{"id":11542,"date":"2018-11-26T14:42:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T22:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=11542"},"modified":"2021-04-28T08:44:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T15:44:05","slug":"guitar-building-dynasties-have-powered-the-instruments-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/guitar-building-dynasties-have-powered-the-instruments-evolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Guitar-Building Dynasties Have Powered the Instrument\u2019s Evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
BY MARK SMALL | FROM THE WINTER 2018 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR<\/em><\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

His<\/span>torically, the skills in a number of different crafts have been passed down in families. In Spain, building guitars<\/a> has long been a family business. By the late 19th century, some of the most prominent family guitar-building operations had sprouted from small shops around Madrid. Credit must be given to Antonio de Torres (1817\u20131892) and Francisco Gonzalez (1829\u20131879) for their contributions to the development of modern guitar design, and building the momentum into the 20th century. Refinements made by Torres\u2014sometimes called \u201cthe father of the modern classical guitar\u201d\u2014are well known, but Gonzalez was also important for his \u201cnueva y elegante forma y construidos por un sistema especial suyo<\/i>\u201d (\u201celegant design with a special system\u201d) that differed from Torres\u2019s design. The influence of these two luthiers led to the establishment of the Ram\u00edrez guitar-making dynasty, the oldest and most celebrated of the lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s notable that Gonzalez was the teacher of both Manuel Ram\u00edrez (1864\u20131916) and his brother Jose Ram\u00edrez I (1858\u20131923). The brothers worked together in the same shop, but a rift developed when Manuel opened a competing operation. Both initially adhered to Gonzalez\u2019s methods, but Manuel later shifted his loyalties to Torres\u2019 approach. The craftsmanship of both Ram\u00edrez brothers was passed down to influential Spanish guitar-builders inside and outside the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ram\u00edrez Legacy<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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A 1912 guitar from Manuel Ram\u00edrez, famously used by Andr\u00e9s Segovia from 1913-1937; currently in NY\u2019s Metropolitan Museum of Art musical instrument collection<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A luthier\u2019s fame and reputation are often tied to the success of the artists who play their instruments. The story has been told many times of how Andr\u00e9s Segovia obtained his first concert guitar in Madrid from Manuel Ram\u00edrez<\/a>. Segovia had been playing a guitar built by Benito Ferrer of Granada at the beginning of his career. Feeling that his instrument was insufficient, the Maestro inquired at Manuel\u2019s shop in 1913 about renting a concert guitar. After hearing him play, Manuel gifted him a fine concert guitar built in his shop in 1912 by Santos Hern\u00e1ndez. Segovia played it throughout the world for the next 25 years. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Ram<\/span>\u00ed<\/span>rez left no progeny to continue his brand, he is credited with training top builders Santos Hern\u00e1ndez, Enrique Garcia, Modesto Borreguero, and Domingo Esteso. After Ram<\/span>\u00ed<\/span>rez\u2019s death in 1916 his widow continued to operate his shop, and out of loyalty to Manuel, Hernandez and Esteso worked there until the widow\u2019s passing in 1921.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book The Art and Craft of Making Classical Guitars<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, Manuel Rodriguez (Sr.) provides a genealogy of the Spanish guitar makers of the Madrid school. It shows the fruitful lineage of the shop of Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I and the succeeding five generations that have learned the trade and continue making fine instruments today. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jos\u00e9 I made his mark with his Guitarra de Tablao<\/i>, a flamenco instrument with a larger-<\/span>than-usual body designed for powerful sound projection. Interestingly, the first classical guitar recordings, made by Agust\u00edn Barrios, were done on a 1911 instrument built by Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I. His son, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez II (1885\u20131957), apprenticed with his father but then decided to tour South America with a performing folk group. He settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he married and had a son, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez III (1922\u20131995). After 20 years abroad, he and his family returned to Madrid in 1925, two years after the passing of Jos\u00e9 I. Jos\u00e9 II continued his father\u2019s business, firmly establishing the dynasty.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continued refinement and design are essential for luthiers, and are hallmarks of the Ram\u00edrez family instruments. Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez III, who apprenticed with his father, is noted for making the first guitars featuring cedar tops, increasing the size of the soundbox, and making 10-string guitars. In 1963, after years of playing Hauser I guitars, Segovia started playing Jos\u00e9 III\u2019s instruments and continued with the Ram\u00edrez brand into the final decade of his life. From 1969 to 1980 Segovia played a guitar built in the Ram\u00edrez shop in 1969 by Antonio Martinez. Jos\u00e9 III grew the business and trained such distinguished luthiers as Paulino Bernab\u00e9, Felix Manzanero, Manuel Contreras, Manuel Rodriguez, Ignacio M. Rozas, Manuel Caceres, and Jos\u00e9 Romero.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jos\u00e9 III groomed his son, Jos\u00e9 Ramirez IV (1953\u20132000), and daughter Amalia (b. 1955), who continued the business expansion. When Segovia chose a guitar built by Jos\u00e9 IV in 1979, it greatly boosted the young builder\u2019s confidence. Jos\u00e9 IV later rolled out Ram\u00edrez Traditional and Special models. Since his passing in 2000, Amalia has helmed the shop. Among her initiatives are analyzing the template and fan-bracing systems and developing new models such as the SP (Semi Professional) line. She also marked the 125th anniversary of the company in 2007 with a limited-edition professional model. As well, she oversaw a commemorative reissue of the Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I 1913 Guitarra de Tablao<\/i>. Amalia\u2019s niece Cristina Ram\u00edrez and nephew Jos\u00e9 Enrique Ram\u00edrez joined the company in 2006, representing the family\u2019s fifth generation. Jos\u00e9 Enrique is apprenticing as a builder and studying law, while Cristina is learning the fundamentals of building but primarily works on the business side of the operation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rodgriguez Clan<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Returning to the Rodriguez book, we see that in addition to training his son, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I trained Rafael Casana, Julian G\u00f3mez Ram\u00edrez (no relation), and Antonio Viudes. Manuel Rodriguez Perez (often referred to as Manuel Rodriguez I) served as a varnisher in the Ram\u00edrez shop and began the Rodriguez family dynasty that continues to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manuel I began training his son Manuel Rodriguez Fernandez (Manuel Rodriguez II) when the boy was just 13 in the workshop of Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez II. Manuel II sold the first guitar bearing his signed label in 1945. He became a master builder and established his own shop in 1955. After moving operations to Los Angeles in 1959, orders for his guitars began to pour in. Among his innovations was a moveable bridge to improve intonation. He returned to Madrid in 1973 with his wife and their two sons: Manuel III and Norman. Manuel I trained both sons, who took over the business upon Manuel I\u2019s passing in 2008. They have expanded their offerings beyond concert instruments to produce guitars in greater numbers for the student market and for players of popular music styles, utilizing both the family\u2019s manual building practices and mechanization. Seeking to further develop their brand, they forged a deal with the capital firm Grupo Empresarial Sostenible, S.A. Sadly, that union resulted in a dispute and the unhappy exit of Manuel III and Norman from the company. The brothers are currently working to recover the family brand from Sostenible, which has continued to operate MR Guitars without the family\u2019s input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manuel Contreras of Madrid (1926\u20131994) also trained in the Ram\u00edrez shop with Jos\u00e9 III for three years before going out on his own in 1962. He is noted for developing a double-top guitar with enhanced tone and volume, and the model was embraced by members of Los Romeros. Contreras later developed an unusually shaped guitar for Abel Carlevaro of Uruguay featuring double sides and back and no soundhole. His most popular instruments, though, were more traditionally constructed in the Ram\u00edrez style. He trained his son, Manuel Contreras II (1957\u20132011, a.k.a. Pablo Contreras Jr.), who continued his father\u2019s work with traditional and innovative building methods. Victoria Velasco came to the shop as a business assistant and PR specialist in 1989. When Manuel died of cancer in 1994, Victoria and Manuel II continued the shop with their team of luthiers. Manuel II died in 2011, and Velasco continues to operate the shop with luthiers he had hired.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Different Rodriguez Dynasty<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In C\u00f3rdoba, 389 kilometers from Madrid, Miguel Rodriguez Beneyto (1888\u20131975), known as \u201cMiguel Sr.,\u201d established a successful shop. His instruments reflected the influence of Torres and are noted for their small body sizes and lyrical sound. He trained his twin sons, Rafael Rodriguez Serrano (1921\u20131965) and Miguel Rodriguez Serrano (1921\u20131998, also known as \u201cMiguel Jr.\u201d). Jose Rodriguez <\/span>Alamo (1949\u20131996, also known as \u201cPepe\u201d), the son of Miguel Jr., later worked with his father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The instruments they produced during the 20th Century are highly sought-after. The famed \u201cChurch Door\u201d guitars, made by Miguel Jr. with wood from a church door during the 1970s, are known for their quick response, large sound, and striking blend of light and dark wood on the sides and back. The Romero family championed Rodriguez guitars for decades. Pepe Romero has performed extensively on a 1973 Church Door model, which he dubbed \u201cLa Wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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