Mike's Oud Forums

Oud saving criteria

ALAMI - 10-17-2024 at 10:49 AM

What if you have to leave home taking only 2 out of your 14 ouds?
knowing that you might not meet the remaining 12 again.
What criteria would prevail in your choice?
A question I am asking myself a lot latelly.

Jody Stecher - 10-17-2024 at 06:15 PM

I would take the 2 I love the most. I hope you don't have to leave home.

ALAMI - 10-18-2024 at 01:37 AM

That was my first thought but our relation with our ouds is very organic and complicated. The one we play most is not necessarily the one we love most. And the one “we love most” rotates with age, mood, the music we play on, sometimes even a string brand change may influence.
I found out that it’s a very difficult question when faced for real in a raw, tough reality.
Other criteria are important too:
Sound, timbre, age, value, if made by luthier that passed away or still alive and active, prestige, rarity and even uniqueness.
Oud tend to survive their owners, luckily I’d say.
I am leaning for the 2 that are unique in the sense that no other copy of them exists anywhere else.