naddad - 6-18-2011 at 11:56 PM
Edit on 11/15/2011: This oud is no longer for sale! I decided to keep it after having fixed it.
===
I bought this oud from Maurice Shehata in Cairo in 2009.
There's nothing broken in the oud (there are only 2 small scratches, see photos) but the strings are buzzing. There's no oud luthier in my area. I
tried to take it to a guitar repair shop but he couldn't figure out where the buzzing was from. To be honest I have no clue how much it would cost to
repair, so if you decide to buy it please keep this in mind.
I haven't been learning oud and I've decided to sell it instead of try to fix it.
FYI, it is oud number 805, made on 21 February 2009. You could call Maurice Shehata to ask about it.
I'm selling it on best offer.
Email me if you have any questions.
Danielo - 6-19-2011 at 01:12 AM
Hi,
I'm not sure that this fine oud needs repairs.
Shehata ouds have a pretty low action ; mine was buzzing if I didn't set the strings properly. Did you try to lift the knots on the bridge a little
bit ? It my case it solved the problem.
If it does not work, as your oud has no rosette you can check for a loose brace by hand directly
good luck !
Dan
Hatem_Afandi - 6-19-2011 at 04:10 AM
Salaam ya Naddad,
Before trying to sell it, I suggest that you take it to a luthier to get the nut replaced.
I had a similar problem with one of Maurice's ouds. His ouds are so well-made that I am confident it is a small problem.
BTW, it is NOT an expensive repair. It costs about $50 to replace the nut here in Houston
Good Luck,
Hatem
fernandraynaud - 6-19-2011 at 08:03 AM
But, guys, let's be clear. Replacing an oud nut is not a job for a guitar repair shop. Guitars have completely different principles. It's very unwise
to let anyone who's not a devoted oudie mess with what is an original oud by a master oudmaker. Besides, an oud with low action will tend to buzz,
Danielo makes some good points. If you don't like it that way it's much much easier raising the action than lowering it.
myeyes2020 - 6-19-2011 at 05:32 PM
If the action appears to be adequate and a lose brace is the unlikely cause of buzzing, then there are other sources of buzzing that can be
overlooked. These are :
Poor, old or inappropriate strings. Unless the luthier put brand new strings on the oud, it might be wise to put new fress ones that you can order
from http://www.oudstrings.com
This second scenario got me twice. If the loose tail ends of the strings on a fixed bridge are long enough such that they touch the sound board or
even the bridge itself, that can masquarade as the buzzing sound of the loose brace. This is especially true with soundboards that have great
resonance. Infact, once I did some knocking on a soundboard to try to locate the loose brace and the buzzing sound appeared nice and clear that I was
deeply saddened. Thankfully, I kept on fiddling with for two days (the same way one woudl keep irritating a sore tooth), untill I realized that the
sound was from a long ended string that was in contact with the bridge. wheew!
fadel - 6-20-2011 at 03:39 AM
hi
http://www.4shared.com/video/QAubg19h/Untitled.html
SamirCanada - 6-20-2011 at 06:09 AM
Hi Naddad,
It could be a simple adjustement required or perhaps even a small repair as many are saying.
That said where are you located? if you are intent on selling it I may be interested.
It would depend on the shipping and the price etc...
naddad - 10-3-2011 at 01:28 AM
Hey everyone,
For some reason I wasn't notified by the forum that you've all been writing replies to my original post, so I just assumed that nobody was interested.
Apologies for not replying to those who messaged me.
First of all thanks so much for everyone's suggestions to repair the oud. I still have it (thought nobody was interested!) and am now located in
Lebanon and need to find a luthier who would know how to repair it (not a great time to go to Syria these days...). If anybody has recommendations pls
let me know. Very few people are knowledgeable enough in good instruments here that I just wouldn't want to hand it to any person.
By the way, the guitar repairman checked for all your suggestions: checked for loose braces, put new strings, cut loose string ends, all to no avail.
I don't remember whether we tried raising the action on the nut but it is indeed extremely low. The repairman did raise it slightly but perhaps not
enough.
Anyway, will keep you posted, and thanks again, this is a nice good community of oud lovers 
Regards,
ondalud - 10-3-2011 at 02:09 AM
Hello Naddad, If you are still willing to sell your oud
mndami an e-mail your request with the economic,
I do not know how much it would cost an oud Sheata as your own.
I am Italian.
Good day.
Regards.
E-mail: achillemeazzi@libero.it
dkhoury35 - 10-3-2011 at 03:34 AM
Brother u need to go see fadi matta he is a very great oud maker in lebanon and he has a website with his phone number google fadi matta im sure he
will fix it for sure and if ur still willing to sell he would find u a buyer he is a very nice man
naddad - 10-6-2011 at 12:41 AM
Ondalud -- I think I will try to repair it, sorry!
dkhoury45 -- I contacted Fadi Matta, he said he doesn't have time to repair ouds (I'm sure time spent on making ouds is more valuable to him).
