The original of this model by Sixtus Rauwolf, Augsburg is a beautiful 11c lute in a private collection, which I, along with Michael Lowe and David Munro, restored to playing condition in 2003. The body was made around 1590, probably as a 7c or 8c instrument, and the lute now has a very well-proportioned Baroque replacement neck made in 17C. It is widely considered to have an exceptionally fine sound, and can be heard on a recording of Weiss by Jakob Lindberg on BIS cd 1524. A large part of this quality probably comes from the great age of the lute, but I find it makes an excellent model for various other styles. I use it for 7c and 8c, and for 10c, 11c and 12c versions. The original is made of particularly dense and resonant maple, of light figure, and I make it with either maple or yew ribs.

The picture shows the original instrument (centre) in the workshop.