Mike's Oud Forums

Mirjanian oud wanted

Andy - 12-23-2004 at 11:01 AM

I am looking to buy an oud made by John Mirjanian from Pennsylvania. Please contact me antronig@yahoo.com

Zulkarnain - 12-24-2004 at 12:47 AM

Hi

Are you Andy Kasparian from Kaira Oud forum?


Salam

Andy - 12-24-2004 at 09:33 PM

Hello Zulkarnain, yes, I am the same Andy Kasparian.

What?

Chris_Khouri - 12-25-2004 at 02:20 PM

:applause:


What's going on over here? A luthier? in Pennsylvania??? Where!!

Awesome, I want to go visit his store. This is really cool.

Chris

Jonathan - 12-25-2004 at 02:29 PM

I am pretty sure he is no longer making ouds, but I am hoping that somebody can give a brief profile. I have heard that his work was very meticulous, and his ouds exceptional.

Andy - 12-27-2004 at 08:39 PM

I don't know anything about him. I don't know if his work was meticulous but was told that his sound boards were very delicate. The 2 that I heard sounded good but not exceptional that is not to say that he didn't make great instruments.

Merjanian Ouds...

paulO - 3-16-2005 at 07:01 PM

Hi Andy,

John Merjanian lives in Folsom, PA. Two other friends and I ordered ouds from John in 1985 and 1987. John is a meticulous craftsman, and his esthetics with wood are unsurpassed. The tone is just average, although there are a couple that sound pretty good. John built his ouds to last -- they are quite a bit heaiver than the Karibians we were comparing them with. He was really particualr about the action on his instruments, he got some very low action with minimal buzzing. He was also an excellent repairman. Unfortunately, he's not building or repairing ouds anymore.

Regards,

Paul

Jonathan - 3-16-2005 at 08:23 PM

PaulO, do you know when he stopped making ouds? Any idea how many he made?

Andy - 3-17-2005 at 05:54 PM

Hi PaulO,
Two oud players out here on the East Coast, Leo Derderian and Zaven Donabedian, play Mirjanian ouds, I'm sure there are many more. Many years ago Leo mentioned to me that if I wanted John Mirijanian to build one for me to hurry because he was aging. Someone from Florida did offer to sell me one but had a change of heart. If you or anyone you know of wants to part with their Mirijanian oud just let me know. You can get my contact info on the membership list.
Thanks,
Andy

Jonathan - 3-17-2005 at 06:52 PM

I am not looking to buy one, but if anybody has a picture of one that they can post, that would be great.

paulO - 3-17-2005 at 07:40 PM

Hi Andy,

I forgot about Leo, but another guy who knew John well, and visited his shop was Greg Vosbikian (on one occasion, when one of my ouds was finished, he had Greag play it while John held up the phone !!) and George Mgrdichian had some repair work done by John, oh -- another guy was Joe Kouyoumjian (sp??). Let me see if I can find out what's going on with John. Good luck on your quest.

Regards...Paul

Andy - 3-17-2005 at 08:35 PM

Paul,
Thanks again. I would imagine he did all the repairs for the Philly area and beyond. I heard his prices were very resonable. Paul do you play professionally or like me, play for your own enjoyment?
Andy

Andy - 3-19-2005 at 09:00 PM

Hi PaulO,
Just to let you know that I spoke with John Friday. A very interesting man. He let me know that he isn't making ouds anymore, serious health problems. He really didn't want to talk but did and I could tell it was an effort.

Johnathan,
The Papazian oud maker that I mentioned to you is none other than John Merjanian's uncle. Papazian didn't make very many ouds. John learned from his uncle and also spent a week with Hadi Usta just watching him build. I may have misunderstood this but I believe John said that is the same shop where Hadi and Karibyan learned from Manol.

Jonathan - 3-21-2005 at 08:47 PM

Thanks a lot, Andy. I really appreciate the information. If you ever get your Merjanian, I would love to post a picture on my website. I appreciate the information very much. Shad Shnorhagalem.

