Mike's Oud Forums

Aquilla 130 : Can I go for turkish tuning on 58.5 oud?

stos - 9-2-2016 at 08:51 AM

Hello people!

I think almost everything is in the title :

I will put some new aquilla 130 (light tension) with initial tuning C Ff aa dd gg cc
on my turkish oud (58.5) with the tuning D Gg aa dd gg cc

first question : is this ok?

Second question : If I want to go for turkish tuning E Aa bb ee aa dd on this same oud, is it still ok?

I thought about this because I presume they are made for longer diapason no?

Thanks a lot!

Christos

Jody Stecher - 9-2-2016 at 09:18 AM

Stos, your assumption about the 130 set being intended for longer diapason is sensible and reasonable. But Aquila is not sensible or reasonable. They have been told over and over what oud players require and they are very slow to comprehend or to believe. This is a pity because some of their string formulations sound very good indeed on many instruments and because they have worked so hard at research and development.

There is no danger using this set at 58.5 using either of the Arabic tunings you mention.

I would not use these strings for E Aa bb ee aa dd on an oud with 58.5 scale. I would fear for the safety of my oud.

Aquila calls this set "light" but that is a relative term. "Light" translates to "will not destroy your oud in less than 48 hours".

stos - 9-2-2016 at 10:01 AM

wow what a quick reply !

thanks a lot jody!

Brian Prunka - 9-2-2016 at 06:55 PM

The new Aquila sets are actually pretty light tension. But I still wouldn't tune it up. Aquila makes a Turkish set, the 1o set, for precisely the tuning you desire on a 58.5cm oud. This is the set I would recommend.

Jody Stecher - 9-2-2016 at 09:35 PM

But if you happen to get a Turkish set of the old formulation beware because your oud may harmed.

Brian Prunka - 9-3-2016 at 03:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Jody Stecher  
But if you happen to get a Turkish set of the old formulation beware because your oud may harmed.


Good point, but they've been discontinued for almost 2 years so it's somewhat unlikely. The correct set has red packaging:

Aquila 1o Set

stos - 9-7-2016 at 07:06 AM

thanks guys!

the one i have is light color and is written "new nylgut"

so i presume is the older one....

Brian Prunka - 9-7-2016 at 10:28 AM

Ah yes, that is the old one. I definitely wouldn't use that for Turkish tuning.

Jody Stecher - 9-7-2016 at 10:37 AM

On the other hand this old formula sounds very good for Arabic tuning at 58.5 scale. Better than the new formula, in my opinion.

Brian Prunka - 9-7-2016 at 01:48 PM

I haven't tried the new formula at 58.5cm. Considering the old one was fairly high at the ~61cm typical of Arabic ouds, it makes sense. The new formula seems better at the scale 60cm+ lengths more common for Arabic ouds.
Unfortunately sets have to make compromises . . . however the new 61o "Iraqi" sets might be a good choice for shorter ouds, though for classic tuning you would need an extra low C of some kind.