Hi, I agree with what Ariel says:
In my experience, I would go for the best possible instrument, specially if you want to study the lute seriously. But let me explain the reasons, that are, among others, the following: - a good instrument is easier to tune, and it stays tuned, both regarding pegs and frets; - it has a good action, which means the left hand works way much better; - it has a good balance between the different registers; - it obeys your will regarding dynamics: if you play piano it sounds piano, and if you play forte, it sounds forte. Briefly said: a bad instrument requires much more knowledge on the side of the player to sound well. The tuning is specially important: even if very slightly untuned, the lute sounds bad, and the player tends to blame him/herself for something that is not his/her technique, but rather a bad tuning. That is, BTW, something that, if teached, can save many headaches to the student. The teacher must teach how to tune; a book can't explain the little gestures and arrangements that make the difference. Saludos from Barcelona, Manolo Laguillo -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
