Palmyrami buying experience

sukar oud

I was told today that the oud is still at the Syrian Post Office...after waiting three months; WTF!!!!!

Palmyrami gave me two choices...
1)Wait for the 212 to be sent from Syria without any idea of estimated delivery time.
or
2)They have no model 212 in stock but they do have a Sukar model 13 in their Michigan warehouse and would send it right away with an estimated delivery time of 6 days.

Lesson #1 learned so far dealing with Palmyrami...
If you are in the U.S., first find out if the oud you want is in their Michigan warehouse...otherwise be prepared to wait 3 or more months for delivery with no real answer of what is going on or when you'll get your oud.

At this point I just want to make sure I get a quality Sukar oud and told them to send the model 13.
I hope I have good news to report in a week.

Hey Zulu,

I think this is the oud you'll be getting...

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DRAK-OILY-WALNUT-WOOD-SUKAR-OUD-HARD-CASE-M...

That's a nice one, hope you get it soon

The Sukar model 13 arrived today and I am very happy with it.
I originally ordered the model 212 which cost $675; the model 13 costs $827 (I have seen these go for much more from other retailers, not that cost is everything but Palmyrami does have the lowest prices)
Palmyrami did not charge me the $152 difference due to the lengthy delays.
I prefer the 13 over the 212 because I like the darker wood used for the soundboard and the inlay work throughout the oud.
Though very frustrating, the purchasing experience ended well in my favor. I believe Palmyrami is a good company with great customer service, they would do better to inform buyers of delays if item is not in local stock.

Delivery:
The box arrived with a section cut open, I imagine done buy customs...no damage.
The contents are wrapped in a very thick foam; removing the foam was the case wrapped in thick bubble wrap.
The back of the neck was braced with cardboard; very well done and appreciated!!!
The hardcase was just as I expected from other reviews...very scratched and the hardware is cheap; fine for car travel but not for airport gorilla baggage handlers!
The oud is in perfect condition.

Final review...
I would buy from them again now knowing what to expect and what questions to ask before purchasing.

Check out the pictures while I go restring this bad boy!!!

Hi Zulu,

Phew Congrats my friend, thats a beautiful oud you got there buddy. Play it in good health
from previous users deals with these merchants there was always a happy ending
I hope people would find out more details about the shipping arangements in advance, it would just help them to know what to expect and how long it may take before they get their prize.
You can now enjoy Xmas in style

Congratulations on the new oud! Its a nice one, and definitely great for the price. I personally like Sukkar ouds. Usually I feel they may need some tweaking sometimes. Changing the strings to a good set, lowering the nut, or changing it out with bone, and changing or better fitting the pegs, and you've got a great oud.

Sorry for the frustration you went through. I sent documents to a university I was studying at in Lebanon through the post service, and I flew to Lebanon 3 weeks later, and the school never got them. It was a problem because it was transcripts, and due to this reason I wasn't able to enter the program I applied for!! The documents did show up 3 months later if you could imagine. Then on top of it, I've dealt with the general security there to get my visa extended, and that was a NIGHTMARE. Anything to do with public services like that in which requires organization is a mess in the middle-east, and I don't even think they make a secret of it. You have to love the middle-east for all its beauty and chaos in organization at the same time!

Zulu, Mabruk! How have you been? So you finally got a Sukar! First one?

Better not to touch the nut. Mr Sukar has a specific way of doing the nuts in wood, and they work well. He deliberately avoids bone nuts. There are things you can consider improving on a Sukar, but I would leave the nut alone unless it's damaged.

What wood is the soundboard made of? How many pieces? I have played a lot of Sukars, but never one with such a dark soundboard. Is the soundboard surface virgin/sanded wood, or coated/stained with something? How are the inlays on the soundboard done, with what materials, and to what depth? And the ones on the bowl? What are the pegs like? Scale length?

What is the fingerboard made of, and since it stops before the soundhole, is it "set in" all the way through the soundboard (can you see the darker wood from within with a little mirror) ? Was the soundboard "cut out" in the shape of the fingerboard, or built up around it? Can you post some extreme close-ups? I have often wondered how these round sound-hole ones were built, it's a different design from his classical oval-holed ones. And with the dark soundboard, you have an unusual one for sure.

On a Sukar tuned "normally", i.e. to high cc, the top 2 courses do sound very good in PVF (and if you tune to high ff, the top 3 courses). PVF is more dense than nylon, and sounds a lot more like the wound strings, so you use slightly thinner plain strings than nylon ones, and with the harder material you don't have the dis-contiguity of a zingy bottom and a wimpy top. Musicaravan sells a set of PVF trebles

http://www.musicaravan.com/strings

they may seem expensive, but they last a long time.

BTW, these PVFs are strong/loud enough to be used as plain strings on "lautenwerke" which are harpsichords strung with lute type strings (plucked with tiny plectra of the same Delrin/Acetal that our glossy black rishas are made of)



Apparently J.S. Bach owned a couple of these instruments, though not necessarily in that (amazing) shape.

http://www.baroquemusic.org/barluthp.html

Once they fully stretch, which takes a while, PVF plains are more stable than nylon with humidity and other changes.

If you are aiming for the short percussive "longing" old Egyptian sound, then set the Sukar's action high, and then the more muted Nylon plain strings arguably might sound more "appropriate" -- but I sure like them PVF trebles!

Good to hear from you Fernand,

Yes, finally got my first Sukar and I couldn't be more pleased!
Finding info on this model is not easy; the info given is the typical colorful bazaar descriptions with stating only walnut and zan wood in the material description.
Scale length is 600 mm, which I'm very happy about.
Soundboard appears to be 4 piece; I have no idea what the soundboard wood is.
This is the natural color of the soundboard, it came virgin sanded, it is not stained. I did apply a thin layer of shellac and buffed it down with super fine steel wool to a satin finish.
Not sure of the neck wood, it is a very dark olive green-ish brown. I gave it a few coats of Tru-Oil and buffed it down.
All inlay work throughout the instrument is done very well; flush with no gaps between the varied woods.
Soundhole inlay has me guessing; it is charcoal black and seems porous like stone or bone, can't tell if it is wood or not.
Pegs are ebony with mother of pearl inlays.
The wood nut sticks a bit when fine tuning but not enough to bother me; I'm not gonna mess with it. I've heard some graphite in the grooves can help?
I'll find a small mirror and get back to you on the fingerboard and body configuration.
If anyone has any info on the materials used on this oud please pass it on to me, Thanks!

I'm glad you mentioned the PVF; the nylons sounded very flat compared to the rounds, I put an order in to swap them...THANKS

PVF Tebles