For the price I'd almost suggest a used instrument but then again you might be better off talking to one of the Australian luthiers (scroll down page) and see what they have. You might luck into a good used if you check with some of the Australian lute teachers:

ftp.cs.dartmouth.edu/pub/lut...hier.FAQ

www.lutesoc.co.uk/teach.htm#Australia

They might be able to steer you towards a nice instrument. They are very individual in sound and playability, with very few "standard" anything, so for you picking them up will be important. You might just be able to do it for the price, though I don’t know what if anything you can find in Australia. Personally I’d save my bucks up and go with someone like Larson since he builds consistently fine instruments, but you are still talking a student instrument for the lower price. The following will give you some idea of the variances in instrument sizes and costs, just click on the lute:

www.daniellarson.com/

I purchased a great Baroque lute used off the net, but was able to see it before purchase. You might have to watch the listings for a while and make some calls; here is a good link for used ones (read the warning):

www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lu...ale.html

Unfamiliar with the lutes mentioned at EMS, but I have corresponded with them. They took a while to respond to me but they seemed fairly forthcoming. I’d suggest e-mailing them directly with specific questions concerning any particular instrument you have your eye on. I’m sure someone in the shop will go over every detail, flaw or plus they see on the instrument. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the case! For a lute it is an absolute must. If you’d like to build your own case and save some money on that part, Tim, has instructions here:

people.tribe.net/45bea85c-...b46f131426

Good luck, let us know how things develope.

Hi Rastus,
Steve's advice is all good. You will probably find that when you add on shipping costs, insurance, etc. to the purchase price of a lute from the US or UK, you could get a better lute from an Australian builder for the same total cost. You would be able to try out an Australian-built instrument. And all things being equal, why not support an Australian luthier?

You jokingly mention a vintage instrument. You actually don't want one. Instruments made before the 1970s were built too heavy and don't sound right. It wasn't until about the mid-70s that luthiers began carefully examining and measuring Renaissance instruments and started making the bowls and soundboards thinner. Old instruments are more likely to have problems with the action, and it can get expensive to have the neck re-set to counteract a rise in the action. So older is not necessarily better. I think the mid 80s is about as old as you would want to go.

There probably won't be much of a difference in volume from a student lute to a concert-quality instrument. The more expensive lutes generally have bowls of maple or yew or another very hard wood which will reflect the sound better, but the difference will be modest. Expensive instruments are more likely to use European spruce for the soundboard, which will give a brighter tone than something like Englemann spruce from Canada. But I actually like the slightly warmer sound of my lute that has an Englemann spruce soundboard.

What you will find is that the action will be better on a fine instrument and the soundboard will be thicknessed and braced to match the qualities of that particular piece of spruce to give you evenness and sensitivity across the scale. Some builders are very up-front that their more expensive instruments just have more expensive woods, fancier roses, and more inlay.

As far as thickness of the neck, generally they are about 2.5 cm thick where the neck meets the body and gradually get thinner towards the nut, ending up at about 2 cm thick where the neck meets the pegbox. What might matter more to you is the profile of the back of the neck. On Venere and Heiber style lutes (like Daniel Larson's and EMS's) the back of the neck will be gently rounded (like a guitar), while lutes based on instruments by Frei or Gerle will be more highly arched along the middle of the neck. It makes a difference in the feedback your thumb gets as you position your left hand. Just something to notice when you try out instruments.

You may actually find that you don't need to mike a lute, by the way. A guitarist friend of mine was surprised at how well my lute projected when he tried it.

Good luck!

Hi Rastus,

I'm an amateur musician, but when I read your post I felt as if you were describing me: the older, the more lute music required, until finally you've got to try it for yourself.

Unfortunately, it will be very hard to get a decent lute except direct from a luthier: the EMS lutes have never been recommended to me, and certainly the Pakistani lutes for sale on EBay are to be avoided. Some up and coming luthiers have good reputations, but are still offer very reasonable prices. I bought my 13c baroque lute from a Brazilian luthier, Luciano Faria, who was highly recommended to me. I paid USD $2710, including case and shipping to the US. I talked with him about a 10c renaissance lute, and it would be about USD $1800. For an 8c with less ornamentation, you could probably get one for about $1400 USD, which I think is about 1600 AUD. I'm not sure that price can be beat, especially since Luciano has come highly recommended by very accomplished amateurs and a couple of professional lutenists. Email me privately if you want me to name names (jcabraham <at> gmail <dot> com). Luciano's website is www.lucianofaria.com

Best of Luck!

Jim Abraham