Southern (and Frono, who sneaked in while I was typing) got it right! NLD is a New Lute Day!
I was browsing the Gruhn sale/as is page, and after drooling over the Hermann Hauser lute, I scrolled down to find two new lute listings that hadn't been there before (and were much cheaper than the $3200 for the Hauser!) One was a 10 course (19 strings) German model from the 50's, and the other, which suited my Renaissance leanings more) was a 7 course (13 strings), also German from the 50's. both had a top crack and needed setup, but for $350, I had to go for the 7 course model.
It arrived safe and sound (great packing by the Gruhn people) and the crack was closed, so I was able to seal it up nicely with a little CA glue. What I couldn't do was tune it up to pitch, the pegs slipped or didn't want to turn at all. As I discovered after I got a new set of strings in, the strings that were on it were WAY too big, and if I continued to try to bring them up to pitch, it probably would have done some damage. The new strings made tuning much easier, the pegs gave me no problem at all. (If you ever want to lose an evening, try stringing up a lute! 13 strings that have to be tied on, and no mechanical tuners!)
Its got some minor non-historically authentic features like a saddle on the bridge, wire frets, fret markers, and the rosette should be lower, but that's pretty much the norm for mid-century. In fact, its very similar to the Hauser. It'll be a good starter lute until I can build one myself.
