Archlutes (13 or 14 courses) from
£6500
67/152 cm, 35 ribs, based on Paduan models
Surviving archlutes are mostly converted lutes with string lengths around 67 cm. This size works well in g' at a pitch of a'=415, but can also be tuned to a'=440 using thinner strings. Serious continuo players usually have a chitarrone (in A) for early repertoire (Monteverdi, Caccini, etc.) and an archlute (in G) for later music which is more commonly in flat keys, and where the bass line often goes uncomfortably high for the chitarrone.