SamirCanada - 1-25-2005 at 03:12 PM
I was looking around town for ouds and I found this guy who has a couple of Ali khalifeh ouds.. There not great quality but are a big step up from my
tourist oud.
the bowl is walnut, the pegs and the peg box arent finished properly, the rosettes are plastic. There is inlay around the fingerboard. How much should
a oud like that go for?
mawoud - 1-25-2005 at 11:21 PM
Hi Samir,
I bought 2 Ali Khalif's ouds from Lebanon 2 years ago for $300 each but I have to say they had a great sound and they looked to me like
intermediate ouds not tourist ouds or begginer's ouds. they were dated 1992. I have access to Mouwafaq Khalifa's ouds here in New York.
Those ouds looks nice but I would put them somewhere between intermediate and begginners ouds, not touristic though. Maybe if you replace the strings
with a better quality ones the sound should be better. They go for around $250 with the soft case.
P.S. I'm not sure whether Mouwafaq is the son of Ali Khalifa or his cousin.
Take care.
Nader
walkad - 1-26-2005 at 03:59 AM
The genuin Ali Khalifa ouds are of greate quality and cannot be found for lesser than 1000$. You should be aware that khalifes ouds are frequently
faked.
I am not sure, but I think Muwaffaq is Ali Khalifes son.
Right
SamirCanada - 1-26-2005 at 03:27 PM
Right you are man. They didnt seem to me as bad as tourist oud but still not professional. He's asking 275 for it witch is in the range you
stated. But it definetly has to be made by Mouwafak because there new. I dont like the fact that there is a wood nut and the plastic rosettes are
unapealing and so are the pegs. Should I bargin it down?. at what price would it be worth buying?. Thanks guys
Ali Khalifah Oud
spyrosc - 1-26-2005 at 07:06 PM
Dear friends,
I have made a small study of the Khalifah ouds and everything you guys said so far is right on, except that Mouaffaq is Ali's NEPHEW. Ali died a
few years back. Mouaffaq took over the business and started making those lower quality ouds. When Ali was still alive they had some REALLY good
quality stuff.
As far as the price goes, it's really hard to tell without actually seeing it up close and hearing it, but I would say $ 275 or less.
Spyros C.
Ali Khalifah Oud
spyrosc - 1-26-2005 at 07:10 PM
I also forgot to ask if there is varnish on the face or not.
Mouaffaq tends to overdo the varnish on the face, making it very glossy looking for tourist appeal which totally kills the sound in this case. The
ouds sound very dead.
I saw one of those on eBay some time ago go for about $ 160
Does it have a narrow green-and-reg purfling around the face or not ? Old Ali used to put that purfling, Mouaffaq doesn't any more.
Spyros C.
SamirCanada - 1-26-2005 at 09:09 PM
Calimera Spyros
There was no varnish on the ouds faces. And even the owner of the shop took a oud witch he keeps in the back and showed me a model with the bowl
covered in mozaic.. so much you couldnt see the wood anymore. And that one was completly unvarnished the bowl and everything else. And as he tried to
sell me it for (800$) claiming that one was profesional. He added that every professional player when they buy there oud has little adjustments to
make on it, in ex: varnishing, pegs even some wood work to suit it to there preference. Clearly he doesnt know much about ouds. Cuz the only thing
different was the mozaic in the back.. you still had poor pegs, a weak fingerboard covered in mozaic and plastic Rosettes. I am gona try to see if I
can bring the price down to a 100$ and then I might consider it.
Anyways people reading this I would like to get a she7ata oud, there much nicer in my opinion and it would be worth paying for. Please email me your
offers if your looking to sell. thank you