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| Guitar Wood, A Living Testament...
José Ramírez guitars are constructed from aged
woods of the finest quality. Woods that are characteristic of generations past: Honduras Cedar, Cameroon Ebony, German Spruce, Cypress, Indian Rosewood, Jacaranda, and Red Cedar which was first used by my father, José Ramírez III when he discovered its immediate sonorous qualities. I personally supervise the construction process from start to finish, and all of the guitars must receive my final approval to indicate they are of the highest quality. My desire is to practice the time honored tradition of my fathers and build the very best guitar possible. Amalia Ramírez. |
The Ramírez workshop, from its foundation in 1882 to the present moment, has maintained it's basic traditions, although, evidently, there has been a process of adaptation to the exigencies of the time.
No longer are there "veedores" nor examiners who depend on the Union of Violeros - to which guitarreros also belonged - whose function was to examine the apprentices and officials, and to supervise the quality of the instruments constructed in the workshop by the other teachers. Today, the maximum authority is the "maestro", who directs and controls the work made by his officials and apprentices.
The apprentice who wishes to become an official has to present, to his "maestro", a guitar constructed by his own hand. The quality of the work exhibited will allow him to accede to the category of official. Until the middle of the last century, a degree was obtained by the presentation of perfectly constructed guitar before a competent court of the Union of Violeros. Nowadays the masters degree is obtained by means of the public recognition of the work, including the fact this work is of their own creation: that is to say, the idea and the design will have to be their own, not of their "maestro". The workshop's traditional craftsmen, in this sense, worked like the schools of Renaissance Art. It is known that many of the works that leave these studios were signed by the teacher, although, perhaps, the "maestro" only gave it a pincelada, or a chisel blow, or simply proposed the subject, or the idea. In any case it was the "maestro's" technique that had been applied, and if that work had been signed by him, that meant that it considered it worthy to exhibit his company and signature as a seal of quality and approval The "maestro" of a guitar workshop is in charge of the design of its work, controlling the process of construction and signing the guitars that are considered to be of exceptional quality demanded. It has been thus, ever since Jose Ramírez began, in 1870, his apprenticeship in the studio of "maestro" Francisco González. |
