José Ramirez III clase 1 A 1980 and 1981 / Jose Ramirez II 1945 / Jose Roca produced guitar with an Audex label.

This 1980 clase 1A model was built by Enrique

Borreguero who's father was a very fine luthier
as well. Very good condition though the fretwork
was worn out. When placing new frets, the 
fingerboard will be flattened out keeping in mind that 
the upper bass side allways has some give to let the 
lower string vibrate freely. Apart from that the 
action at the bridge can be corrected for optimal
playability and small damages to the fingerboard
itself can be cured.
  

Both sides and back are remarkably straight grained.

Maybe not that attractive but it helps for optimal
stability of the wood regarding cracks in the future.

This guitars; own frequency lies on he note A so

in Hz that would be 110 Herz.
  

This label states that between this example and the following
guitar 400 guitars clase 1A have been constructed at the
Ramirez shop. It was booming business in those days.
Apart from the superb sound, most striking detail in comparison
with most other José Ramirez clase 1A guitars is that the sides
in the soundbox are not strenghtened with a layer of cypress
as was common or even partly covered with a rosewood
layer as can be seen on the Camara models. No, this
guitar has been entirely covered with a rosewood layer from
the inside of its' soundbox. So no solid sides but instead
of cypress, rosewood has been used. This message puzzled
Amalia Ramirez as well though she thinks it to be another
experiment executed by her father José Ramirez III.

José Ramirez III clase 1 A (1981)

This eighties Ramirez guitar has been obtained quite
recently. Though it suffered from some humidity damage
its sound was wonderful. Huge volume and the tonal
qualities are exceptional. Beautiful rounded tone for
all frequency registers. You should listen to the Ramirez
guitar on one of the Andres Segovia Youtube movies:
Andres Segovia demonstrates different timbres of the
guitar. The same sounds!



Though the humidity has caused a crack behind the bridge
that was deformed I had to make a device in order to bent
the sides of the crack back. There was enough wood so
after the operation it could easily be glued together.
To my surprise it had a significant effect on the overall
tone production: Even better! Moreover the action was 

way too high. That has been solved by shaving away the

fingerboard towards the head in order to create another

angle neck / body. A refret job was necessary of course.

For those who are keen on labels: the blue rounded Ramirez 

label is a sign of quality and the eighties Ramirez guitars 

are known for their sweet voice. This one has been made 

by Juan Garcia Ray though it bears the number 6 which

stands for Arturo Sanzano. I recently visited the Ramirez 

workshop in Madrid where they looked it up for me.

Juan Garcia is no longer member of the workstaff.

There is a site where they give you an explanation of all 

initials they used up until 1991. Amalia Ramirez states

 that their best instruments aren't allways built by the best 

craftsmen as the combination of woods, circumstances 

while built and tension between the different parts also 

attribute to the final sound result.

%his list has been public by the Guitar Salon, however

Several luthiers also had just a number for recognition.

Jose Ramirez II guitar (1945)

Presented here is a Jose Ramirez II guitar from 1945.

It is well known there was a shortage of about everything 

just after World War II and the Civil War that ended in 1939.

This example has a spruce top with a seven fan bracing.

Ebonized fingerboard with copper fretwork. Brasilian

rosewood bridge with the well known ornamentation

from that period. Some odd things can be found on

this guitar as it has the bigger Blue / white label normally

found on the higher end student models. But the label

has been signed in blue ink (probably the maker) and

most likely afterwards with "J. Ramirez" done by (???)

Scale length: 650 mm - Length of the body: 477 mm -

Neck width: 50 mm (at top nut) Upper Bout: 255 mm

Waist: 218 mm - Lower bout: 342 mm - Depth: 

Varying from 80 to 90 mm (Bottom)

It is obvious that the soundbox has been built with

Cypress but this guitar lacks the golpeadores found on

a real flamenco guitar. Also the bridge height itself is

that of a classical guitar. This instrument produces a

somewhat dry but sweet and "complete'  sound. Very 

even in all registers. In the book "The Ramirez Collection"

written by Brian Whitehouse there is a sound example

included of a 1946 guitar built by Jose Ramirez III.

This guitar is slightly bigger but has the 50 mm nut

width and a seven fan soundboard strutting as well.

The 1946 guitar has been built with better materials

as on most Ramirez guitars of this time a fairly wide

grained soundboard can be found.

Some people will say: Mahogany veneered but close

inspection learns otherwise: This wood is too fine

grained. The typical head form also found on his

concert models is there and the use of metal rollers

can be a later addition as are the tuners as a whole.

Probably this guitar was fitted with tuning pegs

regarding its' weight. a cedar neck that has been 

executed very good. 

