Looking for an Oud as a beginner. (UK)

100 quid eh?

...you could try this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhN1vI0eZxQ

That's exactly what I meant to say, but somehow it came out different!

"I look forward to having a great time learning oud, it's simply a fascinating instrument for me"

Lesson 1. There are some ouds in this price range that make good planters, but you must choose carefully, as many of them leak and do not hold up to regular watering.

Lesson 2. See Greg's post.

Quote: Originally posted by Greg

..., you could look at an instrument from CEM in Germany.

Quote: Originally posted by malvern

I've been told that Iraqi Oud's are the best, but I can only afford a couple of hundred pounds and don't know how to get one. Can anyone help me please?

Malvern,

I been through this already recently, so if i may give you some insight.

First, you have decide what is your favorite style of playing. That means whether traditional arabic, turkish, greek, bashir or whatever else exists. To do so, you must listen ALOOTTTT to all these different ones. This shouldn't be too hard, at least for me it wasn't. Once I started listening I knew right away I would fall for the traditional arabic playing. I also liked the armenian style but i got more attached to arabic (maybe it has to do with my egyptian origin). At any case, once you find out what style you wanna play, then you are about 40% into the road.

Second, you should get some professional advice. That is where this GREAT forum comes into play (you really appreciate this forum at this stage). You should then start asking for recommendations regarding the makers and the woods, scale lenght and what not. I was really fortunate to have someone like Mavorthi to live only 15 mins away from me. I consulted him on which ouds to buy and he was of great help (Even though Mav is of greek origin, he is very knowledgeable about all the different styles).

Third, which is the most exciting part, is when you have to contact the makers or sellers looking to sell older ouds. Again mikeouds has soooo much info when it comes to this. Again I got lucky and had Mike Malek help me oud get a decent oud from Egypt.

I hope this wasn't too long and boring. If you need help, ASK

Thanks to Mike and everyone on this forum.

Quote: Originally posted by bibo10

Malvern, I been through this already recently, so if i may give you some insight. First, you have decide what is your favorite style of playing. That means whether traditional arabic, turkish, greek, bashir or whatever else exists. To do so, you must listen ALOOTTTT to all these different ones. This shouldn't be too hard, at least for me it wasn't. Once I started listening I knew right away I would fall for the traditional arabic playing. I also liked the armenian style but i got more attached to arabic (maybe it has to do with my egyptian origin). At any case, once you find out what style you wanna play, then you are about 40% into the road. Second, you should get some professional advice. That is where this GREAT forum comes into play (you really appreciate this forum at this stage). You should then start asking for recommendations regarding the makers and the woods, scale lenght and what not. I was really fortunate to have someone like Mavorthi to live only 15 mins away from me. I consulted him on which ouds to buy and he was of great help (Even though Mav is of greek origin, he is very knowledgeable about all the different styles). Third, which is the most exciting part, is when you have to contact the makers or sellers looking to sell older ouds. Again mikeouds has soooo much info when it comes to this. Again I got lucky and had Mike Malek help me oud get a decent oud from Egypt. I hope this wasn't too long and boring. If you need help, ASK Thanks to Mike and everyone on this forum.

Quote: Originally posted by Aymara

Hi Malvern, welcome to the forums. their origin is Iraq, Egypt, Turkey or another country ... it's a matter of taste and the quality of each instrument itself. Most Iraqui oud's have a floating bridge and some people like me feel much more comfortable with a fixed bridge. With a couple of hundred pounds I think you have good chances to get a descent instrument. Maybe have a look, what Sabbassi has to offer from time to time or maybe you have luck to get a Sukar oud? I think the best is, you first search Youtube for "oud" and check out how many different ouds are available ... maybe show us examples of videos you like. Then we can try to find out, which type of oud would be right for you.

Just a word in passing on the idea of position markers on the neck. The ones that oud makers sometimes inlay in the neck are notoriously inaccurate for some reason. And they tend to ruin the oud's appearance. You can at best use them as reference, like "I remember that the 3rd marker is a little high, and the 5th marker is low, or was it the other way around". Not completely useless, but ...

Tape and dots get in the way, buzz etc. A much better way is to mark the strings with a felt pen after they have stopped stretching. No permanent anything, and it works fine. I've explained that before, like here:

http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=9584#pid636...

But a problem with any marker system is that it gets you used to playing with the oud's face at an angle, so you can glance at the fingerboard, rather than with the face vertical (which is the correct position). It's a hard habit to kick

Another problem is that you get used to playing with your mind focused visually rather than on hearing. Arabic music in particular is not obsessive on perfect pitch, but you need to concentrate on feel.

Now, I believe that markers, especially the string markers I prefer, are very very helpful if you are playing in the studio with fixed tuning diatonic instruments, like piano, and your intonation is not (yet?) perfect by muscle memory and ear. It's easier than touching up pitches on your DAW. And as they wear off you find you no longer need them except on occasion. But if you can immediately learn playing with good intonation the right way, with the oud face vertical and without looking at the fingerboard, that's better. If Stevie Wonder can do it, so can you.

Hello all, thanks for the detailed replies, and apologies I didn't get back to you sooner. I've had a bit of a hard time recently and this single thread on a forum that I'd just joined obviously slipped my mind.

Just thought you'd like to know, I'm talking to a friend-of-a-friend who has a Sukar No 1 and trying to negotiate. So hopefully soon I shall have a good quality oud of my own.

I'm very aware of the perils of a cheap budget as I used to work in a music shop. The amount of people who came back having bought a cheap guitar package or similar saying "they realised it wasn't for them" or something, when really it was because the cheap instrument was making it difficult for them.

Thanks for the thoughts on the position markers too.

Quote: Originally posted by Aptequar

... I'm talking to a friend-of-a-friend who has a Sukar No 1 ...