{"id":34715,"date":"2026-10-26T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guitarrasramirez.com\/?p=34715"},"modified":"2026-11-09T13:21:25","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T12:21:25","slug":"ramirez-guitar-sound-segovia-beatles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guitarrasramirez.com\/en\/ramirez-guitar-sound-segovia-beatles\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Secret of the Ram\u00edrez Sound? Interview with Ram\u00edrez on M\u00e1s de Uno (Onda Cero)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The unmistakable sound of a Ram\u00edrez guitar is born of more than 140 years of craftsmanship in the city of Madrid. Of course, the use of woods carefully seasoned for decades<\/a> has something to do with it, along with breakthroughs such as red cedar soundboards or innovation in varnishes, and the most meticulous artisan work. We also believe it lies largely in the love we put into our work, which carries over into our instruments. It is the sound chosen by Llobet, Segovia, Barrios, Sabicas, Serranito, Manolo Sanl\u00facar\u2026 and the one you hear in the Beatles\u2019 \u201cAnd I Love Her\u201d. A sound that still comes out of the Ram\u00edrez family workshop<\/a>, now in its fifth generation.<\/p>\n

This story begins with a feature from Barrile\u00f1o<\/em><\/strong>, part of the programme M\u00e1s de uno Madrid<\/em><\/strong> on Onda Cero<\/strong>, which visited our house to explore how an instrument is still built by hand today, in a workshop that has shaped the world of the guitar for more than a century. You can listen to the full report on Onda Cero<\/a> (in Spanish, about six minutes). Here we add what radio has no time to tell.<\/p>\n

It all began with a hunting bow and a vibrating string<\/h2>\n

Before there was a workshop, a stage or a score, there was a bow. Thousands of years ago, someone stretched a string between its two ends, plucked it and discovered a principle that would change everything: a string under tension makes sound.<\/p>\n

From there, the story is the oldest one we know: people trying, failing and improving. More strings were added, wooden boxes were built to amplify the vibration, and it was understood that by shortening the string with the fingers, a single string could give different notes. The lute and the vihuela came along, and centuries later one of the most universal instruments in the world appeared: the guitar.<\/p>\n

A decisive part of that story was written in Madrid, in a workshop that has been building guitars for more than 140 years<\/a>, almost exactly as it did on day one.<\/p>\n

Madrid, 1882: five generations turning wood into music<\/h2>\n

In 1882, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I<\/a><\/strong> opened his own workshop in Madrid after training in the craft from a young age in the workshop of Francisco Gonz\u00e1lez. His house is now the oldest guitar-making house in the world run without interruption by the same family. Five generations have lived through wars, crises and changing eras while doing the same thing: building an instrument for the hands and needs of the musician.<\/p>\n

Five generations, one craft<\/h3>\n