I say go for it. I think there is much to be learned from this type of thing-converting old lutes into something new and -perhaps- better. Sterling
----- Original Message ---- From: Stephen Arndt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 11:12:46 AM Subject: [LUTE] Lute Makeover? Dear Collective Wisdom, In my closet I have a 7-course lute that I bought when I lived in Austria in the early 1980s. I played it for about three years, and then put it away for well over a decade when professional responsibilities left me no time for playing. When I started playing again, I bought a new lute after a short period of time and haven't thought about it since. It is a typical instrument from that time period: it has a guitar-style bridge, a somewhat crudely cut rose, and rather large tuning pegs. The bowl, however, has twenty-eight ribs with spacers and is very beautiful. I was wondering. Would it make sense to have the soundboard replaced (the current one is rather dark--is it cedar rather than spruce?), a proper lute bridge put on, an appropriate rose carved, and perhaps the pegbox replaced to accomodate smaller tuning pegs? If so, does anyone know a good luthier in the States who might be willing to take on such a project? I have lately been wanting to have a 7-course instrument for the earlier repertoire, and rather than buying a new one, which would be expensive and probably involve a long waiting time, I thought it might be cheaper and quicker to have this instrument redone. I don't know, however, whether it is even feasible and, if so, whether the results are likely to be worth the trouble. Any advice would be very welcome. Thank you and best regards to all, Stephen Arndt -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
