Wolfgang Wiehe wrote:

>hi all,
>is "meantone fretting" visible in lute pictures between 1500 and 1600?
>thanks
>wolfgang
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No - they usually show the fret spaces getting wider as you go up the neck!

Sorry, there has to be a better answer than that.  From my casual 
observation, I would say that there is no really good evidence of 
meantone fretting in paintings, on the other hand there is also no 
evidence of tastini, which we know were used by some people because 
Galilei complained about them.  The extreme case of 1/4 comma meantone 
is not very useful on lutes, anyway, and of course more subtle varieties 
(1/6 or 1/8 comma) are not so clearly visible.

Best wishes,

Martin


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