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!

I bought this plain vanilla lute, my first, because it had received several good reviews. On the whole I wasn't disappointed. The sound is good based on what I've heard of other lutes and it appears to be mostly well made. My lute teacher, who is an expert lutenist, thought it was very good for the price.
But...the top string broke almost at once when I tried to tune it, and two more top strings followed within a short space of time. Following my lute teacher's advice, I took the lute to a luthier who at once remarked that the nut was wrongly shaped - cut at almost a right angle rather than a gentle curve where the strings pass over it. He fixed this quite easily and I have had no problems since. He also shaved a little off the top tuning peg as it was turning a little too stiffly.
The repair was quick and inexpensive. I could have returned the lute to Thomann to be repaired under warranty, but I didn't want to go through the trouble of packing it all up and sending it back from the UK.
Apart from the top string I am still using the original ones, which four months on sound fine to me. As and when I change them I will probably try Nylgut based on others' recommendations.
I think the lute is still good value despite the problem, but I do think more care should have been taken when making the nut.

I was very pleased to receive my 7-course lute, and pleasantly surprised at its good-quality workmanship. I had previously read critical reviews of this instrument by some buyers and for that reason I had hesitated to buy one from Thomann, but I really don?t know what people were complaining about. The tuning pegs operate well and the finish of the wood surfaces is good. I showed the lute to a friend who had a Roosebeck brand lute which he had to spend at least $500 extra to modify and improve. He played it and was impressed with it. Thomann staff were honest in telling me that the strings fitted are no-name strings, so I fully expect a greater volume when I change the strings. I have had a lot of experience with purchasing other instruments at a cheap price - such as Indian sitars and Arabic ouds, and I must say that this is the best quality cheap instrument that I have bought. I am a beginner on the lute, but am a very experienced classical guitarist - this lute is fine for my purposes right now. Thankyou Thomann, and also for the very quick delivery to Australia.

I bought this lute as my very first lute to begin learning on. I would say it has a very good price vs. performance ratio. The lute sounds good for the price, which was also confirmed by a professional luthier.

The downside are the factory strings, which you should change immediately. I also had a problem with my nut since the chanterelle string kept breaking while trying to tune it up to pitch, but this was easily fixed by my luthier. Because of this, I give it 4/5. Otherwise it's really fun to play and it sounds great with new strings. I personally use nylon on the chanterelle and nylgut strings on the rest.

Tip for beginners - don't get scared in the beginning, any lute is quite a tuning simulator when new strings are installed and they need a few days of tuning to stabilize. Just be a bit patient with it.

I have owned this lute for 11 months now, I took a chance on buying a Thomann instead of renting and I truly do not regret it.

The good/pros: it is lightweight, overall construction is solid, maybe a touch overbuilt, it’s aesthetically minimalistic compared to custom made lutes, but by no means ugly.

Setup from the factory is very good, no issues with the nut, action at the 8th fret sits at 3.5 at the bass and about 2.8 at the treble, so virtually perfect. No issues with strings cutting at the bridge or nut.

Playing is very easy meaning I don’t feel like I’m fighting the instrument. Finally, the case is EXCELLENT, while being a gig bag technically, the hard polyfoam inside is robust and well fitting and the case does not lose humidity, my Boveda packs have not needed replacement since putting them in, one in the headstock compartment and two over the sound board.

The compromises (cons) these aren’t many. There are some aesthetic flaws, the occasional fill can be spotted, but nothing that will affect playing, I expected this and there are 3 total flaws I could find, to be honest I was expecting a mess, this is beyond acceptable at the price. The stock strings are awful, spend the money and switch to Aquila New Nylgut and you’re good to go, the instrument is now amazing. Some of the pegs strick and slip at first, but this has gotten better with time and peg compound, which is normal for any instrument with friction pegs. The last compromise, and Thomann is honest about this, but because the lute is a little overbuilt, it is not quite as resonant as a more expensive instrument; this however is marginal, it still sounds amazing especially once you switch to better strings.

Overall, when I first decided to get a lute I was at a crossroads or renting through ALS or for the cost of ~10 months of rental, buy my own from Thomann. I chose the latter and have no regrets, even to the point of if I ever need to replace this instrument (hope not) I would strongly consider buying this exact instrument again if I still could not afford a custom built instrument.

Thank you Thomann for providing me an affordable entry point to the beautiful world of the renaissance lute, this instrument now means the world to me. I hope others get to experience it the same way I did.