José Ramírez (1858–1923) was a Spanish

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

, the founder of

Ramírez Guitars Ramírez Guitars (Guitarras Ramírez in Spanish) is a Spanish manufacturer of professional, concert-quality classical and flamenco guitars. Five generations of the Ramírez family have produced Ramirez guitars. History Establishment José Ram ...

and of the Spanish luthier dynasty who continue to run it. His grandson

José Ramírez III José Ramírez III (1922–1995) 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. Ramírez was raised in a guitar ma ...

was in turn head of the company, and a noted innovator who made significant changes to the classical guitar.

Early life

Ramírez was the first child of José Ramírez de Galarreta, a very well-off land owner. In 1870, he became apprenticed to Francisco Gonzalez (1830–1880). In 1890, he opened his shop in Madrid;

would continue to operate from these premises until 1995. Ramírez' work generally followed the designs of Antonio Torres (1817–1892) in all respects except one: He produced a larger flamenco guitar known as the ''tablao guitar''. Both this innovation and the quality of his guitars generally were favourably received, but he is chiefly remembered as the founder of the dynasty of luthiers and the guitar manufacturing company that still bears his name. Several other luthiers learned the art of making classical guitars from José Ramírez, inter alia

Paulino Bernabe Senior Paulino Bernabe Senior (2 July 1932 – 10 May 2007) was a Spanish luthier. Life Born in Madrid, Paulino Bernabé received music lessons from Daniel Fortea, a pupil of Francisco Tárrega, and then learned the art of making classical guitars f ...

References

External links

*
José Ramirez - Luthier of Classical and Flamanco Guitars
' briefly describes the contribution made by the family.

biography at the Ramírez Guitars website. 1858 births 1923 deaths Classical guitar makers Spanish musical instrument makers {{Spain-music-bio-stub

Early life

See also

References

External links