar. Flamenco guitar also refers to toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of Flamenco.-Brief history:...
guitarists have used Ramírez guitars, as have pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
performers on occasion, including:
- the Romeros
- Christopher ParkeningChristopher ParkeningChristopher Parkening is an American classical guitarist.Parkening was born in Los Angeles, California, and pursued music in part because of his cousin Jack Marshall, a studio musician in the 1960s. Marshall first introduced Parkening to the recordings of Andrés Segovia when he was 11, and...
- SabicasSabicasSabicas was a Flamenco guitarist, of Romani origin, who was born in 1912 in Pamplona, Spain and died in 14 April 1990 in New York....
- Manolo SanlúcarManolo SanlúcarManolo Sanlúcar is a flamenco composer and guitarist born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 1945. He is considered one of the most important Spanish composers of present times, and together with Paco de Lucía, Serranito, and Vicente Amigo, one of the main figures in the evolution of the flamenco...
- Andrés SegoviaAndrés SegoviaAndrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
- Kazuhito YamashitaKazuhito Yamashitais a Japanese classical guitarist. His technique and expression are considered somewhat controversial.-Musical career:Yamashita began to study the guitar at the age of eight with his father, Toru Yamashita. In 1972, aged eleven, he won the Kyushu Guitar Competition. Four years later, he was awarded...
- Galina ValeGalina ValeGalina Vale born Galina Ivanovna Vernigora in Kharkov, Ukraine, is a classically trained virtuoso classical guitarist. Her individualistic solo performances combine a charismatic stage presence and dynamic powerful playing style with an unusually wide ranging and technically demanding repertoire;...
- Víctor Monge Serranito
- Narciso YepesNarciso YepesNarciso Yepes was a Spanish guitarist.-Biography:Yepes was born into a family of humble origin in Lorca, Region of Murcia. His father gave him his first guitar when he was four years old. He took his first lessons from Jesus Guevara, in Lorca...
- George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
of the Beatles on the band's song "And I Love HerAnd I Love Her"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by The Beatles, written mainly by Paul McCartney . The fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night, it was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard.The Beatles performed "And I...
"
1
External links
- Official US Site of the Ramírez Guitar brand.
- Company history.
- Ramirez & Classical Design Evolution by George Gruhn; Guitar PlayerGuitar PlayerGuitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...
July 1983. - José Ramírez III biography.