Mike's Oud Forums

Which of these oud makers would you recommend?

Kerjiji - 10-20-2015 at 03:32 PM

Dear all,
I'm looking for your advices and recommendations to select a maker and then order a very good student Arabic oud.
My budget is 1600$ max and I selected 3 oud makers:
- Fadi Matta
- Dimitris Rapakousios
- Ali Nisardi

I want an oud with real great sound more than great esthetic with inlays,...

Thanks in advance

Brian Prunka - 10-20-2015 at 07:43 PM

Why did you choose these three?

Fadi Matta's ouds don't have a traditional Arabic sound.
Dimitris makes nice ouds, but is not coming from an Arab aesthetic.
Ali Nisadir is Turkish.

It seems strange to me if you want an Arabic oud, but none of the makers you listed are making traditional Arabic ouds.
If I were you, I would probably get a Sukar and save the other $8-900 for repairs and upgrades.

I don't know where you're located, you could talk to Najib Shaheen, he sometimes has ouds in your price range: http://www.oudman.com
He has many professional and higher-level student instruments.

Unfortunately good mid-price Arabic ouds are hard to come by. Lately, I've been playing an inexpensive Sukar that has been upgraded by Najib—it sounds great, very traditional Arabic sound. Stays in tune, easy to tune and easy to play. Personally, I am very hesitant to buy any oud I haven't played first. Even the "good" makers seem to turn out inconsistent instruments—I wouldn't want to pay for an oud and not like it when it was built.

spyblaster - 10-21-2015 at 04:35 AM

I have seen an oud made by Dimitris, it was for my good friend and forum member Fadel. It was awesome.

Oud Freak - 10-21-2015 at 04:48 AM

Hey Kerjiji, sent u a u2u...

Jason - 10-21-2015 at 05:18 AM

Agreed that a Sukar will be hard to beat for an authentic Arabic sound in that price range. There really isn't a whole lot out there in that price range that will get you THAT sound.

Brian, what kinds of upgrades were done to your Sukar?

SamirCanada - 10-21-2015 at 05:48 AM

There is also Zaher Khalifeh, Hussein Sabsaby and Zeryab oud all based in Syria. Palestine has some good makers too like Simaan Kamil Mowais, Abu Alaa

you are also in the price range of a Maurice Shehata oud like Abady el Johar plays.

I think all their ouds sound is quite good.

Brian Prunka - 10-21-2015 at 05:52 AM

Jason, it had a lot of problems. He re-fit some pegs, did a bone nut, adjusted the neck, fixed several loose braces, fixed a couple of small cracks in the face, and did a new bridge, and reattached and reinforced the (broken) pegbox. I bought it used from someone who got it as a gift, it had been neglected for some time. I got a really good deal on the price since it had so many issues, it was worth it to fix it though.

Brian Prunka - 10-21-2015 at 06:01 AM

Quote: Originally posted by SamirCanada  
There is also Zaher Khalifeh, Hussein Sabsaby and Zeryab oud all based in Syria. Palestine has some good makers too like Simaan Kamil Mowais, Abu Alaa

you are also in the price range of a Maurice Shehata oud like Abady el Johar plays.

I think all their ouds sound is quite good.


Good suggestions. I think Mowais and Abu Alaa might be out of that price range. I didn't know about Zeryab—he's doing nice work.

spyblaster - 10-21-2015 at 01:16 PM

Yildirim Palabiyik also makes awesome ouds in that range, both Turkish and Arabic.

Alfaraby - 10-21-2015 at 11:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka  
I think Mowais and Abu Alaa might be out of that price range.
They both are in this price range, but adding shipping costs and a hardcase, they could easily be out of that range.
It all depends on the customer's location.

Good luck
Yours indeed
Alfaraby

JT Model by Veysel Sarikus

Marcus - 10-21-2015 at 11:57 PM

As I`m the proud owner of the JT model from Veysel Sarikus, and really love this oud, I have to add it.

JT signature oud

Omar Al-Mufti - 10-22-2015 at 01:37 AM

With 1600$ you can get a really good oud.
Since you are looking for Arabic oud, there are a lot of Arabic oud luthiers, but you didn't specify if you want it with fixed bridge or floating bridge.
Fixed bridge arabid ouds you can get, as Samir mentioned, Sabsaby, Zaher, Zeryab, I would add Samir Alkebbeh and his brother Salem, George Bitar, Peter Sayegh, Beshar Halabi, in addition to a lot of Iraqi Luthiers: Ayad Al Aswad, Jihad Family, Fawzy Minshid, who produce both types of ouds.
Floating bridge ouds are an Iraqi speciality I have to say. Hafez Sulayman from Syria produces great floating bridge ouds.
Sarikus, Nisadir, Mehmet Caymaz, and the great Yildirim can make Turkish ouds that sound great for Arabic tuning and Arabic music.

Marcus - 10-22-2015 at 02:11 AM
Quote:

Sarikus, Nisadir, Mehmet Caymaz, and the great Yildirim can make Turkish ouds that sound great for Arabic tuning and Arabic music.



How do you difine turkish or arab ouds?
Isn`t it the bracing and stringlengh that made an arab/turkish oud ?
The country where it is made or the nationality of the maker is no criteria, or?

Brian Prunka - 10-22-2015 at 06:58 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Marcus  

Quote:

Sarikus, Nisadir, Mehmet Caymaz, and the great Yildirim can make Turkish ouds that sound great for Arabic tuning and Arabic music.



How do you difine turkish or arab ouds?
Isn`t it the bracing and stringlengh that made an arab/turkish oud ?
The country where it is made or the nationality of the maker is no criteria, or?


What defines an an Arabic oud is that it has an Arabic sound. This may sound like a facetious response, but it isn't.
Makers find the right construction methods to achieve the sound that they imagine in their mind. Ultimately, it is an aesthetic perspective that creates the sound of the instrument.

In a sense, you are right—the nationality of the maker seems like it shouldn't matter, as long as they have a clear aesthetic sense of the traditional Arabic sound. However, in practice, it seems that makers develop a particular aesthetic and it influences all their work.

There are Turkish makers who make ouds that sound good in Arabic tuning, but after hearing and playing a great many of these ouds, I have yet to find one that really sounds Arabic. I like the way Turunz's and Sarikus's ouds sound, but to me they sound like Turkish-Arabic ouds.

There are differences among Arabic ouds as well, but there is something different about Syrian, Palestinian, Lebanese, Egyptian and Iraqi ouds that I have never found in any Turkish oud (except the very old ones, like Manol, Galib Bey, Karibyan).

Kerjiji - 10-22-2015 at 09:08 AM

A great thanks for these answers and advices. They are vey helpful!
As you've understood I'm trying to acquire knowledge to avoid making the wrong purchase.
I like the Sukar idea.. (thanks Brian)