> removed one or two top courses. It's ended up as an 11 course > instrument and there is a fair amount of 11 course music intended for > liuto attiorbato,
I count four double courses on the extension and eight double course over the fret-board, totalling twelve courses. The coloured strings seem to be the fundamentals. There is more space between the 3rd to 9th courses on the lute than between the outer courses. So the 1st course, running from the groove of the 3rd course, probably is attached to the holes of the 1st course in the bridge. To my eyes, the spacing of the empty 1st and 2nd grooves in the nut points at single courses. To summarize, this seems to be a 14c baroque lute with a rather uncommon disposition of the strings, viz. ten courses on the fret-board, and four courses on the extension. She seems to use it, nevertheless, as a 12c theorbo (note the position of her right hand). Mathias To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
