That's a beautiful lute. In contrast I have a 59cm 7c Venere replica (also shaded yew) with very close string spacing at the nut - as the original lute has. When I was younger this suited me nicely, but as I age my fingers have thickened and it needs very great care to play chords cleanly. For this reason I have used a considerably wider spacing on my new 62cm 10c lute and have no trouble with chords. The one stretch that I am particularly conscious of is when I stop the first and sixth strings at the seventh fret using little finger on the 1st and ring finger on the 6th.
In favour of the lute with closer spacing I find that rapid single-line passages are easier on it - It's ideal for playing divisions. Horses for courses and an excuse (if one was needed) to have more lutes. Bill -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
