Mike's Oud Forums

Strings

theodoropoulos - 10-4-2015 at 03:23 AM

Could you please inform me which exact set of PYRAMID strings do i need for TURKISH tuning,and any good alternatives....
i want
dd'' aa'' ee'' bb'' f#f#'' b' (from high to low)
Forgive me for this idiot question but i see everywhere the "Aoud" ...What does this mean?Is it Arabic oud??Because i see it in turkish tunings strings sets..

Matthias - 10-4-2015 at 05:32 AM

Hello,

are you sure with the low b'? I never saw this tuning.

I offer many custom Pyramid sets. One which comes close to your desired tuning is:
http://music-strings.de/index.php?a=13805&lang=eng
If you insist of the low b' you can cange the the PY 1237 to PY 1441

Best regards

Matthias

Lysander - 10-4-2015 at 05:39 AM

I've used this set a couple of times, it's excellent. Shame it's currently out of stock. It also suggests the B as an alternative to the C#.

http://www.oudstrings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=...

Jody Stecher - 10-4-2015 at 06:36 AM

theodoropoulos: over the years I have heard my Palestinian and Egyptian friends pronounce the instrument that is most often spelled O-U-D in a way that is better represented by "AOUD". Sometimes it is even more than 3 syllables. 3 and a half maybe ! I have heard Armenian friends say it in a way that not even "UD" is short enough. The vowel is begun by closing the throat. Since there are many ways to say it, there are many ways to spell it.

Matthias: the tuning with the low B is a standard Turkish tuning. Very common. A string intended for C# usually works fine since raising a single course doesn't exert as much pressure as a double course.

Matthias - 10-4-2015 at 06:47 AM

Hello,

are you sure with the low b'? I never saw this tuning.

I offer many custom Pyramid sets. One which comes close to your desired tuning is:
http://music-strings.de/index.php?a=13805&lang=eng
If you insist of the low b' you can cange the the PY 1237 to PY 1441

Best regards

Matthias

Brian Prunka - 10-4-2015 at 07:38 AM

Low B is fairly common in Turkish tuning, I have many customers who use it.
They will often use both low B and low C# tuning depending on the repertoire.

As Jody said, the Arabic word oud begins with the ‘ayn sound. If you were to transliterate the Arabic for oud, it would look like: 3wd. So "Aoud" is an alternative way of transliterating "oud". Turks and Armenians use latin script and write "ud" (and also pronounce it that way). Simon Shaheen tried to popularize the spelling ‘ud as a more accurate transliteration of the Arabic, but it didn't really catch on :)

Pyramid doesn't make a standard set for that tuning. D'addario's J95 set will work, as will LaBellas OU80 set.
Otherwise, your options are custom sets, such as the Pyramid "lute", or LaBella.
The LaBella are quite a bit less expensive than the Pyramid but are very good strings.

theodoropoulos - 10-4-2015 at 06:49 PM

Thank you all for your time and suggestions!!!
:D:)

Jody Stecher - 10-4-2015 at 09:41 PM

Musicaravan has a Necati Çelik set that works well in this tuning. I have tuned LaBella 80s this way with good results. When I've use Pyramid lute strings on Turkish oud I found that #1237 sounded good tuned to B. It didn't feel too slack or sound too quiet tuned lower than C#. I also have tuned it up a half step to D for Rast makam and found no significant change in tension on the string or on the oud.

Matthias - 10-6-2015 at 01:49 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Jody Stecher  

Matthias: the tuning with the low B is a standard Turkish tuning. Very common. A string intended for C# usually works fine since raising a single course doesn't exert as much pressure as a double course.


Thanks Jody for that note. You know I'm selling many strings, but I really never had a request about that tuning. May be it comes from the fact the players use the C/C# string and tune it up and down.

But be aware between b and D there is a difference in tension of nearly 10 Newton, which is a lot. I prefer in my custom sets to avoid that difference.

Matthias

Jody Stecher - 10-6-2015 at 07:22 AM

Yes, using the C# string is what is done because few if any Turkjish oud players play in one tuning for every makam. Right, a big difference between B and D in tension .A string gauged for C# at a vibrating length of 58.5 will easily go up to D without adding much tension to the oud and will also go down to B without a loss of volume and without feeling floppy like an overcooked noodle.
Quote: Originally posted by Matthias  
Quote: Originally posted by Jody Stecher  

Matthias: the tuning with the low B is a standard Turkish tuning. Very common. A string intended for C# usually works fine since raising a single course doesn't exert as much pressure as a double course.


Thanks Jody for that note. You know I'm selling many strings, but I really never had a request about that tuning. May be it comes from the fact the players use the C/C# string and tune it up and down.

But be aware between b and D there is a difference in tension of nearly 10 Newton, which is a lot. I prefer in my custom sets to avoid that difference.

Matthias