> Nobody answered because it is a hard question to answer. Most of these > places sell things they call lutes that are from Pakistan and, seriously, > are not worth the bother... the extra time and money needed to get these up > to playing capability is usually not worth it, and many people who start > with these instruments often get so frustrated that they do not continue > playing. For a beginner I've read dozens of times that it is better to get > a guitar and practice the 6-course repertoire than it is to disillusion > yourself with a cheap lute. > >
I think that if you could get a really inexpensive oud, you could try setting it up as a lute. The world is full of ouds; you wouldn't want to mess around with a fine instrument but if the instrument was cheap enough you could try adapting it (or get someone to do so). I was given a very inexpensive oud as a present many years ago. I'm a complete novice in woodwork but I made a few changes and I think I've got a reasonably decent instrument. It's a make-believe 'medieval' lute and I'm playing it with a plectrum. I think it sounds really quite good. And it sounds not as good, but really not bad when plucked, proper lute-style. I have an expensive, professionally-made Renaissance lute and it's a long way from that. But equally it's a long way from any kind of guitar. I've tried playing some utterly dreadful tonally-dead cheap guitars in my time but this adapted oud is really quite perky. You'd need to put frets on. Despite what the man says in the reference below, nylon frets will do. > You might want to look at this page, where you can read the stories of two > people who fixed up cheap lutes, and decide for yourself if it's worth it. > > http://john.redmood.com/improvebargainlute.html > > >> ------------- >> Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Tryit now. >> -- >> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html<http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html> >> >> > > -- > > >
