Paul Papazian

Hi Basterma, I recall seeing an ad from a New Hampshire music store near the Lakes Region many years ago for an oud made by your grandfather and had passed that info on to Jonathan Varjabedian in his search for Armenian oud makers. By the time I got there it was sold .

Quote: Originally posted by Basterma

Hello All: My Grandfather is Paul Papazian, the finest oudmaker of his time. He taught my uncle, John Merjanian, how to make ouds, and Uncle John was a fine luthier as well. I own the last oud made by my grandfather before he died, and I am wondering if anyone can refer me to a site or to a person who might be able to tell me if this oud has any value and what that value might be. I cannot play the oud so i's like someone who appreciates it to own it. Thank you

The oud's value has several factors: the condition, is it playable?, do the pegs hold pitch? The most import thing is the tone. I just retored and oud by your Grandfather, and it is as fine as any oud I hve ever played including any Karibyan and some Manols. The last value issue is the fame of the maker. Manols are the most sought after, bringing $6,000- $10,000 for standard models and up to $50,000 for his masterpiece pasha ouds. Karibyan ouds varied, some were great, some were not. He was cranking them out in his later years so some stinkers got out there, but they still command $4,000 - $6,000. Your grandfather was a master, the oud I restored was superb in every resprct: workmanship, tone and overall design. I just made it tunable and playable. I would value it at $3,000 just because it is so nice. It just isn't a Karibyan but it's just as good. Peter Dorian or Richard Hagopian in Fresno may have a better idea of the value, they're the big dogs in the Turkish/Armenian music scene.