clockwood - 9-28-2013 at 03:20 AM
Hello,
I need some help ID'ing an oud a friend wants to sell. The label indicates "Ali Khalifeh & Sons", but I've read here that there are many fake Ali
Khalifeh ouds floating around out there. The seller says he bought it in a market in Palestine about 5 years ago.
I'll string it up and try to play it on Monday, but in the meantime what do you think?
Best,
Charlie
Brian Prunka - 9-28-2013 at 06:05 AM
Fake or not, I don't think it really matters much. "Khalifa and Sons" ouds are not very good to begin with. The "Khalifa Brothers" ouds from the
previous generation were good, and some of the earlier "Khalifa and Sons" ouds are decent.
The main thing is the sound and playability, and whether the tuning pegs work decently. At this level of oud, that's all that matters, the label is
worth nothing. If that's all good, I would put the value at $150 . . . maybe $250 if it's exceptional.
clockwood - 9-28-2013 at 02:52 PM
Thanks for the information Brian. Its interesting how a tradition such as oud making can suffer in quality from one generation to the next. We must
not take master craftsmen for granted!
SamirCanada - 9-29-2013 at 03:56 AM
A fake khalifeh Oud is like saying you think you think you have a fake Casio watch.
Perhaps, maybe... Who cares really. Not exactly a Rolex you are dealing with.
For what it's worth, this Oud looks like the other 100 khalifeh ouds I have seen
Brian Prunka - 9-29-2013 at 05:46 AM
Just to clarify, my value estimates are maximum estimates assuming that the oud is well above average for this kind of oud.
clockwood - 9-29-2013 at 07:01 AM
Thank you for the info gentlemen, perhaps I should change the subject of the post to avoid this "fake Casio" paradigm.
Alfaraby - 9-29-2013 at 10:10 PM
Search for "Ali Khalifeh" on ebay and see for yourself that Brian & Samir are right !
In the "real" market around here, such ouds can start from 70-100 $ up to 250 $. Cheep woods, poor finish, playability, sound, pegs ... etc.
Casio, even fake, are much useable 
Good luck
Yours indeed
Alfaraby