Let me know if you know any other trustworthy person.
Thanks
SamirCanada - 10-6-2011 at 05:37 AM
Hi Naddad,
What about Nazih Ghadban http://www.oudnazihghadban.com his shop is in Ras Baalbeck. He makes very nice ouds and he would be my first choice in lebanon.
There is also Albert Mansour who makes ouds for Marcel Khalifeh in the past. There is also another oud maker who's name is Georges Bitar.
maybe with some research you could get their phone numbers and one of them could help you I am sure.
naddad - 10-6-2011 at 06:09 AM
Thanks so much SamirCanada. All this info is so helpful.
I will call these oud makers, hopefully one of them will dedicate some of their precious time to repairing my poor instrument! I just need a working
oud at this point, the frustration from not being able to play is building up!
naddad - 10-11-2011 at 05:10 AM
Just wanted to update everyone on the situation (if any of you cares), because to be honest, I'm upset with Maurice Shehata.
I took my oud to a oud instructor to ask for opinion. This is the first time a professional oudist listens and plays my instrument. His opinion was
that, regardless of the buzzing, the oud sounds cheaper than a cheap kid's oud. I somewhat trust his opinion (I didn't think he had hidden motives to
tell me it's crappy). I've played other ouds after I bought my oud a while back, and I also had a very similar opinion but wasn't entirely sure. I had
bought my oud from Shehata because I thought I could trust the quality of the build because his name was farmous, but now evidence on the mistake I've
made is building up. It was my mistake because I was not informed, but from an ethics perspective I think that Shehata was not honest with me.
I'm sure Shehata builds great ouds for professionals, but in light of what I discovered, I wouldn't recommend beginners to purchase ouds from him. You
better know what you're looking for and have experience in ouds to be able to tell the difference between a $900 lemon and a decent instrument.
SamirCanada - 10-11-2011 at 05:32 PM
Hi Naddad,
From my experience and the experience of others in this forum, Maurice cares very much about his reputation. Have you tried discussing this with him?
If you are not satisfied with your oud and you suspect something is wrong with the build, I think he could adress your issue and perhaps even redo the
whole oud. It has happened in the past where Maurice ripped up a whole oud to peices because he wasnt satisfied with it. Ouds aren't like cars or
other pieces of machinery. Sometimes things go wrong even if it was built expertly.
Just so you know, I am not defending him beacause he is a friend or anything. Actually I have never met him or spoken with him. But he should be given
the
opportunity to adress your concern.
naddad - 10-14-2011 at 05:32 AM
Thanks Samir for your input.
Unfortunately it's easier said than done. I'll have to travel to Cairo just for that, and it will cost me even more money. I shouldn't have been in
this situation in the first place.
Alfaraby - 10-15-2011 at 02:35 AM
Maybe some would not like this:
Maurice Shahata is a businessman rather than a luthier. It has been years since he last touched an oud. His fingernails are as clean as a dentist's or
so ! Hany, Waleed, Georges & others make the whole oud from the beginning to the end. Most of the time Maurice is out doing business. I've heard
he has two shops in the Gulf : Qatar & UAE, he's a partner in some computers company, he's an investor in real-estate project initiative & so
forth, however I had never had the chance to check this out. He does not have time to make ouds because he's engaged with other "important" issues, so
the maker @ Shahata's workshop is Hany, who used to work for his late father Farouq Shahata. Hany is responsible on almost everything, exept prices.
He consistantly refused to answer tens of "how much" questions I'd ask during the last 7-8 years in which I've been in touch with the workshop. Hany
is a fantastic luthier & he's the man behind tens of successful ouds of Shahata's workshop, however he might not be responsible for some less
successful instruments produced in Maurice"factory". After all he's not the boss there !
I have bought 4 of Maurice's ouds during the last decade or so. They were all of high precission and top workmanship, but their sounds failed to catch
the shape's standard. They sounded like any other Egyptian oud in Mohammad Ali street music shops' ouds. Eventually I sold or exchanged them,
except for one special gold interwoven with turtle-shell bowl that I kept as a decoration beauity in my saloon. It sounds like any other Maurice's I
had, not more, not less.
On the other hand, I have to point out the fact that Maurice easily took back one of his ouds we thought it was a failure & refund us sying "no
problem" ! Frankly, it was not a problem at all to return the oud & get a refund. The man was an honest merchant & easy to work with, unlike
the case of our friend Dorado with Bashir's oud !
I'd join Samir as to the advice to contact Maurice hoping all would go just as fine & smooth as I have had.
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
naddad - 11-14-2011 at 04:05 PM
Hey everyone, another update.
I went to see George Bitar in Lebanon. He's a very nice man, he inspected and worked on my oud for an hour, and didn't even charge me.
He immediately noticed that the bridge was too low. To fix that he restrung the top wound strings so that they are as high as they can get from the
board (exactly what Danielo suggested in reply to my first post). The buzzing completely disappeared!
I'm much happier now with my oud.