Hey Luther, hang in there! I remember feeling the way you do when I first came to the lute after years of guitar playing. I was used to popping in a store and checking out their merchandise or getting a pack of strings off the rack. It took me a while to realize the the culture of the two instruments is quite different.
The lute is still a very specialized market. As such, there aren't so many players to support the kind of large industry that could churn out decent-quality, affordable beginner instruments. Likewise, because the market is so small, instruments are hand-made by folks who have had to learn the craft from the ground up. There's also a certain degree of research and development in lute building as today's makers are still investigating historical modes of construction and experimenting in the various ways in which these "new" ideas can be applied. This isn't reflected in the price of a modern classical guitar, which has used a more or less standardized form and method of construction since (_only_ since!) the 1950's. But not all hope is lost. Keep checking Wayne's "Lutes for Sale" page. You may have to wait around for a month or two, but you'll find something in your price range eventually. (Act quickly if you see something you like - affordable lutes get snatched up in a flash.) You must have patience in the lute world where nothing is pre-packaged. Just wait until you get into the joys of stringing - there are no "normal, high or hard tension" pre-selected sets for us! :-) But this is all part of the fun and your wait will be well worth it. Chris --- On Tue, 9/29/09, luther maynard <luthermayn...@live.com> wrote: > From: luther maynard <luthermayn...@live.com> > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Newbie needs to know - where buy a lute and what type? > To: jrphe...@windstream.net, lute@cs.dartmouth.edu > Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 9:18 PM > Thanks for the > positive reply, it's not like I'm expecting an > instrument that Paul O'dette would record > with, or > > other top players, just a beginner > instrument that is easy to play, no > fancy woods, or rosette or even the > > varnish, just something to protect it > from moisture. I've tried getting > Mr.Brown on the phone, his wife picks up > and gives me the shop > > number, I call that and he doesn't > answer, and she has no idea what his > wait list is either. > > I may just give up on it and continue > playing guitar. > > Thanks, > > Luther > > > Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:01:07 > -0500 > > From: jrphe...@windstream.net > > To: luthermayn...@live.com > > Subject: RE: [LUTE] Re: Newbie needs > to know - where buy a lute and > what type? > > > > thanks, I think I know what you > mean, like a sheet of music....a > score, but not written in stadard musical > notation... > > > > ---- luther maynard <luthermayn...@live.com> > wrote: > > > > > > Tab is the music you play from > there are several types, French tab > uses letters instead of notes or > numbers,a being an open string, b > being the first fret to be stopped > etc.... > > > Luther in Tennesse > > > > > > > Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 > 18:54:47 -0500 > > > > From: jrphe...@windstream.net > > > > To: luthermayn...@live.com > > > > Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: > Newbie needs to know - where buy a lute > and what type? > > > > > > > > thanks - whats a tab? > > > > > > > > ---- luther maynard <luthermayn...@live.com> > wrote: > > > > > Sorry but a 22 yr old > Civic isn't worth but maybe $500, maybe. > Okay, > > > > > $2000, I can get a > pretty decent classical > > > > > > > > > > guitar for that, and > I have been cruising the net for tab. Just > not > > > > > much luck in finding > anything that I've heard recorded. > > > > > > > > > > LM C'mon guys a > Violin maker near me will make you a violin > with a > > > > > year wait for > 3k..... > > > > > > > > > > > Date: Tue, 29 > Sep 2009 16:43:22 -0700 > > > > > > To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu > > > > > > From: howardpos...@ca.rr.com > > > > > > Subject: [LUTE] > Re: Newbie needs to know - where buy a lute > and what > > > > > type? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sep 29, 2009, > at 4:29 PM, luther maynard wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > My name is > Luther... I have the same questions, why isn't > there > > > > > > > a ready > > > > > > > to buy lute > for under $1000 for the > > > > > > > > > > > > > > beginner > that doesn't need work right out of the box, > > > > > > > > > > > > because building > a lute takes a lot of labor by a highly > skilled > > > > > > artisan. If > you're good enough to build a decent lute and > have made > > > > > > molds and > invested in lots of tools and workbenches and neato > stuff > > > > > > like that, you > don't want to do it for minimum wage. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I've been > burned > > > > > > > with an > Ebay lute, Pakistan made. > > > > > > > > > > > > See above. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > If, I can > find something that doesn't cost the price of a > used > > > > > > > car.... > > > > > > > > > > > > This made me > laugh. My theorbo is worth maybe 25 times what > my 22- > > > > > > year-old Civic > will fetch on the open market. > > > > > > > > > > > > > where do > you purchase the tab. ? > > > > > > > > > > > > Depends on what > you want. Start with the LSA website and > cruise the > > > > > > links. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > > > To get on or off > this list see list information at > > > > > > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > > > __________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > > > > > Insert movie times > and more without leaving Hotmail(R). [1]See > how. -- > > > > > > > > > > References > > > > > > > > > > 1. > http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_T > utorial_QuickAdd_062009 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Hotmail(R) has ever-growing storage! > Dont worry about storage limits. > > > http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Storage?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tu > torial_Storage_062009 > > > > __________________________________________________________________ > > Hotmail(R) has ever-growing storage! Dont > worry about storage limits. > [1]Check it out. -- > > References > > 1. > http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Storage?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_Storage_062009 > > To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
