Here they are Chris, your "200 Dollar Lutes" :)
http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_renaissance_lute_8_15.htm?sid=9753fb3d0aa7c9b6ed40b37c1dab3d28
http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_renaissance_laute.htm?sid=9753fb3d0aa7c9b6ed40b37c1dab3d28
can't vouch for quality though!
G.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Wilke" <[email protected]>
To: "Margaret Munck" <[email protected]>
Cc: "lute mailing list list" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 2:45 PM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: EMS Lutes
All,
I think the real issues with student lute pricing is that very few take
it up as their first instrument. The vast majority come from some guitar
background and they will have already spent a fair amount of money on
other guitars or other instruments by the time they get to the lute.
I think my own situation is not atypical: I already had a bachelor's
degree in classical guitar performance before I even touched a lute.
Just before I graduated, I mentioned to my teacher how much I enjoyed
playing lute transcriptions. He said I could buy a cheap lute "for
around $200" if I "wanted to mess around with it on the side." The
thought had never occurred to me and it hit me like a lightening bolt:
play lute music... on a LUTE!?!?
Needless to say, I searched for months for that $200 lute. All of the
instruments on Wayne's page were hours and hours away from me. I wasn't
about to send $3,000 to some random person in California or Spain. I
really couldn't believe there was no one within an hour or two's drive
selling a lute so that I could at least try it out. After a while I was
getting discouraged and was ready to give up. By chance I happened
across a big name lutenist online selling a 10-course. It was way more
money than I wanted to spend and my fiance was a bit miffed, but, knowing
next to nothing about lutes, this seemed like a sure bet. I have to
admit, I probably had some stars in my eyes and this was no doubt
partially a factor in buying this particular lute. I suppose it worked
out for the best: I'm now almost finished with my doctorate in lute
performance and she's still with me.
I wonder - Would things have turned out differently if I'd been able to
get a cheapy in my hands two weeks after I spoke to my teacher? Would I
have kept up the interest with an inferior instrument? Still, who knows
if the instrument with name recognition hadn't come my way?
Chris
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