Portfolio: Nine-course Renaissance Lute, January 1978 Nine-Course Renaissance Lute | #18 | January 1978 French polish finish European spruce top Curly Eastern maple back & peghead Curly Western maple neck Boxwood pegs & bridge Ebony binding, fingerboard, & overlays Tied gut frets The soundhole rosette is carved directly into the top and is my own design - an endless knot.