chuckerbutty
Oud Maniac
Posts: 98
Registered: 4-5-2004
Location: Scotland
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Buzzing
Hi folks,
I'm interested in finding out what people think about buzzing ouds. Mine has a slight buzz here and there which used to annoy me a fair bit at
first, but now I find that I don't mind it so much, and even like it sometimes, especially when playing a drone.
Do oudmakers in general try to make totally buzz-free instruments, or is it considered - within reasonable limits - to be a natural part of the oud
sound?
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 582
Registered: 4-9-2004
Location: Kansas
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Mood: Gebran Tueni Lives For Ever, 12-12-05.
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Better without
I concider the buzz in an oud undesirable.
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nadir
Oud Junkie
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Sometimes buzzing occurs because it is a new instrument, either buzzing happens or this slight metallic pang interferes with the sound (which in my
opinion is a lot worse). Buzzing usually fades away when the instrument is broken down if it is a new one, commonly in a few months.
How old is your oud?
(Don't know if this helps but, my Turunz was buzzing a little bit when I first got it, but it faded away REALLY quickly!)
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Zulkarnain
Oud Junkie
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Hi
I think also its the strings! Maybe it still new and need to be season up a lil-specially with those super low action fingerboard!
Salam
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 582
Registered: 4-9-2004
Location: Kansas
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Mood: Gebran Tueni Lives For Ever, 12-12-05.
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Some causes for buzzing
Hello,
Buzzing can also be coming from a loos brace.
Another source could be when an open string is barely touching or very close to finger nail of the left hand.
If the buzzing sounds like it is closer to the peg box, I would suspect a very low action at the nut.
Or, if there is extra length of string extending beyond the portion which is wrapped around the peg and is in contact with the adjacent peg or with
the peg box the extr length sometimes will vibrate at certain notes and buzz.
The same applies at the bridge end of the string. The solution is to trim the strings short.
Good luck
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chuckerbutty
Oud Maniac
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My oud is about 3 years old, so it's been broken in. I spoke to Michael Moussa about the buzz and he reckoned that it might be because the neck
joint has shifted slightly. It would be nice to have a totally clean sound, but the buzz isn't so bad that it keeps me awake at night.
Having said that, I've heard a taqsim by Sunbati where the oud is buzzing like a bee, so I feel I'm in good company!
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freya
Oud Junkie
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A tip I got Dr. Oud...
I had some string buzzing because the string height at the bridge was too low and stopped strings wouls buzz against the fingerboard as a result. Dr.
Ous pointed out that is possible to adjust the string height by pushing the bottom of the string loop at the bridge higher. In the end I cut a small
length of wood that I place between the sound board and the underside of the sting loops while the strings are in place but not a full tension.
It's easy to flip out the piece of wood (popsicle sticks work well) after the strings are at tension and the string height will remain as it was
before removing the piece of wood (within reason, of course).
Freya
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chuckerbutty
Oud Maniac
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Cheers, that's a cunning wee trick. The buzz on my oud is definitely caused by the strings not stopping cleanly against the fingerboard further
up the neck. This sounds like it might be a solution.
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nadir
Oud Junkie
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That's actually what I used on my Arabic oud, if you look on my web page at the picture where the strings are tied you can see that thin piece of
wood. 
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billkilpatrick
Oud Junkie
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buzz
like you, i thought the buzzing from my oud was wildly atmospheric and full of eastern promise but soon became a pain in the bee(geddit?)hind.
i eventually took it to a local luthier who attached a tapered wedge of ebony (at ENORMOUS!!! EXPENSE) on the fingerboard to even out the hump that
had developed at the neck/bowl join. it's now as flat as a flight deck of an aircraft carrier and sounding much better.
in this and in all oud related problems, the best solution is to find a luthier with an extremely homely sister and start making all the appropriate
noises. if not, it'll cost you.
- bill
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chuckerbutty
Oud Maniac
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Funnily enough, flight decks on British aircraft carriers aren't flat, they have a big ramp at the front for the Harriers to jump off! Seriously,
though, from all the responses it does sound like buzzing is a fairly widespread problem.
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Dr. Oud
Oud Junkie
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Buzzing can also be caused by grooves worn in the fingerboard under the 3rd & 4th strings. Another condition is a warped neck, either because of
green or weak wood or by the weakness caused by the peg box notch. More causes are string spacing too close, tuning at too low tension, cracks in the
face and/or braces, debris inside the oud body, etc, etc.
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chuckerbutty
Oud Maniac
Posts: 98
Registered: 4-5-2004
Location: Scotland
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| Quote: |
Buzzing can also be caused by grooves worn in the fingerboard under the 3rd & 4th strings
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Just out of interest, why the 3rd and 4th strings in particular?
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Dr. Oud
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 12-18-2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chuckerbutty
Just out of interest, why the 3rd and 4th strings in particular? |
The 3rd & 4th are metal wound strings and get the most play being in the center of the oud's 1st position. The 1st & 2nd being solid
nylon are much softer, and the 5th & 6th are not pushed down on the fingerboard as often since they are mostly played as bass or tonic open
notes.
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wfspark
Oud Junkie
Posts: 166
Registered: 3-7-2004
Location: San Antonio Texas
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Mood: Oud entranced!
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Buzzing
| Quote: | Originally posted by billkilpatrick
like you, i thought the buzzing from my oud was wildly atmospheric and full of eastern promise but soon became a pain in the bee(geddit?)hind.
i eventually took it to a local luthier who attached a tapered wedge of ebony (at ENORMOUS!!! EXPENSE) on the fingerboard to even out the hump that
had developed at the neck/bowl join. it's now as flat as a flight deck of an aircraft carrier and sounding much better.
in this and in all oud related problems, the best solution is to find a luthier with an extremely homely sister and start making all the appropriate
noises. if not, it'll cost you.
- bill |
Hello all. I thought that a faint buzz wasn't a problem, especially on Udi Rant's oud. I
don't mind a faint buzz, my oud doesn't have a real deffinat buzz. But if their is one it's a really faint one. As far as I'm
concerned, so long as your oud doesn't start sounding like a tampura you should be fine. Am I right? Bill? What's this business about a
homely sister?
William F. Sparks
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