Dear Mosabi, As everyone seems to have drifted from your question on to Pakistani lutes, I thought I'd chip in.
1) EMS lutes are not from Pakistan. 2) I built my first one from one of their kits in the 1970s, and although it is badly built (with a bit of help from my father), and not very good looking, it is perfectly playable. It is 7 course. 3) I built an 8-course from their more recent kits in the late 1990s - it looks and plays better. I have not had to revise it in any way. 4) As to the sound they make, they are completely different. I can only imagine that they sound like lutes, because all the recordings I have of lutes have different sounds too. 5) I notice from recent catalogues that you can have the kits in different stages of completion... Good hunting, Tony ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mosabi Greyfox" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2006 2:27 AM Subject: [LUTE] EMS lutes Good or Bad > > Greetings! > > Hi everyone! I am new to the lute list and to lutes. I have been looking > every where for a good starter lute. I have talked to a friend of mine > who > is a luthier. He said I should expect to spend in the range > of $2500 (can) and up for a decent lute. See I am a guitar player and > the > most expensive guitar I own is only $800 so I am not in a big hurry drop > that much cash. > > So that brings me to my question to all of you. > I have been looking at 7 course lute made by EMS in > england. [1]www.e-m-s.com > This model hovers around $780 can in various stores. > I have read a few reviews on this lute and the seem pretty good. But one > person reviewed it as unplayable. I asked my luthier if he knew about > this > brand but he did not. > > So the question is: Is this lute a good buy? Has anyone played a lower > end > EMS? > > Thanks everyone for your time! > > Robin {Bard in training} > > References > > 1. http://www.e-m-s.com/ > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