In order to make this instrument playable again I had

to shave the fingerboard a bit towards the head. By

that time it became obvious that the fingerboard had

been ebonized in the past. I matched the color close

to the veneering of the head and placed new frets.

As the original top nut was broken I changed it

with an ivory one and I had to lower it a bit as at

that point the fingerboard had been lowered by

about 2 mm. As the frets are a bit higher now this

guitar plays much better though the width at the

nut could have been a bit more spaced.

I suspect these tuners to be quite old as well. They

still work well but aren't securely mounted. The same 

thing can be said about the restorations on this guitar. 

And the question remains: "are they original" as the

thickness of the head varies. So I think this guitar

originally was provided with pegs. These tuners

gave too much problems so I decided to change them 

as well. Schaller tuners have been added now but

being too long for this guitar another extra move

was necessary: The Lyre had to be removed.

These tuners work very well and the original drilled

holes in the head could be reused again. A must!

A simple but gracefully executed rosette. Jose Ramirez II

however will not be remembered as a Rosette maker. 

Some of his guitars even had Rosettes made out of simple 

concentric circles. We have to remember there was a 

shortage of all kinds of materials. This kind of inlay can

also be found on Ramirez guitars of the thirties and even

the following rosette from a Domingo Esteso guitar from

1930 has some similarities.

As for labels: The site of Guitarrasramirez speaks of

the white / blue label being used in student models only.

However there are several guitars from the thirties and forties

that have the larger blue label but aren't meant to be student 

guitars. It will probably count for the fifties guitars onwards.

A picture of the bigger blue / white label but signed

anyway. In the middle left the name J Ramirez can

be found but this can be a later addition. The fact that

the signature has been placed partly over the label and the 

wood surrounding it confirms this instrument to be a

genuine Jose Ramirez II. James Greenberg from 

Zavaletas guitars who holds an incredibly inventory

of older classical guitars confirms this big signature

to be from Jose Ramirez III. Hopefully Amalia

Ramirez will confirm it as well in the near future.

Around 1945 there weren't that many luthiers at work

in the Ramirez workshop so maybe we can solve the

mystery about who placed it. The top of this guitar

has been mounted with individual blocks and the 7 fans

are quite small in width (4 mm) and height (3 mm).

Also the seam between the two halves of the back have

been glued together with blocks. Besides the label

this guitar has two stamps: Both near the heel block on

the soundboard and back. Most likely a sign that it has 

been built in Madrid and not in Valencia though the

neck to body construction looks quite Valencia!

Amalia Ramirez states that her father sometimes 

signed the older guitars and then stopped for a while. 

After seeing this picture she states that the signature

does not belong to her father (Jose Ramirez III) but

possibly to her grandfather.

As I already explained this is a Valencian type of neck to

body joint. But it is known that Barbero also constructed

the heels this way. The inner heel however looks entirely 

hardwood to me and the form resembles a lot the thirties 

Santos Hernandez heels.

A comment on the bridge has to be made here as the

form as well as the inlays and the mother of pearl covering 

of the stringblock is pointing towards Ricardo Sanchis 

Nacher. These kind of bridges have been seen on other 

Jose Ramirez II guitars of the forties.

Audex Labelled Guitar (Jose Roca - Valencia)

  

This Valencian made guitar before and after the restoring 

process. I will explain what had to be done and though these

student guitars were overlooked in the near past there seems

to be more interest in them nowadays. However the amount

of work (and costs) it requires in fact is not rewarding if

you need to have it done by a luthier. The final sound

always remains a surprise. This example is really above

expectations. Warm, colorful and a great balance though

it misses the brilliance and volume of a good concert

instrument. But for small venues? Not bad at all!

  

Presented here is an early sixties intermediate model from 
the Audex shop. They didn't produce guitars themselves
but had them made elsewhere in Valencia. I have to find 
out where. The soundboard has a 5 fan bracing and the
rosette has been executed more luxury. But even in those 
days (early sixties) the real concert guitars were already
provided with a wider neck. Therefore this guitar must 
be considered as a nice intermediate student instrument.
Width at the topnut is 50 mm and the scale is 650 mm.

  

The guitar is provided with a nice back but strange detail

was that there is no center strip on the inside of the back.

They glued some broad but flat pieces of wood over the 

seam of the two back halves. I filled the hardly detectable 

seam with some wood glue to strengthen parts.

  

Nothing special has been done to the back furthermore but

it is obvious that the polishing compound did his work.

The own frequency of the soundbox lies on a B (which

means around 123 Hz.)

As the lacquer used in those times crystallizes over time, 

I figured it would be better to have all the lacquer removed 

on the string tie block as the tension of the strings are causing

unwanted traces. So the bridge will be lacquered afterwards.