Re: Merjanian

Hank Levin - 3-23-2005 at 08:50 PM

Hank here. On Paul's recommendation, I had John Merjanian put a face on an oud I was building, a copy of a Karabyan (owned by Pyrrus Ruchus in NYC in the 60's) made of black Brazilian rosewood with green and white purfling. I supplied the spruce, which I'd purchased 20 years previous from Metropolitan Music in NYC. He REALLY liked the spruce I'd sent for the face. He worked on the neck, and really went out of his way to match my green purfling. John then sent it back, and I finished it. I was very fortunate--thanks, Paul--it came out world class. Sumptuous treble--which John wasn't normally known for. Necati Çelik has performed with it in concert. A few years later I made a pilgrimage to see John at his house near Chester, PA where I'd lived as a kid. He was very kind and open--but quite eccentric, with a cluttered house full of wood and stuff. His shop was very neat, though.

Shortly afterward he had his phone disconnected, as he spent too much $ on calls. (He was very free with information, and spent a lot of time on the phone with me. If he was doing that on his own nickle with people, I can see why he wanted to get rid of his phone!) I tried to connect with him later from time to time, but could not get any message to him through relatives. He'd developed a reputation for not getting repairs out, and holding onto instruments forever.

I'm really grateful for the oud, and for having had the opportunity to meet this very unusual usta.

paulO - 3-24-2005 at 07:26 PM

Hi Andy,

I have to concur with Hank about how his oud came out, just great. I'm glad you had a chance to talk with John, I spent many an hour on the phone with the guy, both on his and my dime...it's a bummer about his health. Another side note; he has some cool reel to reel tapes of his uncle Charlie Merjanian a very good singer...some time back I'd hoped he would send one to me, but it didn't work out. One story goes that Charlie was singing with Oudi Hrant at some place in the Catskils, and Charlie got more applause than Hrant...so Charlie was off the gig after that !! Lastly, I do play professionally; Amenian and Turkish music, along with some Arabic, and Greek.

Cheers...PaulO

Merjanian oud

MrOud - 3-24-2005 at 08:03 PM

Hi all.
Ara Dinkjian owns an oud by Merjanian. This is an interesting story. Ara waited for two years for the oud to be completed by Merjanian. This was about 10 or 12 years ago. I met with Ara at a family gathering the day he picked up the oud. It was a very good looking insturment. We took turns playing it and neither one of us was happy with the way it sounded. We both agreed that it was loud but had way too much treble for our taste. Ara actually decided to sell the oud. Chuck Yegian the darbuka player was interested in buying it. Chuck was going to sell me his Hamza usta oud and buy Ara's Merjanian with the money.
A couple of weeks later Ara played that oud in a recording for Arto Tuncboyaciyan. For the purpose of that recording he tuned the oud down by two tones. The result was almost magical. Beautiful treble, nice rounded bass and still loud. Everyone fell in love with the way it sounded. Of course Ara changed his mind about selling it, and so did Chuck about selling his Hamza.

Regards
Udi Mike

Andy - 3-24-2005 at 09:20 PM

Hank, thanks for the interesting story. John was very concerned about my phone bill. I assured him that it didn't matter. Are you still building? What ever happened to the Manol you were selling a few years ago?

Paul, forgot to mention that when I mentioned PaulO from California he seemed to know who I was talking about. I mentioned you iin regards to this group. I never heard of Charlie Merjanian. Was he on any recordings other than reel to reel? Did you ever hear the late Robert Afarian? Oh man what a voice he had!

Udi Mike, the only Merjanian ouds I've heard are the ones he made for Leo Derderian and Zaven Donabedian and love the sound. The 7 course oud I built a couple of years ago had a sound problem too even tried other brands of strings and then discovered that all I had to do is tune it to G instead of A and it was like magic, great sound.

Mike - 3-24-2005 at 11:41 PM

Hey guys,

This is a great thread. I loved reading all your stories. Very cool. Thanks for sharing them.

