Here is the lost message (Henning, try to send messages as plain text rather than html if you can)
I always change the 1st and 2nd strings on my 10 course lute when tuning down from vieil ton to the new tunings. I put on some thicker ones to compensate the loss of tension and an out -of -tune muddy sound, tuning down from nominal 2nd course D to C.( Don't forget to put on thinner strings when tuning up again to vieil ton. I have not tried a single 2nd course in the new tunings, as this would result in unequal distance between the 1st, 2 nd and 3rd courses (using just one of two holes in the bridge) I can't remember having seen any references to single 2nd courses on the 10 course lute. The question of the transition from the 10 to the 11 course French lute is a complex one. See for ex. Michael Lowe, Renaissance and Baroque Lutes, a False Dichotomy, in Proceedings of the International Lute Symposium, 1986. Best wishes , Henning Hoel [EMAIL PROTECTED] To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
