1984 10-String Ramirez 1a De Camera Guitar

Owned By Simon Wynberg on Bountiful Bach CD!!!

Ramirez 1a
De Camera
10-String

Up for sale is a very rare 1984 1a Ramirez De Camera classical 10-string guitar. This particular guitar was originally comissioned from Ramirez by guitarist Simon Wynberg, and was used on his million-selling Bountiful Bach CD. The guitar is made with a special De Camera chamber -- an innovation by Jose Ramirez III, which consists of a Rosewood interior baffle, and a 1/2 layer Spanish Cypress sides directly above it. The creates a smooth, even response, with the elimination of 'wolf notes.' New, a 1a Ramirez De Camera 10-String costs about $20k, and here is a very rare opportunity to own one and save about $15,000!!!

Click HERE for 1270 Hi-resolution photos of this guitar, and HERE for additional info on the De Camera model from the Ramirez website.

The sound, both acoustically and recorded, is world-class. The sustain is amazing, the sympathetic resonance on this guitar is etherial (see sound clip, below). I have played and owned dozens of multi-string classical guitars, and this instrument equals or surpasses almost all of them. This guitar has a beautiful cedar top, a set of East Indian Rosewood back & sides, the inner set of 1/2 Spanish Cypress sides for added stiffness for increased projection and which supports the De Camera chamber baffle. The guitar has beautifully, sustaining trebles, deep basses, and wonderful sympathetic resonance and sustain. The low bass response is nicely balanced on this guitar, and it also has great separation of voices, clarity and evenness through all the registers, and a balance that you can only find on the finest of 10-string guitars. This guitar is a superb instrument, and I offer a 3-day return guarantee that you will be absolutely thrilled to own and play it, or simply return it.

CONDITION
While the guitar sounds wonderful, the action is rather high, as is typical of a lot of Ramirez guitars from the 70s and 80s. The action at the 1st string is 4.5 mm, which is on the high side for most people. The bridge saddle is about as low as it can go. Also, the guitar is in excellent cosmetic condition, which is the result of a refinish that was professionally done, and looks original. However, as part of the process of sanding the top, a section near the bass-side of the waist became rather thin, and you can see a slight discoloration in the photos. Everything is stable, but this guitar could not undergo another sanding and refinsh. The original tuners have some cracks in the rollers, but they are still functional.

STRINGS
I have the guitar strung with D'Addario Dynacord strings, in Romantic/Baroque tuning, a standard 10-string tuning where 1-6 is normal, and 7-10 descend step-wise: 7=D, 8=C, 9=B, 10 =A. Strings By Mail has a great selection of 10-string sets and can put together custom sets for you at a discount over individual strings. Several excellent string manufacturers offer 10-string sets, including D'Addario, which come on this guitar, Hannabach, and Savarez. Aranjuez also makes a set, but I have not tried them.

GUITAR SPECS:
* 1984 Ramirez 1a
* Ramirez Luthier: #9
Juan Garcia Rey
* Top: Cedar
* Sides:
Inner: 1/2 Spanish Cypress
Outer: Indian RW
* De Camera Chamber
* Saddle/Nut: Bone
* Finish: Lacquer Refinish
* Scale: 664 mm
* Nut Width: 85 mm
* saddle width: 115 mm
* STRING SPACING
@ Nut = 78 mm o.c.
@ fret 12 = 90 mm o.c.
@ bridge = 102 mm o.c.
* ACTION
@ String 1 = 4.5 mm
@ String 6 = 5.5 mm
@ String 10 = 6.5 mm
* Original Fustero tuners
* Hardshell case
* Made in Spain

SOUND FILES
Here are 16 quick, 1-take MP3 sound files of me playing this guitar, to give you an idea of what to expect. The guitar has amazing sympathetic resonance and sustain, as well as excellent power and projection, beautiful bass responce, and a very even response across the registers thanks to the help of the De Camera design. These MP3 files have no compression, EQ or reverb -- just straight signal, recorded through a pair of Schoeps CMT541 condenser mics, into a pair of Warm Audio WA12 preamps, and a Metric Halo ULN8 converter.

1 | Resonance Test (Stopped scales / chords showing sympathetic resonance)

2 | Intonation Test (Harmonic + fretted note @ the 12th fret)

3 | Packington's Pound (English
Renaissance, before 1596)

4 | Joy To the Person (Anon.
English Renaissance)

5 | Corn Yards (Scottish
Renaissance, 1596-1657)

6 | From the Beginning
(Emerson, Lake and Palmer)

7 | Pavan #1 (Luis Milan,
Spanish Renaissance)

8 | The Third Tune
(Thomas Tallis, Renaissance)

9 | Fantasia (Mudarra,
Spanish Renaissance)

10 | Kemp's Jig
(English Renaissance)

11 | Bouree in Em
(J.S. Bach, Baroque)

12 | Prelude in Dm
(J.S. Bach, Baroque)

13 | Bianca Fiore
(Negri, Italian Renaissance)

14 | Se A Mi Acorgo
(Anon., Italian Renaissance)

15 | Brian Boru's March
(Celtic Traditional)

16 | Go From My Window
(English Renaissance)

In short, this guitar is a World-Class concert and/or recording guitar, and it would make a great guitar for classical concerts and recitals, as well as recording studio projects.

RESOURCES
My website Cathedral Guitar has a lot of info on multi-string guitars; I also run an internet radio station on multi-string guitars and lutes 10-String Radio; and also I moderate a 265-member 10-String Yahoo Group on the subject, and am working on an instructional website, 10-string.com. James R. Smith has an excellent intoductory article to the world of multi-strings, here

TEACHERS
If you need a teacher to help you adapt to the 10-string guitar, you can check this list here. Also, if you will be playing mostly lute music on the 10-string, I strongly recommend taking lessons from a lute player, if you can find one. If you want online lessons, I highly recommend the 10-String guitarist Perf De Castro, who is both an excellent musician and a wonderful teacher, and he offers private 10-string guitar lessons via the internet. Click Here for more details.

CLASSICAL HARP GUITAR
This guitar type is also a relative of the Harp Guitar family known as the Fretted Harp Guitar. It has a big advantage over the other harp guitar types in that the frets extend across the entire neck, and the guitar can easily be played with a capo, and be quickly transposed into a variety of keys, which is especially helpful when accompanying singers. This is, of course, impossible on a regular harp guitar. Custom capos are made by Shubb (ask for the Pinnochio model), and also by Phill Elliott.

SHIPPING & TERMS
Insured USA FedEx Ground is $40. I do accept Visa, Master Card, AmEx, PayPal, and all the other forms of payment. Thanks for looking. Please ask questions before bidding. Satisfaction Guaranteed!!! This auction is for one Ramirez 1a De Camera 10-string classical harp guitar guitar and hardshell case. No other accessories are included. A case upgrade to the Ameritage 6-ply Custom 10-String Case is available for $250 (regular price $379).

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
If you are not happy with the guitar for any reason, simply return it within 3 days (buyer pays shipping). So far, after several dozen of eBay and direct internet sales of 10-string guitars, not a single customer has returned a guitar.

PLEASE CHECK OUT my other Cathedral, Milagro, and Bartolex 7- 8- 10- and 11-string guitars in my Current eBay Auctions, and also see and hear several of my 10-string guitars that have Recently Sold on eBay.

AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR: