• 8-course student lute by Stephen Barber (59 cm string length, good sounding). Price: 2000 €
• 8-course lute by Juan Carlos Soto (60cm string length, quite resonant, good sounding instrument). Price: 2100 €
• 7-course lute by Anna Dölling (1987; 66cm string length; great rarity; Anna Dölling worked with Stephen Gottlieb in his workshop. There are not very many instruments left by Anna Dölling, but they are invariably of very high quality). Price: 3000 €

Lutes Wanted

• I would like to buy or rent a theorbo in A suitable for continuo playing. Preferably the instrument would be in the eastern United States, since I am also located here, and I would like to be able to try it out before buying. Please contact me by email: jeremy.andrew.bass@gmail.com.
  August 20 2019

• I'm a music major looking to begin my journey with the lute. Anything under 1000 USD is appreciated.
  Location: Philippines
  I'm willing to pay for shipment.
  jomjomgt@gmail.com
  April 7 2018

• If you are considering selling your high quality, used 12-course lute, please contact me.
  John Sobraske
  sobraske@rochester.rr.com
  Rochester, New York
  March 24 2018

• I would like to purchase an archlute in very good condition.
  No modifications . No repairs.
  $5000 -10,000 usd, landed in the US.
  Thank you.
  Joseph Satin
  grayhound1@aol.com
  December 23 2017

• "I am looking for a 13 course baroque lute in the 2300+ Euro range. I am in Sweden, just outside of Gothenburg. I have a more affordable lute that I might be able to trade if interested. You can reach me at macinneb@gmail.com or call at +46 073 740 98 21."
  October 11 208

• I am looking for a 14c-15c theorbo in A with anywhere from 82cm-89cm string length. I am located in Bloomington, Indiana. Any help is greatly appreciated.
  Reach me at wassermanjon54@gmail.com.
  December 15 2016

• For a number of years, the Lute Society of America's Lute Rental Program has been assembling a small collection of instruments (38 now) and making them available for rental. All members of the Lute Society of America are eligible to rent these instruments but the primary aim of the program is to get adequate lutes into the hands of beginning players who might otherwise not pursue playing the lute at all.
  The LSA is looking for donations of lutes (the LSA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and your donation is tax deductible) and will also consider buying your used lute (esp. 6-8 course Renaissance) if we can structure a mutually agreeable deal. Combination partial donation/partial sales deals also interest us. Because we do not have much available money to buy we strongly prefer donations but we will entertain any proposal by which we can secure more playable instruments. We have beginners waiting but not enough instruments for them!
  If you wish to make a donation of a new or used instrument or money to buy a new/used instrument or would like to explore selling an instrument to the program, please contact the Director of the Lute Rental Program:
  Michael M. Grant, PhD
  lsaluterental@gmail.com
  (843) 655-5745
  first posted November 12 2015
  July 27 2016

• "We own a music store in San Francisco and we would like to have a large inventory of Lutes, Baroque Guitars, and Early Romantic Guitars. We will consider purchasing them from you on consignment or trading for my classical guitars. See my site and my ebay account to get an idea of my inventory. www.stevesguitars.com and http://www.ebay.com/usr/mitchellmarica
  There are very few physical locations that sell these kinds of instruments, and we believe that creating a larger inventory in my shop would be a good service to the local music community by making these instruments more accessible to beginners and accomplished professionals."
  April 17 2015

• I am looking for a traditional 13 course baroque lute in the USA. I live in central, northern NC and can be reached at Minthral@outlook.com . Budget is 2-4k. The instrument can have cosmetic defects, but nothing that impacts playability or reliability (no cracks or internal damage). Nothing older than 20 years or refurbished. Bridge must be 155mm+ and action high enough so that there is no fret buzz. Looking for open/ resonating sound rather than warm and dark.
  March 21 2015

• I'm looking to lease a lute, preferably 5-8 course and with a full-timbered sound.
  I live in New York City (for some reason).
  Email shlomogrun@gmail.com to discuss terms.
  December 8 2014

• 11-course lute for the French baroque repertory wanted: Should have good sustain and "singing" quality in the upper register, bass register not too loud and weighty, overall "delicacy" and intimacy of sound character preferred. Models based on converted H. Frei, L. Maler or French models (e. g. Demoulin) preferred. I am at home in Munich, Germany tinctoris@freenet.de
  April 27 2013

• I am looking for a good quality renaissance lute, preferably 7-courses. I am located in Sweden but can travel in Europe to try out/pick up instruments (and possibly other parts of the world if the price is right) Reach me at sirman_music@yahoo.com.
  April 14 2013

Stolen Lutes

• My theorbo was stolen oct. 8th in Irving Tx. The instrument is by Matthew Durvie, 1985.
  Dr. Gregory Hamilton
  8325450900
  ghmus7@hotmail.com
  October 12 2019

