Champione - 1-15-2015 at 03:51 AM
Hello my friends,
There is an oud that I'm interested in, it is an mohamad fadhel, year 1976, 5 strings. According to the seller it is an original oud. Unfortunately I
do not have any pics at the moment. I am wondering how much this is worth? The seller wants 2000 dollars for it. And what should I look after to be
certain of its originality?
Best regards
Alfaraby - 1-15-2015 at 06:35 AM
Welcome aboard.
No photos, no sound file, no info about its general condition, woods, hands, playabilty etc. , no one may give you an idea whatsoever about it, not
the more so about its price. 2k$ may be a very cheap price, like it might be throwing this money away.
Please ask the seller for the missed info, so one
of Fadel's exprts may help.
Good luck
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
Brian Prunka - 1-15-2015 at 07:46 AM
What AlFaraby said—post some photos and we can tell in a minute whether it is likely to be authentic or not.
Champione - 1-15-2015 at 12:37 PM
Thank you for your answers, here are 2 pictures that I received. I asked about the condition, etc..Im waiting for the answer
What do you mean with "hands" and "playability" Alfaraby (I'm a beginner)
[file]34097[/file] [file]34099[/file]
Brian Prunka - 1-15-2015 at 07:19 PM
That oud looks likely to be authentic. It is very similar to this authentic Fadel being sold by Najib Shaheen:
We don't know much about it from the pictures. Most people would prefer to have a 6 course (11 or 12 string) oud. Converting to 6 courses would
involve some work, which would typically be around a couple hundred dollars or so (depending on where you live, could be more or less).
Many older ouds don't have very good pegs, so it is possible that you might need to have new pegs fitted. Occasionally, the neck needs to be reset if
the action has gotten too high (can't tell from these pictures—we'd need a shot of the strings/fingerboard at the neck joint).
I'm not sure what Najib's prices are, but he has 3 authentic Fadel ouds for sale that I personally have played. They all sound great and have
excellent action and new pegs, and are set up for 6 courses. I don't know where you live, but before buying this oud, I would recommend at least
checking with Najib. His phone number is 212-260-1434.
Oud Gallery
Champione - 1-16-2015 at 01:49 PM
Thank you for the information Brian! I will contact him (from sweden
). I
understand what you mean, I read on Mr najeebs website that it should not be mote than 3mm between the course and the fingerboard. Im still waiting
for answer from the seller...
Matthias - 1-17-2015 at 06:28 AM
Hello,
recently I had here for a repair a similar model from M. Fadhel. The client has baught it directly from Iraq. It was packed badly unfortunately and
got a long crack in one rib, which could be repaired by fortune without problems.
The pegs where bad indeed - btw. Brian, I count 12 pegs in Campione's picture, so it is a 6-string instrument - the varnish was horribble, it was
totally sticky and must be removed. And some time after the client got the instrument back, the "original" bridge went off and must be renewed
At the instrument you show us here, I'm wondering about the straigt outline at the bottom of the body. The instrument I repaired and the one Brian
showed us, this area is round. And I discovered my M. Fadhel picture database and could not find any other instrument showing this straigt line. Any
other here knows one with that straigt line?
Also the rose give me doubts. All patterns I do know have the note lines, so Brians pic and mine. I never saw this rose design. Someone knows this
design?
I recommend to be careful in buying a MF for 2k not having it in hand before. My client payed less.
Best regards
Matthias
[file]34109[/file]
Brian Prunka - 1-17-2015 at 09:37 AM
You're right that there are pegs for 6 courses, but he had said that it was 5 and there are only 5 on it so I wasn't sure if it was actually set up
for 6. It could require some modification (for instance if the nut and bridge were set up to have the low C as the first course).
I'm not sure what you're talking about with the rosette . . . here are a couple of others from Najib:
That's a good observation about the contour of the oud—I missed that. It is unusually squared-off. However, the oud has the typical bakelite
fingerboard of the Fadels, which is not something I've seen on fakes before. I still think it is more likely to be genuine than not. But that shape
does give me pause, and I would be cautious without seeing and playing it in person.
My general feeling about "authenticity" is that it is not something I will pay extra for—I will pay for a great sounding oud that feels great. I am
not a collector or a museum. To me, a Nahat or Fadel, Karibyan, etc. is not worth more because of the name or history—only because they are
generally great instruments. I still prefer to base decisions on having played the oud. If I played this and it was as good as the Fadels I have
played, it would be worth $2K, authentic or not. Not being able to play it, "authenticity" is merely a way of hopefully reducing the risk of buying
an instrument at a distance.