Ramirez "Marcel Dadi" guitar, with souvenir Lakewood Band uniform pillow. Change is in the air; for music, and for Lakewood!
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This column is derived from a guitar article I wrote for a music-related publication a few years ago. As I happened across the original writing, it occurred to me that there was a message within that could be applied to the Lakewood world, as we consider the dialectic between old and new, tradition and technology, and passing the torch of change in our beautiful city.

The so-called traditional "classical," or Spanish six-string, cat-gut guitar has been with us since the early 1800's. By 1833, the Martin guitar was being built here in this country, and America was soon toting these and other similar instruments across the Rockies and on to California to play in the cantinas and mining camps of the west, where players soon came in contact with similar instruments from Mexico and Spain.

Contrary to popular opinion, and to appease all of my cat-loving friends, the intestines of sheep were a far more popular source for the strings of the guitar than anything that your poor cat might come up with. To make ALL animal lovers feel better, by the 1940's, people in the coastal towns of France, Portugal, and Spain started using the various thicknesses of DuPont's new nylon fiber fishline for their treble strings. Soon, companies were making complete nylon string sets for the classical. When classical guitar expert Maestro Andre Segovia starting using nylon strings, the world followed suit. Not long afterwards, there were many new brands of classical guitar, as well as types of nylon strings available.

The classical guitar uses these lower-tension strings, while many other types of guitar use steel strings. Steel strings should never be used on a classical guitar due to the possibility of damage to the instrument.

My experiences with the classical guitar in Lakewood have been interesting. Often, I have been able to find them for sale for a song, at least until recently, as buyers seemed to be pretty hard to find for them. Our dried-out winters can also be brutal on instruments constructed in warm, humid climates. Still, when kept in a proper case or humidity-balanced environment, a classical guitar can last a long time.

More people have used these so-called classicals than you might imagine. At least three of the Beatles had Ramirez classicals, according to Amalia Ramirez, who should well know, as she is with Ramirez Guitars--perhaps the most famous and honored name for the classical guitar. Peter, Paul, and Mary, as well as countless country and rock acts, keep classicals close by to fill out a song track now and then. Also, who can forget Willie Nelson's Martin classical guitar? That nylon string guitar has a damage hole so big I think I could almost stick my fist through it. And yet, what a sound! Its warm piano-like tone more than makes up for whatever perceived shortcomings this instrument might otherwise have.

Those of you who have put up with me as I have written this column these many months know of my ongoing dialectical discussions about Lakewood's traditions and changes, and believe it or not, the classical guitar has a story about that type of dilemma too. If you wade into the classical stream, you will soon observe that this particular type of guitar has rigidly set parameters of construction and design. The many fine builders of this style of guitar have generally kept to very definite guidelines and the result seems to have been the development of an increasingly functional and subtly refined (albeit conservative) instrument design.

Enter Jose Ramirez III. As I wrote earlier, the Ramirez guitar was considered a benchmark of quality for this type of instrument. Founded in the 1800's, the Ramirez family brought stunningly beautiful instruments to the world. Jose III's father, Jose II, built amazing guitars as well. Jose III continued to build the fine Ramirez guitar, and I understand that a number of folks who started in the Ramirez shop later went on to build fine guitars under their own names. Jose III, however, seemed to be convinced that even better guitar designs could be built through his own efforts. In a collaboration with the young guitarist Marcel Dadi, a project began that would change the very heart of the classical guitar world forever.

Marcel Dadi seemed to be able to play anything well. The young Tunisian-born musician even began a collaborative friendship with Chet Atkins, and their work together marked a superlative milestone in country music. When Marcel and Jose III got together to build the young genius a guitar, the guitar's soundboard was constructed of red cedar, a sacred tonewood long used for the making of our Native American flutes, but little else. The fingerboard's width was reduced, a cutaway to the body was incorporated, and an electric under-saddle pickup was added as well! Now, how do you suppose the conservative classical world reacted to these changes to their precious traditionally-inspired guitar?

I feel certain that for these, and other innovations, Jose Ramirez III probably took an unfair share of grief. And Marcel? Shortly after being honored at the Country Music Hall of Fame, the 46-year-old perished in the explosion of TWA flight 800 in the skies over Long Island Sound, New York.

The idea of passing the torch has almost become a cliche these days, but as with most of these sad stories, someone always seems to step in to pick that torch back up. Amalia Ramirez and her family seem to have picked up the torch at Ramirez Guitars most admirably since the passing of Jose III in 1995. In her letter to me, she wrote concerning a number of good things, including the news that an instrument similar to the type of guitar used by Marcel continues to be around, and that the similar type of guitar used by George Harrison has once again been made available to the public. What a legacy, and what a fine company!

Dadi's legacy also continues with his fine musical recordings. Just prior to his death, he was honored by the placement of his star upon the Country Music Hall of Fame's famous Walkway of the Stars--the first non-American to be so honored.

I feel most fortunate to be able to show you this photo of an original Ramirez guitar designed for Marcel Dadi and made under the supervision of Jose Ramirez III. Today, you certainly can find guitars with similar features made by Ramirez and virtually all of the other major classical companies. This represents a truly fitting legacy to that synergistic blend of old and new, tradition and technology, and passing the torch of change that helps move ourselves, our city, and our planet forward.