Fikkerli - 11-24-2016 at 03:51 PM
So I've been taking oud lessons for over a month now. And so far, so good. But I started noticing the soundboard of the oud has been getting a few
cracks today, making loud snaps or quiet slow cracking sounds. The temperatures where I live dropped quite a lot recently, and I'm thinking dry
weather might the cause.
I'm gonna have my teacher check on it soon, but since I'm worried it might get worse I'm looking for help online for now.
What do you think the problem could be? Any tips to keep it from cracking anymore?
Thanks in advance.
Brian Prunka - 11-24-2016 at 05:35 PM
This is a common problem and is due to dryness and temperature changes.
Get a humidifier and try to keep the humidity in the room somewhere near 50%.
I'd recommend a room humidifier where you keep your oud, and also a case humidifier to keep in the case.
Chococumba - 11-24-2016 at 08:36 PM
Depending how long the crack is, it can be repaired by putting PVC wood glue into the crack. Wipe away excess glue from the soundboard.
jdowning - 11-25-2016 at 04:34 PM
The problem may be a combination of low humidity (lower than the workshop environment where the oud was originally built) and a sound board that is
made from wood that has not been properly seasoned over time.
Take Brian's advice and first ensure that room relative humidity(RH) is maintained at around 50% and let the instrument acclimatise for some time at
this level. If the problem is primarily due to low humidity, with luck, the cracks may close up tightly again so that repair by an experienced luthier
may be fairly straightforward. Do not rub any sort of glue into the open cracks as this will prevent the cracks closing up as the RH is raised back to
around 50%.
If the problem is in part due to sound board wood that has not been properly seasoned the cracks may not fully close at optimum RH so repair will be
more complicated. If this is the case take it to a luthier to assess what best may be done to repair the damage. Do not rub PVA glue into the cracks
as the presence of this glue may further complicate future repairs - especially if the sound board does not have an applied finish (some ouds do
not).
Good luck.
Fikkerli - 11-26-2016 at 02:31 AM
Thank you for the advices, everyone.
And well, since we never had room humidifiers in my house , I'll have to do some looking around, but I'm sure I'll find something, eventually.
Apparently, I can also make a homemade humidifier (A wet sponge in a ziplock bag with holes) to put inside the oud, so I'll also do that (I don't
think we have wood instrument humidifiers where I live, so I'm making my own). I'll look for hygrometer to make sure it's about right. But I'm worried
about growing mold, would it be alright as long as the humidity at bout 50%?
And thanks for the warning about using glue. I'll try humidifying it, see how it does, have it checked and possibly fixed by a professional.
All of the help is appreciated. Thanks again! 
jdowning - 11-26-2016 at 03:01 PM
The museum standard for conservation of wooden artifacts is 55% RH.
Humidity has an overall effect on an oud not just concerning sound board splitting. So for example there is less danger to an instrument with
increasing RH above that level as the sound board wood tempoarily absorbs the atmospheric moisture and expands slightly. However pegs may stick,
strings go out of tune and the instrument may not respond as well acoustically with increasing humidity levels. There has been a lot of discussion
over the years on this forum related to humidity. Do a forum search for 'humidity' for more information For example:
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=12425#pid84...
Humam - 11-29-2016 at 08:03 PM
What about places with high humidity? Is it still bad for the oud?
It seems like the humidity here ranges from 50% - 60% inside.
Thank you in advance.
Fikkerli - 12-9-2016 at 09:58 AM
This is bit late, but haven't gotten around using forum lately.
I got an ultrasonic humidifier for about a week now, and have been using it often. Most of the splits in the soundboard sealed, not sure if it's
because of the humidifier or general weather change, though.
Thanks jdowning! And regarding the article linked, I use only use filtered water, would that be enough for it to not need cleaning?
As for doing a forum search, I'm on it!
General humidity outside seems okay, but I keep my oud in my heated bedroom, because It's easier to look for it this way, and I probably wouldn't play
it as often if kept in another room (since I spend most of my time there). I still don't have an accurate way of measuring humidity indoors, but I
guess a bit too humid is safer for now.
Lastly, I asked my teacher and he told me notify him if it splits again (so it can be sent to get fixed)... I thought it should get fixed, but now I'm
sorta confused.
Also, thanks again for all feedback.