During the Seventeenth Century, the popularity of the guitar spread throughout Europe and the demand for more complex works started to develop. Both in Italy and France the guitar had already been used by court musicians since the beginning of the 16th century. In Spain, the guitar started as an accompanying instrument of court songs and dances.

There was a strong tradition of fretted instrument making established in and around Paris and the King of France at the time, Louis XIV, was a keen player of the guitar himself. The repertoire for Baroque Guitar started to become more demanding and interesting and the reputation of the guitar being associated with simple strumming in taverns in Spain started to fade.

The guitars of the Baroque period were decorated ornately. They had a small body and was strung with five courses (double strings).

The Baroque Guitar used by Duo Lenz is a replica of an instrument originally built by the famous violin maker, Antonio Stradivarius, in 1688. Stradivarius (1644 - 1737) started to make guitars in the second half of the Seventeenth Century in Cremona (Italy). Four of his guitars have survived. The replica of this Stradivarius was built by Paul Sheridan (Perth, WA), the original instrument is kept in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.