I'm a new Oud player. I just received a Turkish Oud made by a Turkish Luthier in Izmir, and I wish to know its value for insurance purposes. I have
all of the necessary information(Luthier name, Wood used, Year, dimensions, etc.). I can also provide pictures. Is there anyone here that would be
able to ballpark my instrument's worth? Best, Niz...
PS - What a GREAT resource this message board is. bulerias1981 - 2-24-2014 at 12:37 PM
Sure, send me an e-mail to bulerias81 @ gmail.comLysander - 2-25-2014 at 01:58 AM
Great idea. I have sent you an email as well John.
Greg - 2-25-2014 at 03:41 AM
Oh Good. So shall I delete this thread now that this private arrangement has been concluded ?
It seems unlikely that any of our other 2,544 members would have anything useful to contribute, or would have any further interest in the subject.Lysander - 2-25-2014 at 10:00 AM
Sorry Greg, but no one else was offering assistance as yet. John's responded to me, though I've had to put his kind help on hold since I didn't know
it was chargeable. If anyone else wants to take a quick look in the interim before I get a more involved opinion they are of course more than welcome
to.hussamd - 2-25-2014 at 11:35 AM
The OP did not post any pictures or specifics to illicit any meaningful feedback. Of course there are many people on this forum that can provide
accurate and professional appraisal - as much as possible without touching and feeling the instrument.Lysander - 2-25-2014 at 12:58 PM
Until Nizzle returns I will post some of my own. There are some photos of mine over in the oud gallery, the links are below:
This oud was made last Summer, scale length is normal for a Turkish oud. Our forum member Hamed estimated it at about £250-£350. I'd be interested
to know if others thought this was correct.Brian Prunka - 2-25-2014 at 01:22 PM
That sounds about right. Looks like a nice oud.
An oud like this is difficult to gauge except in person, since so much depends on how it actually sounds and plays.
Sometimes "great" ouds don't live up to their expectations and "cheap" ouds far surpass them. I won't name any names, but I've more than once come
across factory ouds from GEF and the like that were much better sounding than luthiers' ouds costing many times the price.SamirCanada - 2-25-2014 at 01:37 PM
I am not usally a smart ass but I will allow myself to be with the following statement from my financial background:
"Usually... things are worth what people will pay for them, usually"Lysander - 2-26-2014 at 01:24 AM
Thanks to both of you. I'll set about insuring it, because these things are hard to get hold of in the UK. bulerias1981 - 2-26-2014 at 03:25 PM
Guys, I asked them to write me because I provide an actual official appraisal.. shipped to their address via postal mail and signed by me which the
insurance company can work with. That goes for anyone else out there. Thanks.Nizzle - 2-26-2014 at 03:43 PM
I feel terrible that I created heated feelings on my first post. I apologize. I didn't want to post any pictures or info before finding out if this
type of request was indeed appropriate. I was trying to tread lightly. Who knew...Nizzle - 2-26-2014 at 04:28 PM
Ok - here's the info on the instrument and I've attached a few pictures. I got this Oud from a very special person and I don't want to insult him by
asking what the Oud is worth. I'm interested in knowing what to insure it for, or if I should insure it. Just want a ballpark for the instrument. Btw
- It plays beautifully. Very low action, no buzzing, very even to my novice ears. Thanks in advance!
You should have an experienced player record an audio clip, using as high quality mic as you can get. An experienced player will know how to bring out
the tone, whereas a novice will not so much. The oud has low frequency overtones that require a large condenser mic to capture. Without these
overtones the recording probably won't represent the actual sound. Consider renting a large condenser mic for a day, it will make a world of
difference to the perceived value. This type of mic will also require some equipment, at least an A/D converter to create a digital file to post. You
might be able to rent that as well. As mentioned before, the sound and playability can affect the value by as much as twice, or half, depending on
the result. Actually, playability can be corrected, but tone is a matter of luck.
Or you could send a message to the maker and ask him what it's worth, huh? https://www.facebook.com/udiilyasNizzle - 2-26-2014 at 06:57 PM
Yes, I have tried to contact him via FB. Sadly, no response. I used Google translate to do the English to Turkish translation, which I'm sure is a
hoot. Perhaps he'll respond eventually, as it appears he doesn't frequent FB often.
I happen to own appropriate microphones, pres and recording equipment. I'll try and cobble something listenable together that represents the
instrument as I don't know anyone nearby who could do this for me. It will be something simple...
I feel terrible that I created heated feelings on my first post. I apologize. I didn't want to post any pictures or info before finding out if this
type of request was indeed appropriate. I was trying to tread lightly. Who knew...
Hi Nizzle,
Welcome to the forums. My facetious remark wasn't directed at you and was inappropriate, in any case. The normal response to your request would
have been to ask you to post pictures and details.
Thanks for doing that. It is particularly hard to evaluate Turkish ouds unless they come from a well known maker, or are evaluated by an experienced
player . I have some Turkish ouds that were classified as "student" models and were very inexpensive. They have good quality, well fitted tuning pegs
and the finish is reasonably good. But when compared with a "professional" oud, they are not even close.
Your instrument looks very nice and I expect it will turn out to be a good instrument.
Guys, I asked them to write me because I provide an actual official appraisal.. shipped to their address via postal mail and signed by me which the
insurance company can work with. That goes for anyone else out there. Thanks.
Just out of curiosity...how much do you charge for an official appraisal?Nizzle - 2-27-2014 at 12:57 PM
I'm happy to report the maker of my Oud (Ilyas Cakan)responded to my FB message! I have the information I need. Thanks to all, and apologies for
creating the unintended kerfuffle
best,
-Nizbulerias1981 - 2-27-2014 at 07:28 PM
I charge $50 for appraisal, as I mentioned above, "shipped to their address via postal mail and signed by me which the insurance company can work
with."Brian Prunka - 2-27-2014 at 07:55 PM
That is an entirely reasonable fee.
I dont think most people really need an official appraisal unless it is a particularly valuable or unique instrument, though—you usually only really
need an appraisal if you have a rider specific to the instrument.
But if you have a rare or valuable instrument, an official appraisal like John's would save you a lot of headaches if you ever needed to file a
claim.
