For me the gut basses are the *real* reason to play with gut strings. I can bear high strings in nylon, even carbon chanterelle, the difference is not so big, but I really don't bear overspun basses, especially for Reinassance music but I would say for all music expect late Baroque. Their overboosted volume, the guitar like timbre so different from that of the higher courses and the long sustain just disrupt the tonal balance of the lute. Listen to the Dowland or Bach by Jacob Lindberg, recorded with the Mimmo's loaded basses, for an example of perfect tonal balance (IMHO of course)
Francesco > Maybe it is because the overspun bass strings sound so bloody > good compared to the altenitives. It's nice to have the > clarity and sustain in the bass range instead of a thud. Of > course I know there are those who don't like the overspun > bass strings just for the reasons you have mentioned. It is > not too dificult to deaden the bass response when necessary > with overspuns, as opposed to just allowing it to fade out > naturally as is the practice of some with more traditional strings. > > Vance Wood. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
