I started playing oud about 1 and a half years ago. I bought a $300 Turkish style oud from ebay from "universalact". Regardless of what quality the
oud had, I have to say that his customer service was excellent, and he replied quickly to emails to make sure I was satisfied.
As far as the tone goes, comparing the sound of my oud to a friend's Merjanian, as well as to three different Karibyans, my oud doesn't even compare.
The main difference I can tell as a beginner-intermediate player is that my oud has significantly less projection, and lacks the tonal quality to
really hear the nuances in playing with vibrato, slides, etc. I never understood why luthiers would say "a professional oud has the tonal quality and
control to express a higher level of playing" well now I know.
Second, I can see that my oud has fairly poor quality craftsmanship. The quality of woods on the back and pegbox don't look that great, the nut where
the strings rest juts out too far, the rosettes are a cheap wood instead of horn or plastic, etc.
However, the oud suited me perfectly fine as a beginner. I was able to tune it up and play, and it even sounded pretty nice playing in my room with
the right acoustics. I'm waiting for my Dimitris oud in the mail, but I was just playing my cheap oud this morning. I think all I want in a beginner
instrument is something that can produce a a fairly authentic sound, and not fall apart. However if you have the money, you might want to go with
something at least midrange like one of the $600 Sandi ouds on ebay. If you plan on playing live, make sure it has a built-in pickup. Just my opinion
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