large 16th-century bass lute provided with additional bass strings, or diapasons, and producing a deeper sound that could be used in orchestral basso continuo parts. The diapasons were tuned according to individual preference, usually in a descending scale from the lowest principal string.

There were three main varieties of archlute: the chitarrone, theorbo (qq.v.), and theorbo-lute, or French lute. The angelica, or angel lute, of the 17th and 18th centuries, was related but had diatonically tuned strings and no frets.