Mike's Oud Forums

Yildirim oud loud buzz

buhaissy - 2-8-2024 at 06:38 PM

Hi all,

I purchase a Yildirim Arabic oud, but it has a loud buzz (almost all strings). anyone experienced something similar? any tips?
could this be the strings type (I have Pyramid Orange)? what are the best strings for Yildirim ouds?

thanks in advance!

maraoud108 - 2-8-2024 at 07:54 PM

My Yildirim did this in the beginning too. I think the contemporary style with Turkish ouds is to have super low action for super fast playing. I hired a luthier to plane the fretboard and it helped a bit.

My oud has a cedar top, and one thing I'll say is that for the first two years I didn't like the sound. I thought it had no personality and was stiff sounding.

But over the summer something happened. It opened up and now it sounds absolutely beautiful. I get comments on how good it sounds all the time.

majnuunNavid - 2-8-2024 at 11:05 PM

I've been using Aquila Lute super nygluts and copper wounds from Mustafa at oudstrings.com and they are absolutely amazing.

If the treble strings are buzzing too, have a rosette checked. It might be loose somewhere from humidity changes. How is the adjustment for height of the strings at the bridge? Maybe pulling the strings up will help. Are the strings brand new? Adjust the height at the bridge and keep them on for a long time, maybe they will mellow out.

buhaissy - 2-9-2024 at 11:46 AM

Thank you all for the tips. Helpful.

To the point about the low action, I was thinking about raising the nut a couple of mills (by placing a thin piece of wood behind it). Glad to know that your oud is sounding better with time

Thanks for the strings recommendation Navid! (I follow you on your tube :))
I will try them.

Brian Prunka - 2-10-2024 at 08:38 PM

Raising the nut doesn’t make any difference on the oud, because that’s not the side where the vibrations occur. You could possibly pull the loops at the bridge higher. That sometimes works to raise the action a little and reduce buzzing.

It’s not unheard of for a luthier to make the action very low initially, with the expectation that it will naturally rise a bit the first year or so as the oud settles under tension. It wouldn’t surprise me if Yildirim did that and that the buzzing goes away naturally with time.

maraoud108 - 2-11-2024 at 08:08 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka  
Raising the nut doesn’t make any difference on the oud, because that’s not the side where the vibrations occur. You could possibly pull the loops at the bridge higher. That sometimes works to raise the action a little and reduce buzzing.

It’s not unheard of for a luthier to make the action very low initially, with the expectation that it will naturally rise a bit the first year or so as the oud settles under tension. It wouldn’t surprise me if Yildirim did that and that the buzzing goes away naturally with time.


Yes, I did this for a while on mine and it made a slight difference, but the planeing on the fretboard was really helpful. On the other hand, I really like high action on my guitars, so it might be best to go the route of just letting it be for a bit as the oud settles.