OK all, I'm going to make a defense of another "lute". I considered the EMS lute kit, which I think at the time would have cost me about $800 (more now with the exchange rates), and asked some advice. The EMS kit was well recommended, but involved a lot of work. I chose to buy the Musikits "flat back", which some purists on the list have said isn't a lute. The kit cost me $350, and the finished instrument is about $800.
What are the criteria of the choice. My flat back has been played by three professionals (one being Ronn McFarlane, and I had to point out to him that the frets were fixed wooden frets instead of gut - as he just played without looking). All three had the same reaction, a bit bright, but playable as a lute. I've been playing that instrument for a year now, and as many of you know from my questions I'm in the process of building a true lute from scratch. But I never would have done that, or learned what I've learned about the music and the instrument, had I had to pay a lot of money to get started. The earlier versions (one and two, I have two) of the Musicmakers (Musikits.com) flat back were too long(25", 63.5cm) for a G tuning, except with nylon. The version being sold now is a bit shorter (not sure how much, but when you see in the catalog that it is now a fit length for G that is from my suggestion, I do wish Jerry would buy me a beer for pointing out the failings of his design). From the box it might be a bit high in the action, I haven't convinced him on that yet. But you can get a playable lute for $800, or if you have minimal skills with hand tools and a bit of time, for $350. It is not a concert instrument, but you can learn the fingering and play a rather nice sound on it. In fact if I didn't like the challenge of making a "full bellied" lute, and the idea of having a classic renaissance lute, I'd just stay with the Musicmaker's flat back. Full disclosure, Jerry Brown pays me nothing for this endorsement - and I'm still waiting for that beer for teaching him things I learned about the lute from this list and my own experimentation. But one can learn if one likes guitar with a decent classical instrument of about $200 (or an electric for a similar price). One can get a used flute for about $150, and a new penny whistle for $6. Even violins cost less than lutes at a beginner's level. And no beginner should be asked to commit to a fully priced instrument, no matter the instrument, in order to find out if this is the one he/she wants to play. I think that flat back has a place there, when I make my true lute I'll sell the flat back to someone interested in the instrument for the price they can afford (and if it is $5, so be it - I've gotten my worth from it in learning to love the instrument - but I do hope they will be willing to pay a bit more <g>). I'd rather sell it to someone who would learn from it for $100 than to someone who would hang it on the wall for $1000 - which wouldn't happen anyway, but the point is made). Best, Jon PS, I thought about buying a Paki lute on eBay and using just the belly. It is generally agreed among luthiers with whom I've spoken that the body of the lute contributes a lot less to the sound than the soundboard and the rest of the instrument. But I chose to bite the bullet and make the belly on my own. (And the ability to tear apart a Paki lute to use the parts would depend on the glue they use - a good hide glue will come apart with a reasonable level of heating, whereas a modern glue might need enough heat to really do some tearing). > If you have the money to spend on a more expensive lute, go ahead. As I > said, I wasn't in a position to do that, and I do think people can be over > quick to criticise cheaper instruments. There are lutes made by different > workshops also available from the Early Music Shop. You can visit their > lute catalogue on line at > http://www.e-m-s.com/cat/stringinstruments/lutes/lute.htm And therein lies the point. Do you want to start with a mediocre or "good" lute before you know if you can play. Or do you want to find out whether you like playing the music first. I see that the lutes from Mitre on the site you link are in a range, my mental calculations aren't perfect but they seem to have student lutes at about $900. But I'd like to see one first. A general observation from an ancient warrior. Use cheap stuff to practice skills, then discard them for the better equipment. If you make a compromise in the middle you will never feel you can dispose of it, and you won't have the money for the best as you will already have spent much of it. jwm To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
