fantasia lute

Click on pictures for larger image. Fantasia lute front	Fantasia lute back	The Fantasia and Recercar Lutes The production for the Fantasia lute has changes from a batch system to regular production. Now you can place an order for the Fantasia or Retercar model lute and it will scheduled for work as soon as the workshop time permits. Productiom on lutes is usually six to eight weeks. Check the home page to see when the next order will be ready for completion. It started with an idea. I wanted to provide a really nice lute at a reasonable price. Not a "student" lute, exactly, but a lute that could be affordable to a student. A lute that would be a great first instrument for a beginner, or a good second in instrument for an established player. One that sounds sweet and strong. A lute that is comfortable to play, with a clean, low action. It also has to have a great case. So, I want to the drawing board. I used the top half of the Hieber lute design and the bottom half of the Frei C34 lute. Then, I brought the bottom curve of the Frei out a little more to create a little more air in the instrument. I designed the back to be half round with eleven ribs. The string length was settled at 61cm. This length is comfortable to play, yet it is long enough to optimize the tension and playing properties of nylon strings. Since the most requested lute is the eight course model the obvious thing was to make the Fantasia lute with eight courses. That way the musician can play almost any of the renaissance repertory on it. This lute model is available in two styles: Fantasia style - eight course lute for Elizabethan music Recercar style - six course lute for 16th c. Italian music The price for each instrument is: Fantasia lute - $2,200.00 Recercar lute - $2,000.00 For details about the terms of sale, please look at the Terms of Sale page on the website. Lute Features: Cherry back, neck and head Rosewood pegs Rosewood fingerboard binding, with points Rosewood end button Rosewood cap on cherry bridge Bone nut Nylon and carbon strings with wound basses Engelmann spruce front Form fitting Kingham case Extra set of strings Instrument specifications: String length 24" (61cm) Overall length 27 3/8" (69.5cm) Body length 17" (43.2cm) Neck length 12 7/16" (25.8cm) Body width 12 7/16 (31.5cm) Body depth 6" (15.3cm String spacing between courses at bridge 10.1mm Spacing between strings in course at bridge 4.9mm String spacing between courses at nut 5.7mm Spacing between strings in course at nut 3.1 Shipping information Six course Recercar lute
Then, I thought about materials. The choice had to make the instrument affordable, yet provide a good tone. Cherry seemed to fit the bill. It also helps that I have had a lot of experience with this wood and know how to work it into a lute. For the fronts I purchased a load of excellent quality, very fine grained Engelmann spruce. Then the details: rosewood pegs for smooth and dependable tuning and rosewood binding on the fingerboard binding so the frets won't bite into the edges. A rosewood cap on the cherry bridge to resist the strings cutting. A rosewood end button for those who want to play with a strap. The only thing left was to make the instrument look nice and protect it. I e-mailed Bob Kingham and asked him to make some cases. He made them with a green covering and a mink lining so they are distinctive and set of the appearance of the instrument. For extra measure I decided to include an extra set of strings. That was it. A great lute in a great case at an affordable price.

Fantasia lute in the Kingham case Back to home page