The lute is the instrument of Dowland, Bach, and five centuries of European music. Its rounded back, paired courses of strings, and soft fingertip-driven tone place it in a world of its own. Roosebeck lutes are handcrafted Renaissance and Baroque instruments built stave by stave in solid tonewoods, giving serious players access to the sound of historical performance without the historical price tag.
Stave-built bowl construction. Each lute bowl is assembled from individual curved staves, the same method used by luthiers in the Renaissance. You can see every joint and every wood grain line.
Solid tonewoods throughout. Sheesham bowls paired with Canadian spruce or cedar soundboards produce the warm, bloom-and-decay tone the lute is famous for.
Multiple courses to match your repertoire. From 7-course descant lutes for soprano-range music to 8-course Baroque lutes for the later repertoire, the catalog covers the full Renaissance and early Baroque era.
Travel-size options available. The 7 and 8-course Travel Lutes pack real lute tone into a smaller body that's easier to carry to lessons or rehearsals.
If you're new to the instrument, the 7-course Descant Lute is the approachable entry point, with a scale length that suits smaller hands and a repertoire rich in Dowland, Cutting, and the English Renaissance school.
For players focused on the full Baroque literature, the Deluxe 8-course lutes in sheesham (with optional Canadian spruce soundboard) give you the range and voice that French and German Baroque music demands. Travel Lutes work well as second instruments or as a first lute for students who need portability.
Lute playing uses the fingertips without nails, producing a soft, intimate tone that rewards careful technique. The paired courses take some getting used to, but most guitarists adapt within a few weeks.
Read our overview: What is a lute. Every Roosebeck lute ships with an owner's guide and a tuning reference for historical pitch standards.
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