two string open back fretless lute with pentatonic fret markings

Pine back and sides, oak tuners, and purple poplar neck. The fret markings are cut into the side of the neck. Nylon fishing line strings tuned to d and a. You can see the screws holding the neck in place.

moon lute v.4

This is another moon lute attempt - this one designed more after the dan nguyet, with a long neck and really high frets. You can see that I reused the body from version 2. The pegs are actually friction pegs, and with the fairly low string tension they work pretty well even though they aren't tapered. The strings are 50# and 30# monofilament fishing line. You can bend the strings by pressing down on them, especially the lower notes where there is more slack. It's actually pretty fun to play.

It's pentatonically fretted and I started to miss the other notes and didn't want to have to bend up to them, so I decided to make another fretless instrument.

microluthery:

homemade music
like microbrewery without the beer
small scale, small tools, small budget, exceptional fun

The microluthery philosophy is that you shouldn't need a roomful of exotic tools and power equipment to make musical instruments.

Have fun!

Paula