Thomann Renaissance Lute 7/13

I have played the lute for about 6 years now and although have a very nice tailor-made lute I wanted a back-up. The Thomann renaissance lute seemed a good price so I thought, why not?

I read a lot of comments in the reviews section and can pick up on some of those points. The lute is indeed a bit on the rough side in terms of construction but perfectly adequate I would say. Yes, tuning takes a while to settle down but this is the case with any lute, as they are very susceptible to changes in temperature. Once I had the lute at home in a stable environment and had tuned it a couple of times (which is normal) it has remained very stable.

The sound quality seems very good to me (although I don't claim to be an expert), certainly for the price I paid. This was also backed up by my lute teacher's appraisal (a professional lute player) who was also pleasantly surprised at the quality and sound. Some small technical issues were pointed out about the build quality, but my teacher was also overall very positive.

A very pleasant surprise and a great lute for the price (which includes a nice sturdy bag).

I ordered this instrument since it was the only lute in the price range I wanted to afford on it. I wanted to try it to supplement my classical guitar repertoire with new music pieces and techniques.

I received one lute with a minor mistake, (a wooden piece touched and bended the g' string at the head, and the string was finally torn there). Thomann was very correct and replaced it with a new one and covered all the postal costs.

I took both instruments to my teacher and he recommended to keep both of them since they are really good instruments, and that little mistake on the first one could be easily repaired by filing the wood a bit (I did not want to lose the warranty so I refused this...). He told me that for this price, it is a present, and he will recommend it to his other students.

So, now I have that new one and am happy with it. The sound is warm, the instrument is easily playable, there is no problem with it at all. I can easily tune it (it is not like a classical guitar with a machine head, but compared to other folk instruments I tried so far, it is easy to tune. The pegs fit very well the holes, you just need to push them inside a bit if they are too loose and don't keep the string, and then it is OK. I have not put any soap or powder on it, it just works.

I just discovered that I take it into my hands very easily and more frequently than any of my guitars... Practicing the guitar needs more preparations (sitting in a proper chair, with enough place around you, foot rest, etc.), but this lute "jumps into my hand" very easily anywhere, even in my armchair, it is much fun!

Like others have reviewed, this is a fantastic instrument for its price. The quality is great, but certainly no frills. The lute is solidly built and the finish is really nice. On close inspection one can see a slightly rough finish here and maybe a rough spot there but this is only cosmetic.

I have been learning the Renaissance lute for nearly five months and am more than pleased with having chosen this Thomann lute as a starter instrument. I changed the cheap strings for a set of Pyramid strings and I suggest you do the same; the sound will be markedly improved.

I've had no problems at all so far and am confident this lute will see me through until I can afford a professionally luthiered instrument (costing thousands!)

The gig bag is adequate but mine has a bit of a twist at the neck making it a slightly awkward fit. Apart from that it's fine.

If you're on the fence, don't dilly-dally and go for it!