Thanks all for the most useful tips. I had feared as much, that guitar strings wouldn't do the trick. Being someone who's got 10 left thumbs when it comes to practical matters, I hate anything fiddly like putting on new strings, and had just hoped there might be a way of getting the strings to last as long as they do on my guitar. And with all those strings on the lute, the very thought of replacing them on a regular basis is a nightmare, though I suppose after the 1100th go I might just have worked out how to do it without wanting to have a blue screaming fit.
Cheers, and thanks for all the advice. Got to take a few days off to see about a new book I've just got to the publishers, a new English version of Pushkin's 'Eugene Onegin', some three year's work. Kindest regards, till soon Tom
