The song tune, as opposed to dance versions for fiddle, is well suited to lute or guitar playing. Since I do not own a real lute, I have adapted a Spanish laud (normally wire strung, like a six-string mandola with a large body). This is strung with double courses, but using classical guitar strings. The recording is made using the Pickup the World No 30 sensor, fixed to the front of the instrument parallel to the bridge. For a picture see:

http://www.maxwellplace.demon.co.uk/pandemonium/laudandmicrobass.jpg

The laud is shown with the pickup fitted. The instrument next to it is a micro fretless bass guitar made by Brian Maynard in Scotland, strung with cello strings and with transducers inside the fretboard.

The normal end-block string looping of the laud's wire s trings is removed from this instrum ent and the nylon strings are attached to the bridge as if it was a classical guitar. Using a semi-open guitar tuning (equivalent to a double dropped D tuning, capo on the the 5th fret, in standard guitar terms) much of the playing using floating 'campanella' scales. The variations are in the tradition of Scottish lute or guittar playing - taking a basic tune and extemporising related versions. The recording is through a Trace Elliott TAP-1 DI box, directly into a Roland VS-880EX digital recorder, with some reverb applied.