Six Course Lutes
1) 6 course a' lute, 9 ribbed back
Low-pitch a'. May also be tuned to modern pitch a'.
String length: 55.7 cm.
Based on a design developed by Vancouver lutemaker Ray Nurse (after paintings by Marziale, Veneto and Bellini). 9 ribs of bird's-eye maple or slabsawn curly ash. Neck, fingerboard and peg-box of Swiss pear. Fingerboard edges and points of mountain mahogany. As an alternative, this instrument may also be built with the fingerboard overlapping into the soundboard area, a detail seen in many paintings of early 6 course lutes.
2) 6 course g' lute, 9 ribbed back
Modern pitch g'.
String length: 59.5 cm. or 60 cm.
My own design, based on the woodcut frontispiece of the 1536 Marcolini edition of Francesco da Milano, and also drawing from elements of the back cross sections of the 9 ribbed Laux Maler lutes in Nurnberg and Prague, and the 9 ribbed Magno dieffopruchar 6 course lute in the Beare's collection.
9 ribs of slabsawn curly ash or bird’s-eye maple. Neck, fingerboard and peg-box of Swiss pear. Fingerboard edges and points of mountain mahogany. As an alternative, this instrument may also be built with the fingerboard overlapping into the soundboard area, a detail seen in many paintings of early 6 course lutes.
3) 6 course 'Small' Frei
Low pitch g'. May also be tuned to modern pitch g'.
String length: 62.5 cm or 63 cm.
Based on the smaller of the two Hans Frei lutes, Bologna c.1550, in the Kunsthistorischesmuseum in Vienna (C34). Both of these Frei lutes were converted to 11 course Baroque lutes in the 17th century, and I have worked out the possible original design of the smaller lute.
11 ribs of curly maple. Neck, fingerboard and peg-box of Swiss pear. Fingerboard edges and points of mountain mahogany. As an alternative, this instrument may also be built with the fingerboard overlapping into the soundboard area, a detail seen in many paintings of early 6 course lutes.
4) 6 course Warwick Frei
Modern pitch e’. May also be tuned to modern pitch f’.
String length: 69 cm or 70.5 cm.
Based on the Hans Frei lute in the Warwick County Museum, England. As with the two Vienna Frei lutes, this lute was converted to an 11c Baroque lute, and I have worked out its possible original layout as a 6 course lute.
11 ribs of curly maple. Neck, fingerboard and peg-box of Swiss pear. Fingerboard edges and points of mountain mahogany. As an alternative, this instrument may also be built with the fingerboard overlapping into the soundboard area, a detail seen in many paintings of early 6 course lutes.
5) 6 course Treble lute, C39 Venere
Low pitch d".
String length: 44 cm.
Based on the 7 course treble lute by Vvendelio Venere in the Kunsthistorischesmuseum in Vienna (C39). This lute is the treble for the alto/tenor Venere lutes in the 7, 8 and 9 course lute section. (Treble: C39 Venere, SL 44 cm; Alto: 1592 Venere, SL 58.4 cm; Tenor: C36 Venere, SL 66.5 cm)
11 ribs of striped yew. Neck and peg-box of Swiss pear. Fingerboard and points of ebony. Decorative knot carved around the rose.