Most entry level Valencian guitars had a black painted bridge.

This one is made out of rosewood.

What often happened was the kind of sloppy way they 

mounted the heel. No big deal as the sides fall into the gap 

made for a sturdy fit but in fact it simply shouldn't be there. 

The Valencia way of constructing the heel partly with a

softer wood such as spruce hasn't been done here. On

the higher grade models the whole outer heel was 

executed out of hard wood.

The same thing on the other side. I will try to 

place and glue a small splinter of wood in the gap.

   

The tuners need to be cleaned and while doing so 

I will correct the sleeves for the strings fit a bit. The 

topnut is way too high and the plastic it has been made

out of, has been detoriated. A new topnut is a must 

here. The headform is exactly the same on the Roca 

guitars I found on the internet. The site of jedistar is 

a very useful tool regarding information around the 

various luthiers.

A remark can made made around the metal rollers used 

here on the tuners as that is pointing towards a  somewhat 

earlier model, probably made around 1960.

  

Topnut and frets are gone. I removed the copper

(too square!) frets and thus I'm able to correct the 

neck / body angle though it wasn't that bad. Small

traces of nail use in the lowest positions can be 

removed now as well. On the right the guitar

neck as it is now.

 

The Audex label was even provided with a stamp: 

"Made in Spain". But furthermore no type number has 

been mentioned. But seeing the elaborate rosette it 

falls into a higher category.

 

  The tuners do not look that spectacular but they are

clinched to the base plate and moreover they work securely

with no play on them even after such a long time.

Once cleaned they already look much better!

 

The topnut didn't even fit well and among other

irregularities, this must have been the reason the 

Japanese factories took over this business.

 

An extra half 19th fret will be mounted for the demanding 

pieces and I will clean the rosette but I will leave the sound-

board the way it is. The old lady may show some traces...

Oiling the fingerboard is a must of course, in fact before

the new frets are mounted. The lacquer on these sixties

Spanish guitar solves a bit in pure alcohol which in

fact gives a much better appearance. A polishing process

afterwards is a must. I use "Nicko" very fine polishing

liquid for the last process.

I found this guitar on Jedistar, a great site for finding 

information around guitar factories and luthiers in

electric as well as the acoustic field. They are showing

a "Roca" labelled guitar with exactly the same rosette

on the guitar here above.

Presented here is the "Roca" labelled guitar with exactly

the same rosette and not only that, the bridge and the 

headform also appear to be identical. So this problem 

is solved around the origin of the Audex labelled guitar.

As for the age, this label was used by the Roca plant 

between 1959 - 1964. That also explains the use of 

metal rollers for the tuners used on the Audi guitar.

The Roca labelled guitar is presented here. On the site of 

Jedistar a high end Roca guitar is presented as well, above the

guitar that is showed here. They made guitars "for everyone".

That was their philosophy. Some more information....

José Roca Navarro started his business ROCA

from the remains of Marinnieta. Marinnieta used 

to be the business of María Dolores Marín Soucase 

(granddaughter of the great guitar builder Andrés 

Marín). José Roca was married to Dolores from 

1945 till 1957.

When José took up the guitar production in 1959 

the market for guitars was picking up to skyrocket 

in  the 60’s. José quickly expanded the production 

with electrical guitars and amplifiers. Besides that he 

started to adapt the guitar materials and production 

methods to lower his production costs to achieve 

lower selling prices. It looks like ROCA is one of

the factors for the race to the bottom of Valencian 

guitar productions. In his interview, José states 

that everyone should be in reach of his guitars.

The range of his instruments was big (everyone 

could find a guitar of his choice) it included bandurrias,

 laúds and concert type of guitars as well. The annual 

volume boosted from 3.600 pcs in 1959 till 25.000 in 

1965, with the main destination Valencia and Spain.

Production locations were in Turís and Xirivella. 

Valencia-city housed the shop, some despatch and 

the office. Wether José did business with Mijubal 

in Turís is not known.

With many thanks to Ton Bogaard who already

did a lot of investigations and is always willing

to help. Just visit: guitarrasvalencia.wordpress.

And Inge and Jan of course who also supplied

some extra information. Inge cherished this guitar

but growing older she is not able to play the guitar

anymore. I've showed them the restoration results! 

Some lacquer work, adjusting some sloppy wood-

work, cleaning the tuners and last but not least new 

frets instead of the too square and roughly filed 

original copper fretwork. As the fingerboard wood 

was not that dense I had to glue in these new frets.

And just recently I stumbled onto another brand that

in fact is closely related to the Jose Roca brand: The 

Francisco Bros (and later only "Bros") labelled guitars

learned their craft in the factory of Jose Roca and

Maria Dolores Marin.