Mike's Oud Forums

OudStrings.com - Update!

Brian Prunka - 4-30-2021 at 12:05 PM

Dear fellow forum members,

I have received such kind messages from so many of you letting me know how appreciative you were of the site and looking for guidance in purchasing strings going forward, so I am pleased to tell you that OudStrings.com will be re-opening soon under new management.

A number of folks had expressed interest in taking over when I announced I was moving on, and I'm glad to have found someone who is a fellow oud player and longtime MikeOuds forum member who I trust will carry on OudStrings.com and make it even better.

We'll be making a more formal announcement soon, but I'm excited and wanted to share the news with you all.

cheers,
Brian

ExtreamTarab - 4-30-2021 at 12:35 PM

:applause::applause::applause:

Jody Stecher - 4-30-2021 at 01:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka  
Dear fellow forum members,

I'm glad to have found someone who is a fellow oud player and longtime MikeOuds forum member who I trust will carry on OudStrings.com and make it even better.



It was already great. What could be better? Giving the strings away for free? I guess we'll all find out.

Eric Stern Music - 4-30-2021 at 02:13 PM

Aw Yeah!

TruePharaoh21 - 4-30-2021 at 08:26 PM

Wonderful news!

Yay!

Elbelga - 5-3-2021 at 12:13 PM

:applause: I'm glad to hear that! OudStrings was my favorite shop!

norumba - 5-11-2021 at 02:12 PM

Here are some more details. ... as we get closer to launch, we'll be announcing some pre-order specials. hoping to have everything up and running by mid june!

https://oudstrings.com/blogs/news/oud-strings-com-re-opens-the-offic...

norumba - 5-25-2021 at 12:26 AM

Hi everyone!

thanks so much for all your interest and support as we bring this site back to operational status!

here's an update:

Brian and I have been working very closely on the transition and the hand off -- going through existing inventory, what else needs to be reordered to have on hand when I open, getting to meet and know the suppliers, etc.

Ive engaged a web team to build a new Shopify site, along with a graphic designer from Turkey to give it a nice new look and feel. That's all in process as we speak, and progress is on schedule on that front.

I dont want to fully launch the site without having everything in place and ready to meet demand; whatever everyone needs, I want to have for you on day one. With that parameter in mind, I'm projecting a launch date of the site late June or early July.

That said, I may run some early bird or beta launch specials as we get closer, so stay tuned for that!

As always, the door and dialogue is open. Let me know what you'd like to see, what else you may need-- I'm open to ideas. I have some new ideas for product expansion as well --- not all of the new stuff may be in place for launch, but we'll see.

Onward!

best,
Mustafa

suz_i_dil - 5-26-2021 at 02:57 AM

an agreement with a string brand to make an affordable acceptable set for 58.5/57 stringlength ouds tuned arabic ? :D
becoming rather common standard and nothing much available out of large order to have nice offers
Playing those days a 61.5 cm oud, i'm surprised how pyramid orange set are of a good quality / price rendition

great the site is opening back again !
Best of luck

norumba - 5-26-2021 at 06:20 AM

Quote: Originally posted by suz_i_dil  
an agreement with a string brand to make an affordable acceptable set for 58.5/57 stringlength ouds tuned arabic ? :D
becoming rather common standard and nothing much available out of large order to have nice offers
Playing those days a 61.5 cm oud, i'm surprised how pyramid orange set are of a good quality / price rendition

great the site is opening back again !
Best of luck


Absolutely! This is an increasing need - both my Ouds are 58,5 and i keep them at Arabic tuning. I'll be offering custom sets this way , and I'll be talking to manufacturers as well...

suz_i_dil - 5-27-2021 at 05:31 AM

:applause:
yes ! best of luck :)

norumba - 5-27-2021 at 12:15 PM

Quote: Originally posted by suz_i_dil  
:applause:
yes ! best of luck :)

Thanks! Pyramid will be offering some new sets close to this, but i want to dial in some specs with them a little bit ;)

norumba - 6-6-2021 at 03:48 PM

Taos News did an article on the business , its migration from NY to here, and future plans....
https://www.taosnews.com/tempo/music/mustafa-stefan-dill-opens-oud-s...

Jody Stecher - 6-6-2021 at 05:35 PM

Quote: Originally posted by norumba  
Taos News did an article on the business , its migration from NY to here, and future plans....
[url]https://www.taosnews.com/tempo/music/mustafa-stefan-dill-opens-oud-strings/article_5bbdec8a-c576-11eb-90e9-373bb88eacc1.html
[/url]

Wow I love the idea of an oud festival in New Mexico.

norumba - 6-28-2021 at 03:35 PM

an update on the update!

After a lot of fine tuning, I'm pleased to say all the new arrangements with factories and vendors have been set up, and after a good degree of careful planning, initial orders for inventory from all the main brands have all been placed!

Everyone has been very helpful and accommodating in the process and walking me through how they like to do business.

Every manufacturer's production run and timing is different, so goodies should be arriving to my 'warehouse' over the next few weeks. In fact , one shipment just arrived today!

Meanwhile, the website developers are busy building the site to my specs. I haven't seen any of the functionality, but I hope to be beta testing late this week. I'm asking for a lot of customer customization options and they tell me they can build it in, so I'm hopeful.

Again, I don't want to open without having as much as possible in place. Accounting for the different production schedules and deliveries, I'm shooting for a mid July opening -- though I'm waiting to hear from one major manufacturer still on their delivery time.

Ive retweaked the numbers for Godin sets and will have some of those on hand; and one manufacturer has been developing a new prototype set for oud that we'll be the exclusive tester for - stay tuned!



norumba - 7-14-2021 at 11:57 PM

All manufacturers have now shipped! Pyramid and D'Daddario are in house; Aquila and LaBella are enroute and being tracked. The existing inventory from Brian is also here.

With inventory now starting to arrive, I'm focusing attention on the site. The developers are working on functionality and design elements, while I'm busy uploading and organizing all the 600 plus products ( no easy way to do that)!

Stay tuned!

Jason - 7-16-2021 at 01:42 PM

Will you be carrying custom gauges of strings in the future? I'm interested in putting together a Pyramid set for my banjo. There are surprisingly few options on the market for nylon banjo sets.

norumba - 7-16-2021 at 02:21 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Jason  
Will you be carrying custom gauges of strings in the future? I'm interested in putting together a Pyramid set for my banjo. There are surprisingly few options on the market for nylon banjo sets.


Absolutely! I carry a lot of singles and im able to calculate some options based on tuning, scale length, and desired tension. Shoot me some specifics at oudstringsus@gmail.com and ill work something up for you....

norumba - 8-14-2021 at 04:56 PM

Its been a busy busy month!

We are in preview/pre-beta mode, and I love how this is looking.







The entire inventory is now in the database, priced and SKU'd and categorized, and I can take orders via email even as we finish tweaking the site. There are still a few custom sets I'm putting together over the weekend to make those easier to order, too.

I expect a fully live launch in about 10 days.

coolsciguy - 8-28-2021 at 09:30 AM

I just wanted to write a note and complement Mustafa for helping me out pick strings for my new Oud.

I sent him a couple of videos and a list of strings I had tried. He worked with me through my issues and came up with a list of appropriate options. Transaction and ordering went smooth and I should get my strings soon!

Thank you Mustafa!

Amon - 8-28-2021 at 11:28 PM

great timing :)

Guitarune - 9-1-2021 at 05:04 AM


I'm guessing there aren't that many orders from Norway, so it's probably a long shot...but is Oudstrings VOEC registered? Unfortunately, us Norwegians have to pay near $20 in customs fee from stores that are not VOEC registered.
( https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/business-and-organisation/vat-and-dut... )

norumba - 9-1-2021 at 06:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by coolsciguy  
I just wanted to write a note and complement Mustafa for helping me out pick strings for my new Oud.

I sent him a couple of videos and a list of strings I had tried. He worked with me through my issues and came up with a list of appropriate options. Transaction and ordering went smooth and I should get my strings soon!

Thank you Mustafa!


it was my pleasure! you should be getting them today, let me know how they work....and thanks for the support and the business -- and all the info on some makers!
Quote: Originally posted by Amon  
great timing :)


happy to help, let me know what you need!
Quote: Originally posted by Guitarune  

I'm guessing there aren't that many orders from Norway, so it's probably a long shot...but is Oudstrings VOEC registered? Unfortunately, us Norwegians have to pay near $20 in customs fee from stores that are not VOEC registered.
( https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/business-and-organisation/vat-and-dut... )


i will be happy to look into this, and see whats involved.... i'll let you know!

in other general news!

a)we are finishing out the final bells and whistles this week!! a few pieces
--like the newsletter and signing up for an account on the site --- need to happen as well, but all the products are in and there are no issues on the checkout /purchase, ive already sold some custom sets and everything works smoothly.

b) happy to report im working out arrangements with Jonas and Hannah to carry Kuerschner Germany, and that I have located a good source of cow horn risha!


norumba - 9-1-2021 at 01:56 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Guitarune  

I'm guessing there aren't that many orders from Norway, so it's probably a long shot...but is Oudstrings VOEC registered? Unfortunately, us Norwegians have to pay near $20 in customs fee from stores that are not VOEC registered.
( https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/business-and-organisation/vat-and-dut... )


ive actually been looking into this and registered with VOEC for you....i should have my number in a few days. Check your inbox for more details/questions....

