Epinette des Vosges

Épinette des Vosges, fretted box zither. The body of rectagular form, tapering slightly towards the pegbox. The soundboard and ribs are decorated with marquetry. There are two sound holes, one is heart-shaped and one quatrefoil. The pegbox is surmounted by a wide scroll. The five wire strings are attached to five lateral, opposing pegs. Three of the strings are played as open strings, the other two pass over seventeen frets. The frets give a range of two octaves of a diatonic major scale, with an additional descent to the lower sub-dominant but without the lowest dominant. The lowest fret is set slightly flat, the highest a little sharp.