Welcome to JM Instruments!

Based in Reading Berkshire JM Instruments is within easy reach of many cities by train, London is only 30 minutes express train from Paddington.  You can see and hear a variety of lute shapes and sizes being played on videos on this website, enjoy!

Here you will find a wide range of quality instruments at affordable prices for both beginners and more advanced players.

The cheapest lute starts at £705 (Hans Frei) without case, 7courses. An 8crs student lute can be ordered for £730 without case, a student lute case by Kingham MTM cases can also be ordered at a slightly lower price than their usual curvaceous cases. The 14 course student theorbo after Sellas (E.547) the latest addition to the student instrument range and was exhibitied at last years Early Music Festival in Greenwich, commissioned by Richard MacKenzie.

Coming soon!; 13 course student lute (Bass Rider type), 5crs Medieval Lute, Childrens Lute (52.5 cm string length)

The Student Chitarrone for continuo after Magno Tieffenbrucker can be seen and heard in the Chitarroni menu in the instruments page. This large student theorbo has 17 ribs of Rosewood instead of 51 which helps to reduce construction time considerably, reducing the price and making it more affordable to a wider audience. The original rose design has been maintained and the soundboard has a protective ebony edging, as does the extended neck. The Student Theorbo was created to encourage more to play these large and powerfull Chitarroni at the original stringlength.

If you are a beginner the popular choice is the Hans Frei Student lute at £705 and there is a Venetian lute by Wendlin Tieffenbrucker at a very attractive price of  £729. For admirers of  Baroque music, a fine 11-course Baroque Lute can be ordered  for  £1010, you can hear this instrument being played if you go to the Hans Frei Baroque lute record in the Student Lute menu.

The student lute range aims to keep the cost of buying your first lute down by reducing the cost of woods, manufacturing time and decoration without compromising quality, just check out the student lutes section. The intention is to get more people playing and enjoying the wealth of beautiful music!

For the more advanced player is a range of instruments carefully reproduced from originals by Maler, Burkholtzer, Tieffenbrucker, Schelle, Hoffmann, Buchenberg, Sellas, Ralich, Frei and Widhalm. Most Renaissance lutes are tuned in g', but f', f#', d' and e' lutes are available to order for those who want to accompany the voice or in an ensemble. You can customise your instrument to a certain extent by choosing the woods, decorative extras, even string spacing (to match an instrument you already have, making the transition easier). All materials are sourced from specialist suppliers of quality soundboards and quarter-sawn kiln dried woods. Below is the most recent customised order, a 10crs lute after Matheus Buchenburg of Rome. The original can be seen on http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ujt/ujt3249.html and you can see the customised instrument being played on the Matheus Buchenburg record from the Renaissance Lute menu .

Extended neck lutes available in various sizes will suit both small and large-handed players at very reasonable prices.

There is a vast resource of lute music on the web that beginners may not be aware of. The music is written in tablature which tells you where to put your fingers, the interpretation of the music is mostly up to you. Once you have become accustomed to the tablature you will soon find you can play elaborate pieces and impress your friends! A lot of these downloadable tablatures are for Renaissance lute, Baroque lute and Theorbo,  just check out the links page.

If you are contemplating ordering please go to the How To Order section.