Guitarune - 9-1-2021 at 02:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by norumba  

ive actually been looking into this and registered with VOEC for you....i should have my number in a few days. Check your inbox for more details/questions....


Consider me impressed! That's someone going the extra mile :)

Then I must encourage every Norwegian in need of oud strings to use your shop!

norumba - 10-17-2021 at 07:33 AM

After some debugging, fine tuning, and tweaking, I'm pleased to announce oudstings.com is officially open for business and ready to help you with whatever you and your oud may need!

While I have been filling some orders under beta /soft launch for a while now, I feel the site is ready at this point to go fully public and out of beta. But if you see anything amiss or have weird experiences with the site, let me know.

To celebrate and to thank all of you, I am offering two free rishas with every order, through the end of the year! Let me know in the notes at check out if you want a medium (.71) or heavy (.96), or one of each.

One of the new products I'm excited to offer are a number of premade custom sets for Arabic tuning at the 58.5 scale length. There has been increasing demand for these in the oud community, and I'm happy to provide them for you. Take a look at each one, as some of them are very specifically calibrated to certain playing styles.

If you have a special request, feel free to reach out and I'm happy to put a set together for you.

Thanks again for your patience, and I look forward to getting to know all of you, and to helping you sound your best!

Jody Stecher - 10-17-2021 at 10:02 AM

I had a look at the website. No "weird experiences" but I do have a suggestion and a comment in relation to your latest post here.

1) At the bottom you have a good number of social media addresses but something is missing: the URL of the website itself. You will have potential customers (I'm one of them...after after I've run through all the sets I bought from Brian last year) who do not use social media and will not try to contact any business through facebook etc. It wasn't hard to figure out the URL of Oud Strings Dot Com, but may I suggest you be absolutely explicit and tell people how to reach your site directly. If you are too modest to shout it from the rooftops, so to speak, please consider at least including oudstrings.com below your signature. I think you will get more customers. It may look like the whole world uses social media but the sizable minority that do not and will not are not readily visible and are entirely invisible in the social media world. But some of us play oud and use strings to do so. :-)

2) in your post you mention sets for Arabic tuning at 58.5 designed for different styles. This is not apparent from the menu. I eventually found some sets with a bit of commentary but nothing about what I would call "style" so I think I have not found the page. I did find a statement that does not agree with what I have seen and experienced. : "A 58.5 cm scale length will likely be constructed as a Turkish build". Sure, there are some ouds made for Turkish music in Turkey that people have strung and tuned for Arabic music. But there are plenty of fixed bridge ouds made by Arab luthiers in Arab lands and elsewhere at a scale of 58.5 cm. *And* several excellent Turkish luthiers have built ouds intended for Arabic tuning and these are braced differently from the ouds they build for Turkish music. Some of these sound very good but if your sets will make them sound even better, that is a very good thing. My main point however is that I could not readily find the special Arabic sets designed for 58.5 cm.
Best of luck with your oud string business!

norumba - 10-17-2021 at 07:11 PM

Hi Jody,
very nice to meet you ,and I look forward to helping you in any way I can!

Points taken on both fronts, and thank you for the feedback. I have added the URL in the signature to make it easier for folks to find the business!

As to your second point, I'll go back and clarify my wording a bit. All your caveats are indeed correct, but I was trying to be more general, thus the use of the word 'likely' rather than " always" :) In other words, out of all the ouds available on the market, those at 58.5cm are more likely to be a Turkish build than an Arabic or braced /tuned for Arabic. The set you took the comment from is in fact a low tension set for Arabic tuning. A lot of Arabic style players like that low tension feel. But if it is (again, this scenario more than likely) a Turkish build that youre trying to tune Arabic to , the instrument may be better served with a medium tension set, as i explained further in the commentary on that set.

But youre absolutely right, I can word that better, so thanks again!

As to playing styles, what I meant was this, a missing paragraph that didnt make it into the Custom Sets header. I need to edit and add this in:

You'll notice some of these are carefully calibrated. Low and medium low tension sets are generally more closely balanced across the spectrum, while some medium/medium high and the Turkish sets are designed with slightly stiffer trebles, as is sometimes found with Turkish players, to help with the ornamentations of that style.

hope that helps clear up some things, and i look forward to setting you up with whatever you need!

