Introduced in 1942 and produced until 1977, the sunburst Gibson SJ (Southern Jumbo) was a fancier J-45, apparently aimed at the Southern US market. In 1954, a Natural finish top was offered as the SJN – Southern Jumbo Natural – but in 1955 that became the Country Western model until 1960, and then was the SJN again. Gibson re-issued the SJ in 1991 and it is still a production model.
Spruce Top
Ramirez 1a flamenco guitars are built in the traditional Spanish style at the ‘home’ workshop. The guitar centers on a ‘slipper foot’ neck to body joint, with the sides fitting into slots cut into the heel block. The body pairs a Spruce top with Cypress back and sides – a very light wood in terms of weight and colouring, also providing a lot of brightness to the tone.
Here’s a beautiful piece of functional art – from 1960, a Guild X-500 Archtop electric in original condition and very playable! The Guild Guitar company was formed in New York 1951 by jazz guitarist and musical retailer Alfred Dronge and George Mann, ex-Epiphone executive. Most of the staff were also ex-Epiphone employees who did not follow the company from New York to Philadelphia, a move sparked by a four-month strike.
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MORE →The Ramirez FL2 Flamenco Blanca is a traditional Flamenco Blanca model, built to provide brilliant, percussive and loud rhythms at brisk tempos. This model, and its new replacement the Estudio Flamenco “Serranito” are the only ‘Student’ Flamenco guitars offered by Ramirez. Flamenco is now very professional and formalized, but is at its roots a folk style combining highly expressive, rhythmic percussion and melody using voice, dance, hand claps, finger snaps and guitars.
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MORE →Here’s a Ramirez Model 4E built during 2001 with the Ramirez shop at General Margallo No. 10 in Madrid, around the block from the Tetuan subway station. A full size guitar at 650mm scale and 52mm nut width, the 4E features a Red Cedar top, Indian Rosewood for the sides, back headplate and bridge, Ebony for the fingerboard, and Spanish Cedar (Cedro) for the neck and body blocks.
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MORE →Here we have a Ramirez 1a Long Scale classical guitar built during 1967, during the ‘golden era’ of Jose Ramirez III’s leadership of the Ramirez workshop at Concepcion Jeronima No. 2 in Madrid, Spain. This well-used instrument features a long scale of 664mm or 26.14 inches, intended to provide increased volume and projection for the professional concert performer. With Jose Ramirez III leading the workshop, this Ramirez 1a Long Scale has the initials CLL on the slipper foot. Its construction defines the tradition that countless other builders follow, with the slipper foot join integrating the sides and neck for maximum resonance and response.
This instrument has sold
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