How to choose your futur electric oud ?

Hello

Here some important points that your have to check when you try or eventually choose an electric oud on website.

- Action : that is the height between strings and fingerboard on fifth position. Theorically height on the intersection between neck and oud body (or wood hoops sometimes)
2.5mm is turkish style for light buzz sound agreable
3mm is arabic style for clear sound wich permits a strong tremolo effect
Too much low means big buzz sound so desagreable
Too much high means hard effort to press string on fingerboard

- Piezo microphone : On industrial electric oud you could often find an Artec piezo basically made for 5 strings bass. I guess you see sound differences between an oud and 5 bass strings ! So Piezo design is very different ...
Sound produced here is bit far from oud sound.
So try to find this information. (piezo is hidden under the nut ...)

- Strings sound level : sometimes some strings don't have same level sound than others. Problem can be from a too short piezo undersaddle. So bass or high strings a lower than others.
Or a bad contact between nut and piezo. The setting contact is very very special to realize. It takes generally too much time for a speed industrial production.

Don't forget that the quality oud sound is produced for about 90% from piezo/preamp system. So that is the main important point !

- Nut : Bone is the best or eventually ebony wood are goods.
Basic brown or balck wood must be avoid.
Also The channel strings in the nut must be cleanly machined, otherwise they may produce an unpleasant sound

- Preamp : Be carrefull ! Sometimes you can buy instrument with counterfeit preamp. See details in right attached a Fishman example particulary looking name model here "Presys +" often installed on electric ouds. This added name on preamp body is here baddly written so you can check it yourself before buying . In fact this counterfeit costs around 25-30$ on web instead of more than 200$ for truely Fisham preamp ! It could change a lot final price of instrument ...
Furthermore this bad preamp given a bad sound with a lot of parasite.

A true Fishman is good of course. Don't hesitate to try other preamp wich are very correct as Artec / Belcat / LR Baggs / Takamine / Cherub ...
(But avoid this model EQ 7545R. Pretty cheap !...)

- Hum noise : connexion of piezo is sometimes without shielding. it produces "Hum" 50Hz problem. See here a video to hear it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yru26C83gNM
If your hear hum noise. Don't buy it !

- Body woods : Many many woods are good for electric ouds. Maple , mahogany, walnut, cherry tree ... A heavy wood means good sustain !

- Fingerboard : Ebony is the best for fingerboard but as you know Ebony is an endangered species. So don't hesitate to choose instrument with other wood.

- Pegs : sometimes made of woods : A strong wood is good. Avoid Rosewood wich is a protected species !
Or sometimes made of steel ... sometimes with gearing system ...
Just check that strings give you a good reaction when you tune your instrument. Easy to tune in details and.

- Bridge : must be made from hard wood. Again ebony is good here ...

Thanks for reading