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Looking to purchase an Oud in Beirut, Lebanon

kamran - 11-13-2011 at 04:52 AM

Dear all,

I'm here in Beirut for a while and decided to travel without my beloved oud -- thus, I'm keen to find a decent-to-professional quality oud from the region (Lebanon/Syria), but haven't found the right instrument in my visits to local makers here. If anyone has a tip on where a very good used oud may be found in Lebanon I'd be very grateful.

Thanks!
Kamran

Brian Prunka - 11-13-2011 at 07:48 AM

This:

http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=12407

kamran - 11-14-2011 at 02:59 AM

Thanks Brian -- I'd already sent a note to the seller and am waiting to hear back... I appreciate your suggestion, tho!

K

naddad - 11-14-2011 at 05:37 AM

Oud makers in Lebanon I've heard of thanks to this forum: Fadi Matta, Nazih Ghadban, George Bitar.
Nazih Ghadban's workshop is in Baalbeck, pretty far from Beirut. George Bitar's is in Zalka, 20 mins from Beirut. I don't know where Fadi Matta's is.

Microber - 11-14-2011 at 07:38 AM

Contact for Fadi Matta
http://www.fadimatta.com/extranet/contact

kamran - 11-22-2011 at 10:01 AM

Thanks to all... will report on what I find.

Aymara - 11-22-2011 at 11:38 AM

If I would have the chance to visit Beirut, I would definitely give Nazih Ghadban a visit too. Fadi Matta would be the second on my list.

The question is, if they have an oud to sale at that time of visit, so it might be wise to contact them first.

kamran - 12-14-2011 at 10:20 AM

So for those who are at all interested... I ended up purchasing a new oud from Fadi Matta, 7 courses, floating bridge, and really an amazing instrument. I tried an oud by Nazih Ghadhban (through a friend who had one made by him) and also went to Alber Mansur's workshop and tried out a few of his (very expensive) ouds. While I would certainly recommend the instruments of both of these oud-makers, depending on taste and budget, however my own preference was clearly with Matta's work, which I found to be not only the closest to what I had been looking for in terms of quality and sound, but also the right match in terms of price. If there's any interest I'd be happy to post photos, etc. Thanks to all who offered their advice here...

Aymara - 12-14-2011 at 12:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by kamran

If there's any interest I'd be happy to post photos, etc.

You make us curious and ask, if we want to see photos?

Shure ... let us see the beauty.

naddad - 12-14-2011 at 03:17 PM

congrats

yes please post pics and sound clips!

Pics, etc.

kamran - 12-15-2011 at 12:11 AM

Ok... since I have an audience!

The oud I purchased is based on one of Fadi Matta's standard designs, but is slightly different in that it features a shallow semi-cutaway at the end of the neck, a feature I'd not seen before with his work. Also, the instrument's bowl (body) is made of dark ebony wood. When I visited his shop I was initially taken by the one finished instrument he had available, which was one of his standard models (the same that Charbel Rouhana uses). But then I saw another half-completed oud in the workshop, and expressed interest in seeing it when completed. Ten days later, I was the first to play it once it came out of the workshop and fell in love with it immediately. While I haven't usually had interest in the cut-away designs of some ouds, as implemented here it's a subtle element, and I can see myself using it to access the upper range, since the entire instrument is so well balanced. Playing the instrument is a new experience in that I've never owned a 7-course oud before and having the upper F string is very novel to me... with the cutaway I easily can have 3 octave options for most melodies, something that is really nice when playing in a group setting.

I don't have sound-files yet but will post something later. For now, here are a few photos.

naddad - 12-15-2011 at 09:29 AM

Gorgeous looking instrument. I always love innovations, such as the semi cutaway design in this oud, very nice.
You mentioned the upper f, I suppose you mean the treble f? Is a typical tuning CFADgcf?

ExtreamTarab - 12-15-2011 at 06:51 PM

Nice oud kamran, congratulations...

I see a lot of resemblance to Al-Tayyar ouds in this instrument. looks like Matta's emulating Al-Tayyar brothers specially with the cutaway and bridge saddle designs. What I hope is that Mr. Matta's giving Al-Tayyar brothers the credit they deserve in respect to these designs...

Enjoy your new oud and play it in good health

kamran - 12-16-2011 at 12:10 AM

Thanks for the replies, and for the photos ExTarab. I can't offer much insight into the question of design inspiration, but it's an interesting topic. If I recall correctly, Fadi Matta was trained as a luthier mostly in Europe, he mentioned studying in Spain and France, I think both guitar and especially lute making. I'm sure all contemporary oud makers, especially younger ones, are keen to take in inspiration from new sources, as well as each other, and it can be difficult to trace the origin of some of the ideas that become widely accepted. Many younger oud makers seem to have moved to the floating bridge design, for example...

In my conversation with Fadi I was impressed that he was unfailingly polite and complementary towards other oud makers whose names came up in our conversation (something not always the case with instrument makers in my experience). He also mentioned several instrument makers whose work he admired, but I can't recall if he mentioned the Ikhwan Tayyar or not.

kamran - 12-16-2011 at 01:00 AM

Quote: Originally posted by naddad

Gorgeous looking instrument. I always love innovations, such as the semi cutaway design in this oud, very nice.
You mentioned the upper f, I suppose you mean the treble f? Is a typical tuning CFADgcf?

Yes, the tuning is CFADGCF, with the "high" F being the most treble.

Oud Freak - 1-5-2012 at 06:48 AM

Quote: Originally posted by ExtreamTarab

Nice oud kamran, congratulations...

I see a lot of resemblance to Al-Tayyar ouds in this instrument. looks like Matta's emulating Al-Tayyar brothers specially with the cutaway and bridge saddle designs. What I hope is that Mr. Matta's giving Al-Tayyar brothers the credit they deserve in respect to these designs...

Enjoy your new oud and play it in good health

Congratulations for this gorgeous oud! You have definitely made a good choice.

I have found this link (cutaway) (thabet el bassry?)
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=7909&pa...

I think the credit that Matta has to give to other makers is negligible compared to the credits he should be given:

For example, it is never to forget that Mr. Matta has made the following huge challenge in oud building:
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6543&pa...
In addition to the invention of a very easily adjustable neck from outside: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s09aZgHejE8

Cheers!

GeoRgEstan - 1-7-2012 at 02:51 PM

I was impressed that he was unfailingly polite and complementary towards other oud makers whose names came up in our conversation (something not always the case with instrument makers in my experience). He also mentioned several instrument makers whose work he admired, but I can't recall if he mentioned the Ikhwan Tayyar or not.