The Rosewood Taylor lute has a Rosewood body with a rosewood neck and rosewood finger board. The peg box is solid rosewood and the tuners are ebony. The soundboard is made out of European spruce with a rosewood bridge and rosewood end pin. There are six nylon frets and six rosewood frets. The nut width is 67 mm. Shades of colors may vary slightly. These are individually hand made and will be unique.
The 7 and 8 course Renaissance lutes designed by Zachary Taylor are based on an instrument made by Hans Frei, the original of which may be seen in the Warwick Museum in England. This lute was made in Bologna about 1540 and since then may have been the subject of conversions to the stringing and the soundboard. Apart from shortening the string length from 670mm to 600, for ease of left-hand fingering, the instruments follow Hans Frei's principles of construction.
About the designer/maker: Zachary Taylor is a designer and maker of early stringed instruments. Early in his career as a performer on classical guitar and lute he began to study the creation of representations of early instruments. In his relentless research he endeavours to acquire sufficient information for the construction of examples in the likeness of original instruments. For more than a quarter of a century he has taught the subject of lutherie in the Universities of Suffolk, England and Vigo, Spain and in Colleges including West Dean and Missenden Abbey in England. Major projects include the re-construction of instruments that form the entrance arch to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. His authorship includes many books, including 'Make and Play a Lute' and 'Making early stringed instruments'.It is Zachary Taylor's mission to design authentic examples of ancient instruments, accessible to enthusiasts who demand high quality without a high-price tag.
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