Jose Ramirez 3E

This guitar is a 1988 or 1989 (the serial number vs the date on the label) and I am the original purchaser. It is solid Indian rosewood back and sides, and western cedar top. Nicely carved headstock, good quality tuning machines, ebony inlaid neck brace, ebony fingerboard and rosewood bridge complete the construction. This is a beautifully put together instrument, and I was told (and verified with a Ramirez booklet at the time) that Jose III did voicing on these, but to what extent I'm not sure. The guitar came with a case, but I swapped it for the Alvarez-Yairi case I was trading in since it was a much better case.

The sound I was looking for was something like Andres Segovia's, or Christopher Parkening's guitar. Hence the Ramirez. While it may not reach concert volume, the quality of the tone is perfect - exactly what I was looking for. The sound is full, stentorian bass, sweet, rich highs, and mids that work well against both. While I've changed my steel stringed guitars many times looking for "that" sound, this was my 2nd decent classical, and it is the last I bought or considered. I still love it.

Action is super, fit and finish are superb. Bookmatched back is perfect and I can't find an issue anywhere on it other than the scratch I put in the top one night changing strings.

This guitar has played beautifully now for almost 20 years, and still sounds and plays like it was new. I would say reliability and durability are tops.

I've never had to deal with any support on this other than looking for more information on Ramirez guitars - and I found the dealer network for several years was always changing. I don't know if that has been remedied yet or not, but you might want to check how long your dealer has had a relationship with Ramirez.

This is my "go-to" classical guitar. The tone is outstanding, very playable action, and a delight to behold. I don't foresee ever letting this one go even though it's worth a lot more used now than when I bought it new.

Mine is a 1992 that I purchased used last year. It's a traditional classical, with a high grade solid red cedar top, solid Indian rosewood sides and back. The neck is cedar with an ebony insert in the back and an ebony fretboard. Good quality Fustero tuners. Finely detailed rosette of inlaid marquetry, featuring the "butterfly" pattern. 650mm scale length with 52mm width at the nut. The headstock is artfully carved and features a three layer overlay with dark rosewood on the surface. Attractive binding with purfling on the front, back, and sides. Dark rosewood bridge with a ceramic/wood overlay. Both the saddle and nut are bone.

Wonderful, balanced, clear, and detailed. Excellent string-to-string definition. Very resonant, ringing sustain. Although it doesn't produce concert-level volume, it's tone is definitely professional grade.

Although this guitar has been used regularly over the past decade, the level of craftsmanship in its construction is such that it required no adjustment whatsoever when I purchased it. Its medium-low action offers ease of play while eliminating any fret buzz. The finish has held up exceptionally well. Everything about this guitar exudes quality.

This particular guitar has been used regularly by aperforming guitarist for a decade. He never had a problem with it in any way. I've used it almost daily for the past year and can say without reservation that it's the most solidly constructed classical I've owned. Having said that, I maintain of all of my guitars, and acoustic instruments need more care than electrics. I keep it in its case and use a soundhole humidifier. This is an instrument that should be viable two genrations from now.

I haven't dealt with the Jose Ramirez company. My understanding is that their network of dealerships provides very good service.

The Ramirez E line is part of their Guitarras de Estudio series. Reportedly, these instruments are made under contract by Alhambra to Ramirez specifications. In any case, this is a very high quality guitar that is made by skilled luthiers. The Alhambra company itself has a reputation for making excellent instruments under their own name. This guitar now my favorite and I find myself neglecting my others. I've played for two decades and in that time I've come to recognize a fine instrument whether it's electric or acoustic. This is definitely one you should consider if you're interested in a near-concert level classical.