Jody Stecher - 10-17-2021 at 07:30 PM

I see now what you meant by "style". I was thinking of Turkish oud music (for instance) as a genre. (Same for Arabic music, Persian music, Azeri music, etc) Within a genre I was thinking of various styles that are personal, regional, technical etc). There are so many Arabic oud playing styles. So I was looking for something like that. ( A good string set for playing in the style of Farid El Atrash for instance, or perhaps the style of Aleppo).

norumba - 10-17-2021 at 07:35 PM

now thats an interesting idea, to go that granular.... im happy to research and put together such sets, and i welcome any ideas or feedback on those!

Jody Stecher - 10-17-2021 at 08:15 PM

Quote: Originally posted by norumba  
now thats an interesting idea, to go that granular.... im happy to research and put together such sets, and i welcome any ideas or feedback on those!


Usually the "secret" of a good musician's sound and style is that musician's own hands and mind. I know this but still I did get my hopes up when I read about special sets designed for specific styles. You probably know about Hemen Sen the Bengali sarode maker who designed a sarode model that enabled anyone to sound a good deal like Ali Akbar Khan, at least on the open strings. The funny thing is that Ali Akbar's own sarode, made by his uncle, sounded nothing like a Hemen when played by anyone but Ali Akbar Khan. The sound came from the player. But yeah, the design (and string gauge) of a Hemen sarode did allow even a novice to make some headway in making the wished-for sound.

suz_i_dil - 10-20-2021 at 02:52 AM

Excellent !

Congrats on the opening and all my best wishes

The offer regarding custom arabic sets is excellent :)
And , a quesiton, i have lost following the Aquila sets evolution.
Regarding their arabic sets, for which stringlength are they designed ? Or do you have reference of tension for one stringlength ? I mean for the white set as for the red one.

looking forward to read about

Thank you !
Quote: Originally posted by norumba  
After some debugging, fine tuning, and tweaking, I'm pleased to announce oudstings.com is officially open for business and ready to help you with whatever you and your oud may need!

While I have been filling some orders under beta /soft launch for a while now, I feel the site is ready at this point to go fully public and out of beta. But if you see anything amiss or have weird experiences with the site, let me know.

To celebrate and to thank all of you, I am offering two free rishas with every order, through the end of the year! Let me know in the notes at check out if you want a medium (.71) or heavy (.96), or one of each.

One of the new products I'm excited to offer are a number of premade custom sets for Arabic tuning at the 58.5 scale length. There has been increasing demand for these in the oud community, and I'm happy to provide them for you. Take a look at each one, as some of them are very specifically calibrated to certain playing styles.

If you have a special request, feel free to reach out and I'm happy to put a set together for you.

Thanks again for your patience, and I look forward to getting to know all of you, and to helping you sound your best!

coolsciguy - 10-20-2021 at 05:39 AM

Mustafa and I had another round of consulting for my 57cm fixed bridge Arabic oud. As always, he pointed me to exactly what I needed and I'm getting my ustom strings today! Thank you Mustafa!

norumba - 10-20-2021 at 11:01 AM

Quote: Originally posted by suz_i_dil  
Excellent !

Congrats on the opening and all my best wishes

The offer regarding custom arabic sets is excellent :)
And , a quesiton, i have lost following the Aquila sets evolution.
Regarding their arabic sets, for which stringlength are they designed ? Or do you have reference of tension for one stringlength ? I mean for the white set as for the red one.

looking forward to read about

Thank you !



Hi suz-i-dil,
Thank you -- and nice to meet you!

Aquila calibrates their sets to average at 3.4 kilos, in both red and whites, and they base that on the following scale lengths:

Arabic – 62 cm
Iraqi – 57 cm
Turkish - 58,5 cm

so they'll be a little floppy if youre at 60 cm... the other option is to build a set out of lute singles and NNG, but its a different sound, warmer still than the whites , which Aquila says is warmer than the reds.

If there's enough demand or interest for a 60cm Arabic set in red or white, I'll ask them, see what they can do....



norumba - 10-20-2021 at 11:05 AM

Quote: Originally posted by coolsciguy  
Mustafa and I had another round of consulting for my 57cm fixed bridge Arabic oud. As always, he pointed me to exactly what I needed and I'm getting my ustom strings today! Thank you Mustafa!

my pleasure! I love working with your collection, theres some interesting parameters with them , so problem solving like that is always fun!

let me know how they work out!

norumba - 10-26-2021 at 11:33 AM

just a quick note, good peeps!

im having a small surgery being done this Friday, so if you need strings soonish , get your orders in today or tomorrow please, as recoup time is iffy and i may not be filling orders till next Tuesday...
thx!

norumba - 11-4-2021 at 11:06 AM

just to let yall know, im back home recuperating, and can handle business!:)