• Stolen 5-course baroque guitar by Julian Behr 2012 in Berlin on the 12th October 2016. See the pictures.
  Please contact me if you have any information: amandine.affagard@orange.fr
  October 19 2016

  picture picture

• Sept 5 2016: Lute and case taken from the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. 8 course lute, gut frets, carbon strings, made in 2012 by Wolfgang Emmerich. Unique feature: two pickups have been glued to the face and there is an output jack. Photo attached. The lute belongs to a musician from Belarus on his first tour of the US and the loss is devastating -- 2 weeks into a 7 week tour. If this unusual electric lute comes across your path, please contact Jeanine at coolhatrecords@gmail.com or 971-208-8947
  picture
  September 11 2016

• Theorbo built by Michael Schreiner (Toronto) 1998 # 542 , after Kaiser. 85 cm/ 165 cm string lengths. 27-ribbed Indian Rosewood back. Triple Rose (inset rose, from an older top). Black Kingham case. a similar instrument is pictured here: http://www.schreinerlutes.com/theorbos_mkaiser.html. This instrument was stolen off a NJTransit train at Metropark, NJ (NEC 3801) on August 27 2008.
  please contact with any information:
  theorboy [at] gmail.com
  1.917.921.0526
  August 28 2008

• Lute stolen in New York City, on 12/7/05: 8 course tenor lute after Magno dieffopruchar by Grant Tomlinson, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  64 cm, 17 yew ribs
  Still checking for the date of construction, but before 1997.
  Any information please contact
  Robert Clair
  212 876 8024
  rclair [at] elroberto [dot] com
  December 14 2005

• AVIS DE RECHERCHE
  Disparu le 16/11/05
  dans le train vers Nivelles, Belgique (terminus 21.29u)
  Guitare Baroque
  Dos et eclisse en poirier brun-roux
  Rosette en parchemin
  Touche et filet de table en ebene
  Cheviller sculpt
  Coffre Kingham
  Exterieur noir
  Interieur rouge bordeau
  Luthier Joseph Moreau
  contact tel /fax (+32) 2 395 40 37
  e-mail: Moreaujoseph@hotmail.com
  Recompense 120 pour aide honnete.
  November 20 2005

• Stolen lute. The lute in question belongs to Marianne Buisseret, Hofstraat 247, 9000 Ghent, Belgium (tel: 00 32 9225 9576 contact email: lieven.misschaert@worldonline.be) and was recently stolen in Belgium from a lute maker's car. It was on its way to be cleaned up so it won't look as pristine as in the photographs, which were taken when it was made in 1984.
  picture
  
  7 c lute, 60 cm string length, Label: Paul Thompson 1984. Back 35 ribs of yew with ebony spacers, Neck and pegbox venerred with ebony. Pegbox sides venerred with yew.ompson 1984
  submitted by lutesoc@aol.com
  June 10 2004

• Dear friends, two instruments have been stolen in the night from the 2-3 october in Madrid:
  • an italien theorbo belonging to: Christina Pluhar (0033 (0) 143461546) made by: Klaus T. Jacobsen London 1983/99 string length: 78/160 multi-rib back black case
  • a violone belonging to: Richard Myron (0033 (0) 140409422) made by: Dominik Zuchowilz Ottawa 1996 copie Vogel (museum of Nürnberg) with two bows
  info@marcellovitale.net
  October 6 2002

  Theorbo stolen in London, July 2001. String length 85/170 cm, 14 single courses, multiribbed rosewood back, all black neck, triple rose, labelled Klaus Jacobsen, London, 1997, in black MTM case. Reward. Contact William Carter, tel. +4420 8521 3812 or email jacobsen@inwind.it
  Oct 2 2001

• The 26th of june-01, a theorbo was stolen in Barcelona, Spain, with the following caracteristics:
  • Triple rose ( see the pictures ), and, looking through them, the inside label reads : " JAUME BOSSER - OCTUBRE 2000".
  • Total length: 1m55 about.
  • Back made of 13 ribs of stained ash with rosewood strips between.
  • 14 strings and 16 pegs .
  • With its black hardcase.
  If you ever find it please contact urgently with JAUME BOSSER - tel. 34-93-8080200, mobile ++34 - 646 187157
  ana.jaume(at)bosserluthier.net
  Devolution will be generously compensated.
  June 30 2001 - still missing march 2008

• BAROQUE GUITAR MISSING SINCE 2001:
  Please be on the lookout for a 5-course baroque guitar by Ivo Magherini belonging to Lucas Harris. It was left accidently on the Long Island Rail Road back in 2003 and was taken by someone on the train. It has snakewood back and sides, a red and white rose with the center part missing so you can actually see the label, which says Ivo Romano 1996, I believe. It has a vaulted back. Contact: lucasharris[at]live.ca
  May 3 2016

