Kwitra

Description

Also known as the Andalusian "oud" (i.e. lute), the kwitra is a lute variant mostly found in North Africa. The main differences from the typical Arab oud are centered in the string-course arrangement, the less-angled peghead and the edging decoration. Technically, this is a plucked stringed instrument with a vaulted, ribbed back, a short-neck with angled peghead, and a flat soundboard. It has a one-piece spruce top with a cut-in, large rose. The back is made of alternated ribs of light and dark brown wood, with additional wooden spacers. The fingerboard is flushed and unfretted and has a peghead with accommodation for eight friction wooden pegs (only one peg remains), meaning that this is a four-course lute (eight paired strings). The tie-bridge is made of wood with a moustache-shape, and the panel-shaped pickguard is made of contrasting-wood appliqué.