Take care,
Mike

Manol

Hank Levin - 3-25-2005 at 07:34 PM

Dear Andy,

To answer your two questions: "Are you still building? What ever happened to the Manol you were selling a few years ago?"

I am not building now, but doing some limited repairs. I have plans to go to Turkey and hopefully build a few ouds while I'm there.

That Manol went back to Turkey with Necati. I don't know what he did with it. It had a face that was replaced a long time ago, very nice work possibly in the shop of Karabyan or Haday Usta.

I now have another Manol , with the original face in incredible condition. It was built in 1905. Photos will be available in a week or so.--Hank

Jonathan - 3-27-2005 at 09:52 AM

Does anybody happen to know the correct spelling of his name? Mirijanian? Mirjanian?
Also, any chance he is related to Ray Mirijanian, the oud player (whom I am familiar with only through a pretty cool old LP on Mirta Records)

oudmaker - 3-27-2005 at 02:47 PM

Jonathan
The oud maker is John Mirjanian. He worked with me on oud making early 1970ies. I took him to Turkey. We visited Hadi Usta's shop together. I also introduce him to some other instrument makers at that time. I knew all his family, his father Steve whom my kids called DEDE means grandfather. My father and his father corresponded with each other for long time. During 70ies he had relatives living in Istanbul. We made his first instrument together in his basement. It was a kanun which I still have it. I knew his brother his two sisters as well. His father who was the "dancing teacher" of my kids, died when he was 94 years old. If my memory is correct John had a oudmaker uncle or another relative he called "uncle charlie"

As far as late Raymond Mirijanian, the "pretty cool old LP" has a violin player name Garib. That is me. I played with Ray starting 1968 at old Middleast Restourant in Philly and untill he got sick . That is about 15 years or more. He was a very good man and a true friend.

Some history ha?;);)

Dincer

Jonathan - 3-27-2005 at 03:19 PM

Dincer, Thanks! I really do love that LP--I wish they put it out on CD, because a lot of people have not heard it, and it is just wonderful. A small, small world.
Putting together your info with some info that I got from Andy, I am guessing that "Uncle Charlie" might have been Charlie Papazian, but I guess I will have to look into that further.
I really love these bits of info--thanks a lot.

Andy - 3-28-2005 at 07:54 PM

Hank, I'll be looking for the photos of that Manol, hope you post them on this site.

Andy - 3-28-2005 at 08:16 PM

Dincer, It is great to read the piece about you and John.
I am familiar with Ray Mirijanian playing oud but I thought he was better known for playing the clarinet in the 60's with George Mgrditchian on oud.

Jonathan - 3-29-2005 at 02:39 PM

Dincer, I think I have a different LP. The one I have is The Ray Mirijanian Oud and Clarinet on Mirta. Unfortunately, this one does not have a violin. He must have put out more than one. I do like this one a lot.

Spelling...

paulO - 3-29-2005 at 04:13 PM

Man, this is a cool thread...great stories. The spelling of John's last name -- at least the one I used when writing to him was Merjanian.

Cheers...Paul

oudman - 3-29-2005 at 04:33 PM

can any of you transfer the lps to mp3s and share with us? sounds like great stuff!

Jonathan - 3-29-2005 at 06:31 PM

Dincer, I U2Ud you.

oudmaker - 3-30-2005 at 05:46 PM

Paul
You are right. Correct spelling of John's last name Merjanian.
I took him to a place in Istanbul which his grandfather or one of his family member use to own. The place still exist and it is called MERCAN HAN. In Turkish "mercan" means coral, red coral and "han" means a place that contains some shops or rooms for rent.
Mirijanian is a make-up word in old Ottoman. It is "Mir-i jan-ian" Mir-jan or Mir-i can made up with two words "mir" means had of an army or state or master in Persian; like "Amir" in Arabic, "jan" or as spelled in Turkish "can" means soul in Turkish. You probably know "ian" or as spelled in Turkish "yan" means "son of" in Armenian. This is a very good example of how three different cultures influence each other.
So Raymonds last name was "Son of a soul master" I also told him so!!.
Regards
Dincer

Andy - 3-31-2005 at 10:09 AM

For a sample of one of John Mirjanian's oud go to:
http://www.cdbaby.com/derderian the song that starts with yegooryegoor and Middle East Fantasy are both instrumentals with Leo Derderian on oud.

