Mike's Oud Forums

Little strings tesnion problem

danieletarab - 11-1-2023 at 05:47 AM

Hello dear oud lovers! I have a little strings issue.
I play a 60 cm arabic oud tuned cc\ gg \ dd \ aa \ ee \ c (or d) \
At the moment I put on the LA BELLA arabic set; I put aside the FF strings which I don't need, and I used a spare Aquila C string since their set doesn't go with one of them (which is quiet annoyng by the way).
The LA BELLA are not bad ffot the tension I am looking for, but the 5th course (which I tune EE) is quiet loose, since I guess it's meant to be tuned F or G; also, I am annoyed by the absence of the bass string in the set.
Any suggestion for an alternative set that would address these issues?
And if I had to go for a custom set (let's say a Pyramid one), which gauges should I order to get a similar tension as LA BELLA set, or even a little bit higher tension on the high strings? Thank you very much! Daniele

dusepo - 11-1-2023 at 07:50 AM

I think you will find it difficult to find a set for your tuning. The usual tuning would, as you say, have the 2nd course tuned to G instead of E. Your best bet is to probably buy a standard set and then an extra pair of strings for that course you want to tune to E (or if you can't find one, fishing line).

Jody Stecher - 11-1-2023 at 08:09 AM

Quote: Originally posted by danieletarab  
Hello dear oud lovers! I have a little strings issue.
I play a 60 cm arabic oud tuned cc\ gg \ dd \ aa \ ee \ c (or d) \
At the moment I put on the LA BELLA arabic set; I put aside the FF strings which I don't need, and I used a spare Aquila C string since their set doesn't go with one of them (which is quiet annoyng by the way).
The LA BELLA are not bad ffot the tension I am looking for, but the 5th course (which I tune EE) is quiet loose, since I guess it's meant to be tuned F or G; also, I am annoyed by the absence of the bass string in the set.
Any suggestion for an alternative set that would address these issues?
And if I had to go for a custom set (let's say a Pyramid one), which gauges should I order to get a similar tension as LA BELLA set, or even a little bit higher tension on the high strings? Thank you very much! Daniele


The LaBella Vivace Arabic set has a low C and no ff strings:
https://oudstrings.com/collections/oud-strings/products/la-bella-viv...

D'Addario Arabic set is nice .So is MusiCaravan arabic set. Tuning the 5th course down to E should be fine with either of these. I've used these and others with the entire oud tuned a step low and the 5th course was not a bit floppy. Since I usually tune the 5th course to FF it was now E flat. And no problem.

danieletarab - 11-2-2023 at 05:17 AM

Thank you very much! I actually have a set of LA BELLA VIVACE at home, but I don't know much about these strings, only that they have carbon treebles, which I have never tried before. I should give it a try maybe, and I hope the treebles are tense enough!

Jody Stecher - 11-2-2023 at 11:27 AM

Quote: Originally posted by danieletarab  
Thank you very much! I actually have a set of LA BELLA VIVACE at home, but I don't know much about these strings, only that they have carbon treebles, which I have never tried before. I should give it a try maybe, and I hope the treebles are tense enough!


Carbon trebles typically have more tension at smaller diameters than nylon strings. So the small gauge of the trebles should not be interpreted as "light".