Lauri Niskanen, Luthier

Welcome to my website!

I make lutes and other historical plucked instruments. My aim is to produce historically accurate instruments for the performance of period music as it might have been heard in the past. It is a search for aesthetics and functionality alike, as a hand-made instrument is both a piece of art by the luthier and a tool for the musician. If you would like to have a model not listed on this website, please contact me by e-mail so we can discuss the details. I am always open to extending my catalogue with new types of instruments!

Tervetuloa nettisivuilleni! Rakennan luuttuja ja muita historiallisia kielisoittimia. Haluan rakentaa historiallisesti tarkkoja soittimia vanhan musiikin soittamiseen niin kuin se on tarkoitettu soitettavaksi. Soitinrakennuksessa kauneus ja käytettävyys kohtaavat, sillä käsintehty soitin on soitinrakentajalle taideteos ja muusikolle työkalu. Laajennan aina soitintarjontaani sitä mukaa, mitä asiakkaat keksivät tarvita, joten ole yhteydessä sähköpostitse tai puhelimella, jos haluat jonkin soittimen jota sivuillani ei vielä näy. Kotimaisille asiakkaille teen myös soitinkorjausta.

See what I'm working on right now

I also post work in progress pictures on Instagram

A gallery of recently finished work

Wood choices

The question I get asked the most is "What wood are lutes built of?" The answer is, beyond the soundboard, which is always spruce, almost any wood can be used. Below are some images of different timbers, including some exotic woods such as ipe, and padauk, and local woods like alder and two varieties of birch, not forgetting the ever so popular fiddleback maple, the staple in violins and historical lutes alike.

Disclaimer: Nothing lies like statistics and pictures of exotic woods on the internet! Still, I have tried to adjust the images to look the same on my screen as the instruments do in real life.

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Rosettes

There are many historical rosette designs for lutes and period guitars. Usually lute rosettes are cut on the soundboard, while guitar rosettes are made from many layers of wood and/or parchment and then glued on. This gallery first shows rosettes for lutes, then for theorbos, and finally parchment rosettes.