1968 Ramirez Classical Guitar specifications (SOLD):
- Nut width 54mm, Scale length 664mm
- Soundboard: cedar; Back and sides: Indian Rosewood
Description:
This is a 1968 Ramirez Classical Guitar. It is a beautiful concert guitar from the late 60’s exemplified most of the refinements Jose Ramirez III brought to the guitar – the larger body, the longer and wider neck with bass side relief, the ebony reinforcement of the neck.
I believe that this Ramirez concert guitar was built by an apprentice at the Ramirez workshop, owing to the use of Indian rosewood (IRW) instead of Central South American Rosewood (CSAR). The guitar had fewer overtones, less volume and less sustain than the typical Ramirez 1a. It was interesting to compare an apprentice made guitar with Ramirez master grade guitars.
It should be noted that not all 2a’s were created equal. Some like this one, were built by apprentices. But some 2a’s were designated as 2a’s due to small cosmetic imperfections in the wood, such as small knots. But these in no way affect the sound of those instruments. Those kinds of 2a’s were also built with high quality CSA Rosewood, rather than the less dense and resonant Indian rosewood.
The soundboard wass in cedar, a Ramirez innovation dating to the 1960’s. The innovation of the cedar soundboard was born out of a shortage of aged spruce in those years, and since then cedar has become a mainstay as a soundboard wood for guitars. This guitar comes from the very beginning of this tradition.
