Mike's Oud Forums

Finally Bought an Oud: String Questions

Englman - 1-24-2025 at 04:30 PM

Hello, this is my first post! I've recently purchased an oud and wanted to try to get some information figured out before it arrives. Primarily regarding string suggestions.

So I purchased a 60cm scale, floating bridge oud that is basically labeled as being an "Iraqi-styled Arabic Oud." I know that with floating bridge ouds, high F-F tuning is common, but that they can also manage lower tunings and higher tensions. I am personally more interested in the lower tunings, but I want my string tension to be good, so I feel fairly confident that I will need to order new strings before it arrives.

With this information in mind: Does anyone have any string suggestions that would suit my new oud and at least allow for C-C Arabic tuning, but maybe also allow for even lower tunings than that? Experimentation sounds fun and I believe I found a video of someone that managed A tuning. Might be neat to try if possible.

One final bonus question: Do silver plated strings help resist smelly strings at all?

Thank you for your help!