Mike's Oud Forums

Revising My Collection

LeeVaris - 12-6-2004 at 07:45 PM

I've decided (painfully) to sell my Yaroub Fadhil Bashir - this is #227 made in 2002. I am getting a 7-course Bashir and, though I love this oud, I can't justify keeping it when I have another that suits my needs better.

I received the Yaroub in "slightly" damaged condition but I have since had it fully restored by Viken Najarian to its original glory. It now has a beautiful, very light, clear finish that brings out the beauty of the rosewood bowl. You can find additional pictures here:

http://www.varis.com/Oud/Yaroub_Bashir

Please contact me via email if you are interested - I was planning on selling this for $2200 US but I will be considering other offers!

Letting go of another gem

LeeVaris - 12-6-2004 at 07:59 PM

I have become way too enamored with the Bashir style oud and I've grown too comfortable with the short scale length. My Shehata does not get the love it deserves. This is a wonderful modern/traditional arabic oud with the longer scale length of 61 cm! It has an amazing deep bass and a very round soulful sound. It is in pristine condition and hasn't seen much time outside of its padded case. If you think you could give it a good home please contact me via email - I was thinking $800 US but, again, I will consider any serious offer. You can find more pictures of it here:

http://www.varis.com/Oud/Shehata

BTW, $800 is a steal for this oud - if you want to secure this oud act fast. I will only sell it for less if nobody offers more!

revaldo29 - 12-6-2004 at 09:24 PM

Hey Lee,
Beautiful instruments you have for sale. I know that the bashir ouds have their own tuning, but is it possible to use arabic tuning with them or would that be bad for the oud. Also, are all of yaroub's ouds bashir style?

LeeVaris - 12-6-2004 at 09:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by revaldo29
...I know that the bashir ouds have their own tuning, but is it possible to use arabic tuning with them?.. Also, are all of yaroub's ouds bashir style?


I haven't been using the classic Bashir tuning I have this one set up for (low to high) FAdgcf which is pretty much a standard arabic tuning with a high f. Yaroub also makes traditional style ouds. If you use the right strings you could set the Bashir up in standard arabic tuning. Ronnie might care to comment here but the Bashir oud can tolerate slightly higher tension - standard arabic tuning would result in slightly lower tension for the short scale length of the classic Bashir oud which is around 57 cm!

For what its worth

LeeVaris - 12-6-2004 at 09:53 PM

Here is a sound file for the Bashir - NOTE: I've never been able to get a recording that sounds anything like the oud as I have a cheap microphone and a lot of noise around the computer. I try to get the instrument as close to the mic as possible and you can hear me bumping into the mic table - there is NO sweetening on this recording, no reverb etc.. The Yaroub has a natural reverb that doesn't quite come across in this recording. Anyway here's my take on "Round Midnight"

Another file

LeeVaris - 12-6-2004 at 09:55 PM

Here's that file as an Aiff:

Ronny Andersson - 12-7-2004 at 09:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by revaldo29
Hey Lee,
Beautiful instruments you have for sale. I know that the bashir ouds have their own tuning, but is it possible to use arabic tuning with them or would that be bad for the oud. Also, are all of yaroub's ouds bashir style?


You can use any tuning if you order custom string set. Else you need to spend some time trying and draw you own conclusions what feels good and sounds good. Yaroub build also classic ouds and he can also build with longer string length instead of the short 57cm on the Bashir model. But really, an oud with a body as the Bashir and with a short scale lenght, sound best with a higher tuning.

revaldo29 - 12-7-2004 at 09:29 AM

Hey Ronny,

I understand what you are saying, that I have to decide what's really important to me. The problem is that i've never personally played any of these instruments. I've never played a bashir oud or a shehata oud so making a decision is tough. I love the sound of the bashir ouds but I am accustomed to classical arabic tuning and most of the music I play is North African (Egyptian and Libyan). I'm a little hesitant about the yaroub ouds because of the pricing. It's going to leave a major dent in my wallet. lol, that's one semester's tuition right there. Never the less, thanks for the advice. Sorry for taking up room on your post Lee :(.