I've been very busy lately making ouds. I hope I made same people happy over the last few months.
1 week ago, our friend and mike oud's member dubai244 received his 2 new babies, one Cedar- EI Rosewood and one Engleman Spruce- EI Rosewood. I can't
speak for him, but I think I made him really happy. He is such a great person who deserves the best. I had an excellent time with him in Dubai. Both
were 57 cms scale length.
2 other happy people were Ghassan Alyousif again, since he owns an Engleman-EI Rosewood oud I made since November. His new baby is a Cedar- EI
Rosewood 57 cms scale. Then there is the very talented 15 years old Yousif Abbas from Iraq who got an Engleman- EI Rosewood 57 cms scale oud. Both got
their ouds 2 days ago.
Ghassan and Yousef just sent me a video .. and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you all like it..
I can easily tell just by seeing them.. They are more than happy ..
So much for looking for something that makes me feel content with my life.. I've never been more happy.
Hazem
Alioud - 4-16-2010 at 06:50 PM
I don't want to forget Hazem Shaheen.. Who received his oud earlier.
His oud is a 7 strings oud, Cedar- EI Rosewood, 57 cms scale.. With a special Hazem sound, since I had to study Hazem's work very well to come up with
a bracing design that will fulfill his ambitions. He is such a great person, if only we had more Hazem Shaheens in the world.
Of course.. Naseer Shamma, but that's old news already.
Unfortunately he is hooked to the Cedar - EI Rosewood oud.. Although I made him an Engleman - EI Rosewood and Sitka - EI Rosewood ouds but apparently
they're hidden at home as of now.
There are 10 others from all over the Arab world.. All of them are excellent oud players.. But I just don't have videos of them yet.. Some of them are
camera shy and I might not be able share their playing with you .. but I am trying my best.
Dina Abdulhamid
Alioud - 4-16-2010 at 07:07 PM
I shouldn't forget the sweet Dina..
Here she is on her Cedar-EI Rosewood 57 scale oud..
Ghassan on his Engleman - EI Rosewood Ghassan@Home
And me
Alioud - 4-16-2010 at 07:23 PM
I almost missed the greatest player of all time.. Myself ..
loool
Anyway.. Here is one Oud I stringed last night, and I am giving it a go .. Trying to be a Bashir and sucking at it.
This is an Engleman - EI Rosewood oud with Adirondack Spruce Bracing.. I was trying to get to the special Jameel Bashir Oud sound utilizing Adirondack
and special bracing pattern.. I think I nailed it.. But as you can clearly see, I am no Bashir
allah allah ya Ali...These are all amazing instruments, stunning work. I have always been a fan of your work
Thank you for posting these videos...wonderful
I want one too Sazi - 4-16-2010 at 11:47 PM
Hey he took my lines! True-ly exceptional oud, Ali! I like your
playing too.
(And thanks for the Ziryab articles also, most informative and helpful.)Luttgutt - 4-17-2010 at 06:09 AM
Impressive Alioud!
Beautiful ouds, and grate playing!!
Yes I think you nailed it well!
Jamil Bashir is one of the most difficult players to imitate.
Bravo
p.s. I have a question if I may: Why 57cm skale? What are the advantages? I have the feeling that you have a very good reason for that. Did you find a
magic formula?
Keep the good workAlioud - 4-17-2010 at 06:48 AM
ExtremeTarab and Sazi, you've both been very interested in my work. Thank you so much for following and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts
and praises. I truly appreciate it.
Luttgutt, thank you so much for your comment and I appreciate what you said but I have like 100 years to go to reach the precision and cleanliness of
Jameel Bashir's risha technique. He was simply impeccable.
Why 57 cms scale.. Ok, the Iraqi school tends to like the accentuation of treble sounds and the ease of reach and playability for higher octaves on
the same string. 58.5 cms seems ok to my giant hand, but there has been a major increase in the 57 cms scale length since Naseer Shamma started making
changes in the Iraqi/Arabic music scene. Higher scale length utilizing the same strings gives higher tension, but with the availability of custom made
strings that should not be a problem, but alas, people who study at Beit Aloud with Naseer Shamma and like his playing came to believe in his dogmas
blindly.
I prefer longer scales because it gives better response at the bass registers, not too long though because anything longer than 58.5 cms becomes less
playable at higher positions, and the trebles suffer tremendously.
I change my bracing patterns to match the scale length .. so, it is not a magic formula with 57 cms scale length.. it's more of a player's comfort.
Sent you a U2U just now..Luttgutt - 4-17-2010 at 07:19 AM
the precision and cleanliness of Jameel Bashir's risha technique. He was simply impeccable.
Totally agree with you! That is why only very few people have tried to emitate him!
I am sending you a mail
Regardssuz_i_dil - 4-21-2010 at 10:28 AM
Congratulation Dr Ali, what an achievement to see your work being played by such players...hope to become one, in a much more modest way of
playing!
by the way, Jameel Bashir was using fixed bridge oud, isn't it? Did you meant to keep the tone buth with much more brightness/volume...or I don't
know, I miss adjectives for characterizing a sound.
regards
Alioud Fixed Bridge ouds
ExtreamTarab - 4-23-2010 at 01:16 PM
Hey Dr. Ali,
Seems like you have been busier than we thought !!!
I have found these 2 videos of your new ouds...fixed bridge this time Hope you
don't mind me posting them here
I'd like to thank fadel for keeping us updated with your work through his youtube channel...thank you fadel and please try to get longer videos for us
We'll be waiting for more details about these ouds...
Regards,
Ibrahimfadel - 4-23-2010 at 03:24 PM
hi
ExtreamTarab
no proplem my friend
thank alfaraby - 4-24-2010 at 02:53 PM
loooooool , Dr. Ali !
I have just had the chance to see them all, and got really shocked ....
I most liked Abbas's & Ashraf's , plus the Nahat style fixed bridge, or were they the players who actually impressed me ?
As to 57 cm scale , I have to disagree ! I have a George Hayek's (Aleppo) 1923 oud with 62 cm scale string, which is the easiest oud you may ever
play. It depends on the tuning and the strings you'd choose. Once you choose Pyramid Lute strings for example, they would respond on higher notes
better than the "ordinary" kind of strings set.
I myself, as you have heard this hundreds of times, am in love with the fixed bridge type, spruce soundboard, 61.5 cm scale oud which sounds almost
like bass-oud; but this a matter of taste.
Therefor I shall be waiting to see & hear the coming "baby" you'd give him birth
..
loool
True-ly exceptional oud, Ali! I like your
playing too.
