Steve,

My first baritone guitar was simply a standard scale length (actually a "lawsuit" Takamine) strung with heavies and tuned down 2 whole tones (C-C). As you tune down, you should guage up in order to maintain enough string tension to drive the guitar's top. These days I have an honest to goodness baritone with a longer scale length and beafier strings than normal. Sometimes I will shift the regular medium guage strings up a string (sixth becomes fifth etc until second becomes first) and add a .066 as the sixth string. This way I can tune B-B successfully. Otherwise I'll use a standard heavy set and tune C#-C#. This sort of thing is becoming more common.

I don't do it with my 12 string because I like it at standard tuning (E-E). To do so would require refurbishing the nut and a set-up. Taylor markets a Leo Kottke model 12 string designed to be tuned way down, and it sounds good to my ears. Lots of builders will custom build whatever you want, that's how I got some of mine.

What you're doing sounds like the ideal. Alot less tinkley than capoing up, and still gives you hands friendly fingering in guitar friendly keys. As you know, capoing at the appropriate fret still gets you to standard (E-E) tuning anyway, for those times when it's unavoidable.

Btw, don't you love playing in D your way? You get a low D root that's alot better than the wimpy open fourth string in standard tuning. I get it easily on the baritone too. With so many songs and tunes in D, it fills out the accompaniment much more.

juststrings.com might put together custom string sets for you. They got .066, .070, and .080 strings for me once without any trouble.

I used to have a mandolin that sounded like choirs of angels when tuned down a step, but my present one isn't as willing. I could even bend the strings that way.

Peace, Mooh.