jack - 9-7-2010 at 05:08 PM
Can you post pictures of the scratches on the bowl, as well as the pegbox repair.
fernandraynaud - 9-7-2010 at 05:27 PM
It's interesting that all Model 14 Sukars of late have finish problems on the bowl. I have heard Mr. Sukar has suspended this model for this reason,
they have become hard to get. The wood is a very dark and heavy wood that is specified as "walnut of lions" on his site. One expert who looked at it
said mine was most likely ebony, and the weight of the instrument would support that. The "piano finish" is a French Polish over a dark stain that is
fragile and quite easily picks up nicks and scratches that can be noticeable under the right light. I even thought of refinishing it, but decided to
leave its character intact, especially as a shop quoted several hundred dollars. Maybe they thought it was a piano. This of course does not have any
effect on the magnificent timbre, with its thundering bass.
Nayati, is your bowl quite black, or dark brown? Can you see much grain, or is it "piano black"?
fernandraynaud - 9-7-2010 at 11:46 PM
I decided to keep mine, for now anyway, as the timbre is different from my other Sukars. With the same strings as my 212, the high ends are roughly
similar, but the bass on the 14 is more powerful, while the 212 favors a unique sweet midrange. Given how identical the designs are, it is most likely
due to the bowl wood itself. I keep the action on the 14 a little higher to bring out the Arabic side, and on the 212 lower to bring out the Turkish
zing. Aleppo is close up to the Turkish border, so it makes perfect sense that Mr. Sukar would design mid scale (600 mm) ouds that suggest the best of
both worlds. 