Question about Sukar Ouds

Quote: Originally posted by Christian1095

Vic, how much are they asking for the oud?

The Sukar Model 1 that Palmyrami sells you can get from them for under $400 with hard case. These are excellent ouds. Like any quality oud, they have a specific and consistent sound, which is strong and even across the range. They are brighter than some but not at all sharp like the floating bridge Iraqis or the Turkish ouds.

Most of the ouds out there are "beginner" ouds, or tourist decoration items. The beginner ones are worth no more than $300. Some of them can be OK, but it's a lottery. The wall decoration ones from the "oud mills" are worth well under $100 but they try to sell them for more. The vintage and professional instruments are $900 to $3000. Many excellent modern luthiers (many of them frequent this forum) make superb ouds using the best woods and technology, one to three at a time.

Sukar is a special case. He's an engineer by training. I hear he does not speak English at all, and has never answered e-mails. The Sukars come in different models where the finish and the wood quality determines the price. For instance the fingerboard on the cheapest Model 1 is a softer wood than ebony. But the basic design is the same on all of them, and very good. The Sukar is the only way for a beginner to buy a professional grade instrument, as it's a "known good". There ARE some forgers selling visibly fake Sukars. If you look at the Sukar web site you can learn what Sukars look like. An inlay looks nice but is a headache on a fretless instrument as it is not the same hardness as wood, it will wear differently and you will get different tone depending on exactly where you finger the strings. I made that mistake on a bass and will never do it again.

For me the Sukar Model 1 was perfect. I lightly french-polished the soundboard (shellac) and coated the fingerboard with a few coats of tung oil to harden and protect it. All fingerboards will wear down from metal strings, but a protective coating is especially important on softer woods like walnut, maple, etc. and can prevent the grooving that requires resurfacing the fingerboard, e.g. every couple of years. An added bonus was that the sustain on the (harder) coated neck is amazing.

The Sukars are generally quite spartan in appearance; look on youtube, you will find that most professional ouds are. I am very happy with mine, and doing business with Palmyrami was OK. I'd say it's fortunate they exist. You can haggle with them, and they sell the higher end Sukars cheaper than other vendors. Their lowest price Model 1 is a great deal. They usually have several on hand with photos, choose the wood and fingerboard design you prefer. Most other brand ouds they sell are not worth talking about, and they have NO idea what is what as they get ouds packed and sealed in Syria and they don't know anything about them.

I later got what we might call a beginner type oud from Egypt, very ornate in simulated mother-of-pearl, not as cleverly/well made as the Sukar, but with a very warm and specific timbre I liked. A novice will generally think the Egyptian is a much better and more expensive instrument because of the decoration, but it's the other way around.

The Sukars have an adjustable neck. A butterfly nut inside adjusts the neck angle so you can raise or lower the action. This is a very useful feature as ouds are not equipped with truss rods and adjustable bridges like guitars. Only Sukar and one other maker offers an adjustable neck. I don't understand why Christian's action is too high, it can normally be lowered by tightening the butterfly nut. Maybe the inlaid neck is different? Yes, Sukars are loud. This is because of specific design features, including the clever bracing of the soundboard.

Good luck in finding the instrument of your dreams.