José Ramirez Estudio 1976

José Ramirez is an established Madrid guitar maker, founded in 1882 and still family managed.

This guitar is a 1976 example of their Estudio model, aimed at advanced students of the instrument. It has a solid cedar soundboard, rosewood back and sides, a mahogany neck and ebony fingerboard.

In regard to condition, the headstock, frets and fingerboard are excellent. The body has numerous superficial dents and nicks, and has had a professional repair to the right side at some point in the past. The finish to this side of the guitar shows inconsistencies. The neck has some slight indentations. The nut and saddle are new Graphtech Tusq items.

The guitar sounds as one might expect from a guitar of this quality and age, with a warm tone, good projection and plentiful sustain.

The guitar is equipped with a Shadow contact microphone attached to the bridge. This is marked 'Made in West Germany', and we believe that this was fitted as an option by the Ramirez factory (Ramirez still offers to fit Shadow microphones as an option today). The microphone works perfectly. There is no preamp, so there is no battery anywhere. Any control of volume, EQ, etc needs to be done externally to the guitar.

The guitar came to us with a golpeador fitted. This was very well cut to fit the guitar (again, we suspect this was a factory fitted option), but was peeling off. We have removed it and enclose it with the guitar in case the new owner wants to fit a new golpeador, using the original as a template.

We have left the action quite high, accommodating the requirements of some players, but there is plenty of scope to reduce the string height if preferred. Speak to us about this, and we will be happy to adjust the action to your needs.

The hard case is possibly original and certainly appears contemporary with the guitar. It is in very good condition with hinges and all four clasps working perfectly.

The Estudio model, now in Version 3, is still in the Ramirez catalogue and retails for approximately £3000, so if you are prepared to overlook the cosmetic imperfections, this guitar represents exceptional value.