Mostafa Harake - 10-28-2014 at 11:03 AM
Hello Guys,
This is my first post in this community. I am from Lebanon and I live in the UK.
Recently, I fell in love with the Oud and I started trying to learn how to play Oud. I bought a book and watched loads of Videos.
Now I think I need to buy an Oud and, of course, I need your advice.
I short listed my options (for example I excluded Egyptian Ouds on Arab Instruments). I am not sure if I should buy an Ibrahim Sukar Oud from ebay
(especially that if I receive the Oud, I can't tell if it's an authentic Ibrahim Sukar or a copy) or buy an Oud from Michael Moussa.
Please help me make my decision.
I would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Best Wishes
rex2009 - 10-28-2014 at 11:20 AM
Salamat mustafa
If you live in the uk, my advice to you is to contact Michael Mousa and make an apointment to visit him and try his ouds and you won't be
disappointed. Oud is one of those things that you need to try it before you buy it. Certainly buying Oud from eBay is very risky. Best of luck and
keep us posted.
Mostafa Harake - 10-28-2014 at 12:16 PM
Salam Rex,
I will contact Mr. Moussa and see what he has as ready Ouds, because I'm not willing to wait 6 months 
.
I had very bad experiences with ebay (especially with cell phones). So, this makes me more scared. In addition to the over pricing of the Sukar Ouds
over the web in general.
Whenever I get an Oud I wil post pictures because I have no clue how to play the Oud 
.
Regards
danieletarab - 10-28-2014 at 04:04 PM
Hello, and welcome!
In these days I am in contact with Mr Moussa myself. He's showing me several photos and videos of his ouds. He has basically 2 ranges of price: 800 or
1200 dollars. As far as I know, the difference in price is not a difference in quality, but in decoration (the 800 dollars ones are simple, without
rosettes, with few ornaments). I have never played one of his ouds, but if I have to judge from the videos, Moussa ouds sound much better than Sukar.
Moreover, he's extremely kind and helpful. I wouldn't have any doubt: go to Mr Moussa and get the chance to try his ouds!
Mostafa Harake - 10-28-2014 at 04:21 PM
Hello Daniel and thanks for welcoming me.
Yes for sure I will see his Ouds, I will visit him.
Somebody also told me about the Faruk Tunuz Ouds.
It all depends on what he offers me.
I will keep you posted, I need your opinion Daniel.
Regards
SamirCanada - 10-29-2014 at 05:37 AM
Welcome Mostafa,
check this before you buy a oud. http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6809
Being a new comer to the oud world is hard because of information overload. There are so many options available, I would also say keep an eye on the
buy and sell oud corner of this website, generally speaking members who are active here and have a good record of being trust worthy can be the source
of excellent ouds.
Mostafa Harake - 10-29-2014 at 06:53 AM
Thanks Samir.
This link if very informative and it has almost everything one needs.
Again, thank you for guiding me.
Regards,
Mostafa
markus - 10-29-2014 at 01:07 PM
It may sound a bit biased but you will never know who is Michael Moussa till you meet him in person then you will never come back empty handed, the
least you would get of him is an oud!!!. He is a fountain of music, knowledge, generosity and humility. So make a tour first and make him the last
station to realise the difference. Best thing about it is that he is not after your money but after your satisfaction and will help you make the right
choice.
One time I took a friend to his place to buy one of his ouds and the guy brought with him his old oud and when Michael tried the guy's oud he shouted
him what are you here for, this is better than my ouds all together. the oud needed suitable stings and a new nut with minor work on the action which
he did all for free and it tuned up to be a huge instrument
best of luck
Mostafa Harake - 10-30-2014 at 04:14 AM
Hello Marcus,
Thank you for your participation.
In what follows I will mention my opinion in Michael as a person and as an Oud maker. I know that some people here on this forum had some issues with
him but, at the end of the day, misunderstanding happens all the time and <b>shoot</b> happens anywhere.
Yesterday in the afternoon I took the train to Dr. Michael Moussa (he's a pediatric) and he came and took me in his car from the train station to his
home.
I can tell you that what you mentioned about him is all true, and even more. He is not after money and he makes Ouds just as a hobby i think. Add to
that he is a great person and a real artist.
When we arrived at his home, he showed me 5 Ouds. I wanted to compare their sound and their quality. All of them are really robust and highly finished
but some of them are much more decorated (the ones for 1200$). There were 3 for 1200 and 2 for 800. And I just wanted a good Oud with a nice sound as
a start, which made me exclude the 1200 ones.
In my case, I am an absolute beginner so I didn't know how to play the Ouds. I asked him to play some song that I know with the two 800$ Ouds and he
did for about 15 minutes (he was shifitng between them all time so that i can compare their sounds). At the end I made up my mind and chose one which
I attached its pictures.
This Oud fits my size and the sound is traditional arabic (strong, deep and mellow), which I liked a lot.
Also I asked him for a hard case and showed me a really nice hard case which I took. I paid 600 GBP in total. He also gave me extra strings (pyramid)
and a lot of picks in addition to a complete new set of ebony keys, all for free.
At the end he took me back to the train station. He is really a great person.
Cheers,
Mostafa
[file]33040[/file] [file]33042[/file]
Gocauo - 10-30-2014 at 09:07 AM
That's a *really* nice looking oud!
Mostafa Harake - 10-30-2014 at 09:42 AM
Thank you Gocaou