Jonathan - 10-12-2005 at 06:27 PM

Does anybody know if this is a Merjan oud? It was on the cover of one of Leo Derderian's cds--a reissue of a 1984 lp. I have never seen one of Merjanian's ouds, and I am really curious. I know that the oud on the cover of the Armenian Legacy cd really looks like a Karibyan, but this one does not. Anybody know for sure?

Jonathan - 10-14-2005 at 10:09 AM

By the way, Dincer, I finally picked up that album with you and the Ray Mirijanian group. I found a mint copy, still sealed in the original shrink wrap, on ebay, and sure enough, there was Garib on violin, and as well as your vocal on one of the tracks, and your really nice rebab taksim. Great to hear.
Thought folks might be interested in the liner notes:


"Where else can you hear the wailing violin (keman) of Garib vibrate through a fantastic array of Oriental modes? Alternating between the keman, the nay, and the rebab, Garib brings to his American debut years of study in a Conservatory of Music in Turkey. His knowledge of Oriental modes (makams) is fantatstic and other musicians flock from near and far to hear him."

Andy - 10-24-2005 at 12:15 PM

Just to keep this alive, still looking for a Mirjanian oud.
http://www.geocities.com/antronig/oud.html

Jonathan - 11-22-2005 at 02:27 PM

Again, I don't want to buy one, so, if somebody has one to sell, contact Andy. But, I am just trying to learn a little bit more about this guy, and the number of ouds that he made.
The oud dated March 15, 1983 is numbered 34.
The oud dated November 21, 1983 is numbered 35.
So, I am guessing that this is the actual number of ouds that he had made at the time (seems obvious, but it is not. Numbering on ouds by some makers actually is in code).
Any idea when he made his last oud? Any idea of how many were made all together? If anybody else has any dates with corresponding numbers for his ouds, please let me know.
Thanks

Andy - 11-22-2005 at 08:44 PM

Jonathan recalling my one conversation with John I would think the one person that knew John's work the best to the end was Greg Vosbikian. I would think he would know exactly how many ouds were built by John. Good luck and BTW the oud you are building looks great.

Jonathan - 11-23-2005 at 06:51 PM

Thanks, Andy. Unfortunately, I don't know Greg. I will keep looking around for more info. I appreciate the tip.

Michael376 - 7-1-2008 at 02:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Andy
Hi PaulO,
Two oud players out here on the East Coast, Leo Derderian and Zaven Donabedian, play Mirjanian ouds, I'm sure there are many more. Many years ago Leo mentioned to me that if I wanted John Mirijanian to build one for me to hurry because he was aging. Someone from Florida did offer to sell me one but had a change of heart. If you or anyone you know of wants to part with their Mirijanian oud just let me know. You can get my contact info on the membership list.
Thanks,
Andy


I have a Mirjanian oud that i bought from my teacher Peter Dorian. It's a nice instrument. Also my oud teacher was selling two Mirjanian ouds and he may still have the other one, I don't know if he's sold it yet.

Michael376 - 7-1-2008 at 02:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jonathan
Does anybody know if this is a Merjan oud? It was on the cover of one of Leo Derderian's cds--a reissue of a 1984 lp. I have never seen one of Merjanian's ouds, and I am really curious. I know that the oud on the cover of the Armenian Legacy cd really looks like a Karibyan, but this one does not. Anybody know for sure?


i'll upload a pic of my mirjanian oud and tell you how you can tell if it's a mirjanian in a bit. i don't have time to upload it right now but i will today.