Slightly lower pitch, and slightly lower tension; it's two strings now and the whole course should feel (and sound) balanced vis-a-vis the other courses. It need not have literally the same tension as the second course; but the feel of "balance" should be a steady increase from bass to treble at a certain point- 4th or 3rd course, usually- not a sudden jump in tension. I have been bothered by the double-first issue for many years, and it was not until I had an instrument built on commission to a historic design that I could take advantage of the doubled first. Well worth the effort- one should at least try it; one can always remove a string. -Dan
>Yup-- >The double first course is sorta the sleeper in historical lute performance. >Along with the double course theorbos. >The top course doubled sound terrific at a slightly lower pitch, >seamless transition among the top three courses. >dt -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
