>"If you are unsure, learn how to play lute repertoire on the >classical guitar, if you are able to, are happy with the music then >moving on to a lute will not be an issue."
Been following this thread, off & on- The only new thing I would contribute to it, is why only the classical guitar alternative? After 45+ years in the business; sometimes professional but more often not, and having started on classical guitar- I find a lightly strung steel-string guitar to be a far better tone-color/timbre alternative to the lute than the modern nylon string guitar- (which of course is a hell of a lot better than nothing at all!) The nylon strung guitar I find to have far too deep & defining a tone color, and the (relatively) overwhelming & long-sustaining basses far more intrusive and disruptive than the basses on my steel-string. Also, this tone-color has a direct link to the Renaissance sound- Orpharion & Bandora. My steel-string was a lucky find- a flat top Dean acoustic 7 string- which of course means virtually all the late R & Elizabethan music that would be most appropriate is available. The single strings make switching from lute/orpharion to bandora tuning easy. This thing was only $350 used, but of course "lucky finds" cannot be ordered up. However, there are plenty of inexpensive, very playable half-decent sounding steel strings around, and six strings is still plenty for a beginner. The only caveat, the guitar MUST be responsive to light, very light, or even the "silk 'n steel" sets that are out there. The normal 12 string, set up for steel, is as playable as a modern piano without a keyboard. With light strings they are as responsive as solid body concrete. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