How to post an ad

• Send your postings for lutes for sale, or lutes wanted, to wbc@cs.dartmouth.edu and be sure to include your city or state (including country) so people know where the lute is. I no longer recommend a phone number as "Nigerians" may harass you by phone. You also must include an e-mail address where I can reach you. Please send your ad in plain text format, not in html format! I generally do not reply to you unless I need more information but I try and insert and delete ads as soon as I get them. If you ad is not posted in three days your message may have not reached me. I will contact you about deleteing your ad after roughly one year, but please contact me as soon as you sell it.
• If you send pictures, try and crop them close to the instrument so people don't have to wait to download extra picture that they don't need. Be sure the pictures are in focus. Take a few moments to check in detail. Cameras focus better in bright light, so consider taking your pictures outdoors. Look at what is in the background of the picture too! You might not want your dirty laundry in the picture. It helps if the names of the pictures don't have any spaces in them. Use "baroque-lute.jpg" or "baroqueLute.jpg" instead of "baroque lute.jpg". If you take a close up picture of the rosette be sure that it is in focus.
• If you are not writing in english, please either use html characters for accents ( as é for é) or spell it out ( o with " over it, ö ) or use tex symbols ( \'a, á ) as my word processor does not recognise accents. Since I post these ads in my very hard to come by free moments, it would help me if you send the ad as "text/plain" format. If I can't read your ad I will ask you to re-submit it. I have a hard time with Word documents of any kind, even plain text.
• If you want to change something, please send me the changes, not the whole ad. If you say "change the price from 4500 to 4200" or "add a line that says ..." I can quickly make the change. If you send me a new ad I have to look through the new and old versions to find the differences, and I may miss something. If I already have the pictures please don't send them again!
• I have a very hard time decoding Microsoft Word documents - please send your ad as plain text!
• Please type out the monitary units, as in "yen", "krone", "euro", or "dollars" as my computer can't read the special symbols that many people use for money. If you type in the characters ¥ you will get a ¥, and the characters € will print €. The & (ampersand) and ; (semicolon) are required. ( if your are british £ or £ {include the semicolon} will produce the £ sign.) also ₹ → ₹,   ฿ → ฿,  ₪ ➙ ₪
• I use spam filters, if you message looks a lot like spam (html format, all capital letters, etc) I may not get it. If the ad doesn't show up try sending it again using plain text, lowercase letters, and a Subject that says "lute for sale" clearly.
• If you are a professional builder you may list lutes that you currently have on hand for immediate sale. Please tell me when the instrument is sold.
• This service is free, but if you feel grateful to me for having found or sold your lute, you can send a contribution to Wayne Cripps, 6211 Sudikoff Lab., Hanover, N.H. 03755 USA. Please make checks payable to "Wayne Cripps", as the bank gets upset when I try to cash checks made out to "string fund." Foreign currencies (cash, not checks) are gladly accepted. (I seem to be collecting euros now.) I have a PayPal account too.
• I tend to change usage to American English without notification.
• Send any questions about the instruments listed here directly to the owners. In some cases, the owners do not have e-mail and you will have to use the phone or even write to them!
• Please be sure to tell me if you do not want me to list your complete name and address information. It is helpful if people know what country and state the instrument is in, but it might be safer to omit your street address. You should check your ad once I have inserted it. You might want to consider opening a special email account for selling your lute, as you will get mail from Nigerian criminals. It may take a year to sell your lute, and you may be getting several Nigerian Scam messages a day! You will also get a lot of mail from other people who want to take your money!

Warning! the Nigerian Fraud has hit the lute world!

Here are some signs of fraud:

• If someone wants to send a check for more than the cost of the instrument and shipping, and wants you to send cash back to them with the instrument for "tax reasons". The check will bounce and you will be out the money and your instrument. Even if the bank accepts the check, they will come after you for the money weeks later when they find it is forged.
• If someone will deliver a check by courier. In the USA mail fraud is a serious crime and thieves use FedEx and Western Union so they won't be investigated and prosecuted by the Post Service.
• Watch out for forged bank checks. If you are suspicious wait a few weeks to be sure that it clears. Talk to someone at your bank about this.
• If someone is buying a lute for somebody else as a present. Perhaps a rich uncle buying something for his nephew. Or perhaps the person is acting as an agent. How many lute players would have an agent buy a lute for them? Really! (watch out for "Mark Luke")
• If a third party, not the buyer, is supposed to send the check because he owes the buyer money.
• If someone doesn't ask the usual lute player questions about the age, condition, and string dimensions, and doesn't ask for pictures. If someone says they saw your lute and it is acceptable. If they don't even mention lutes, but just ask for information about the article you are selling.
• If someone seems to have difficulty writing the language of the country they claim to come from.
• Check the person out on google! Do they have a lute page or are there complaints about them selligng motorcycles that they don't own?
• Note also that Indonesia is known for credit card fraud. Be extremely cautious when selling something to be paid for with an Indonesian card!

  Here are some samples of letters that look extrememly suspicious ....

  Here is a letter that you can send to a prospective buyer if you have any reason to be suspicious....

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