Lavta

The lavta is a plucked string instrument from Istanbul. It has a small body made of many ribs using carvel bending technique, looking like a small (Turkish) ud, gut strings like an ud but only 7 strings in 4 courses and tunable: A dd gg c'c' (like the ud), or sometimes A dd aa d'd' (in intervals of 5ths like laouto as well as 4ths); also tuned to Turkish Bolahenk tuning C G D A which is G D A E concert pitch. The adjustable frets are tied bits of gut on the fingerboard, at the microtonal intervals of the makam system, a significant difference from both fretless ud and 12-frets to the octave laouto, making its fretboard more related to instruments like tanbur. The bridge usually has mustache-shaped ends. The fingerboard is flush with the soundboard, which is often unvarnished, and has a carved and inlaid rosette. Some lavta have a pegbox like the ud (angling down), others more like a guitar (or like a buzok or Greek laouto). The tuning pegs are shaped like those of the violin, with 3 on the right side and 4 on the left side of the open tuning head.