The Setar [setAr] is an offshoot of one of the oldest lute families Tanboor [tanbur], ancestors of which are to be found in preislamic Persia. Setar is usually made from thin mulberry wood and has an extremely fine manufacturing. Its arm is the same as the Tar's [tAr] but narrower. Its fingerboard has twenty-five or twenty-six adjustable gut frets.

Setar is literally translated as 'three strings'; however, in its present form, it has four strings. Strings are tuned like Tar. The fourth resonance string has been added to the Setar by a dervish named Moshtagh-Ali-Shah (death in 1787 A.D).

The Setar is played by plucking the string with the nail of the right hand index finger and the same gesture, running lightly over the open string.

The Setar confidential and refined sonority has made it favorite instrument of scholars and holy men. Reserved exclusively for serious music,the place it occupies is a special one.