Taco, there are a lot of informations that it is not possible to expain in short here. I am going to prepare an exaustive work for the Lute Society of America Quarterly in matter of bass lute strings in the 18 th c. I hope to finish it soon. Mozart: there is a misunderstanding here: Mozart simply wrote that strings, on a violine, are all of different gauges. No more than this. Viceversa there are a lot of informations in matter of G wound strings in mid-/end 18th c. Germany (Mejer, Lholein, Quantz etc). D minor with extended neks: they are arround 100 cms or so; with this vibrating string length it is easy to show that thay employ the same 6th. 7th. 8th bass strings that will became 9th. 10th, and 11th basses. There is no matter to consider that, in the contrary of all the plucked instruments of that time (mandolino, guitarre etc) lute do not employed wonud strings. The theory of loading of gut work, in my opinion, just since end 17th c. or just a bit more. Mimmo
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