Thomann Renaissance Lute 7/13

I bought this plain vanilla lute, my first, because it had received several good reviews. On the whole I wasn't disappointed. The sound is good based on what I've heard of other lutes and it appears to be mostly well made. My lute teacher, who is an expert lutenist, thought it was very good for the price.
But...the top string broke almost at once when I tried to tune it, and two more top strings followed within a short space of time. Following my lute teacher's advice, I took the lute to a luthier who at once remarked that the nut was wrongly shaped - cut at almost a right angle rather than a gentle curve where the strings pass over it. He fixed this quite easily and I have had no problems since. He also shaved a little off the top tuning peg as it was turning a little too stiffly.
The repair was quick and inexpensive. I could have returned the lute to Thomann to be repaired under warranty, but I didn't want to go through the trouble of packing it all up and sending it back from the UK.
Apart from the top string I am still using the original ones, which four months on sound fine to me. As and when I change them I will probably try Nylgut based on others' recommendations.
I think the lute is still good value despite the problem, but I do think more care should have been taken when making the nut.

I bought this lute as my very first lute to begin learning on. I would say it has a very good price vs. performance ratio. The lute sounds good for the price, which was also confirmed by a professional luthier.

The downside are the factory strings, which you should change immediately. I also had a problem with my nut since the chanterelle string kept breaking while trying to tune it up to pitch, but this was easily fixed by my luthier. Because of this, I give it 4/5. Otherwise it's really fun to play and it sounds great with new strings. I personally use nylon on the chanterelle and nylgut strings on the rest.

Tip for beginners - don't get scared in the beginning, any lute is quite a tuning simulator when new strings are installed and they need a few days of tuning to stabilize. Just be a bit patient with it.