tele - 10-15-2006 at 06:17 PM
Hi: I just joined this forum. Been reading alot very informative. As a newbie, was wondering if this is right place to post and ask a few
questions about an oud I have. Can i get some assistance in translating the label inside it here? (have to see if i can get a good photo of it
through one of the sound holes). It also requires some restoration which i could use some guidance on as well. But first can i post a pic or two or
the label and oud here or is this the wrong forum??? thanks tele
oudplayer - 10-15-2006 at 06:24 PM
hey tele
welcome yeh you can post the pic here .]
thx sammy
tele - 10-23-2006 at 12:50 AM
ok thanks, took me awhile to get a picture with the lighting right inside oud. Thanks in advance for your assistance. I only know a little about
the oud, its at least 50 some years old and came from egypt, i think. here is label thanks again tele
tele - 10-23-2006 at 12:52 AM
well, try that again, with the attachment photo this time, thanks tele
amtaha - 10-23-2006 at 08:06 AM
Line by line translation:
The work of Ibrahim Nader
Al-Saif Street, Basra
Year 1354
The year is in Hijri. According to http://www.altawfeek.com/hijcon.htm,
in Gregorian that would be circa 1935.
Regards,
Hamid
tele - 10-23-2006 at 02:51 PM
Thank you very much Hamid Very interesting to hear even has street name in Basra! Anyone familiar with this oud maker? I think the oud is made from
walnut and maybe mulberry (guessing ffrom other threads on forum here). Its a pretty basic model, no inlays etc, but wood looks nice. Would this be
strung with arabic tuning then? thanks again, tele
Jason - 10-23-2006 at 08:45 PM
Proper tuning would depend on the string length of the oud but I think Arabic tuning would be safe since it uses the lowest tension. Do you have
pictures of the full oud?
tele - 10-25-2006 at 04:56 PM
Hi: thanks again, well the oud now only has 10 tuning pegs although there is room for 2 more pegs/strings in peg head.
Here is photo of oud, it could use a bit of work as you can see. Should be playable though with a bit of effort. like to refinish it too i think.
The small rosette that is missing is inside the oud, the large one has been repaired at some point but probably will still do. I would still be
interested in finding out more about this oud and its maker in Basra, but after 70 years may be difficult to learn much now. thanks tele
paulO - 10-25-2006 at 06:32 PM
Hi Tele,
A very cool looking instrument to me. Neat pickguard, interesting rosettes (from what I can tell), and the good thing -- the face looks nice and old,
so it's got a good chance of being orginal, which would be totally cool. Looking forward to seeing the restoration pics, if you choose to post them.
Good luck with the oud.
Cheers...PaulO
tele - 10-26-2006 at 02:18 PM
thanks Paolo. Heres another picture showing the peghead, and back. Any ideas on the wood types used? I have idea but really not sure. Maybe i
should ask this on the restoration forum but any suggestions on how to treat the top soundboard? Should i just leave it as it is or try to bring the
finish back somehow? I would think this is the original soundboard and top. I know this oud hasn't had any changes to it since we've had it, which
is over 55 years or so. My father brought it back on the ship he was on, probably from the persian gulf, he sailed for texaco back then. I think
it might need some different pegs and i'd like to refinish the back and neck too. It does have a nice sound to my relatively untrained ear though.
Jason - 10-27-2006 at 05:45 AM
You should definately leave it as is. You don't want an oud like this to sound 'new'. Personally I wouldn't refinish anything unless the neck is
truly unplayable. You may be right about needing new pegs.
Dr. Oud - 10-27-2006 at 07:51 AM
You might consuider having a professional restoration done. an oud as old as this with the quality evident could be much more valuable restored rather
than "fixed up" with new pegs. Those pegs are rare and have more character than new ones. The peg holes can be filled and re-drilled to re-fit the
original pegs, and some duplicates made by a comprtant wood turner. The face can be repaired to ressurect the sound. You will lose the sound if you
replace it.
ps- if you do replace the pegs, please send me the old ones.
Jameel - 10-27-2006 at 10:34 AM
Can we see some closer shots of the details, please? The pegs too. Thanks! Go with Doc's advice. Ouds this old in good condition are very rare.
tele - 10-27-2006 at 08:36 PM
Hi: thanks for info and posts. I was mainly thinking of putting some new strings on it and trying to play it some. And then, trying to glue that
rossete back in place somehow and maybe refinishing it. Not sure about doing any more restoration on it at this point. The current finish doesn't
seem in too good of shape, seems like it could use some polishing or something. Also i think it would need at least a couple pegs, one seems to be
missing, shouldn't there be 11 or 12 pegs? and some seem too small for their pegholes. So are you saying i shouldn't replace the pegs? A couple
look almost homemade.
Any ideas on the wood types of this oud? I thought maybe the darker wood on the body is walnut and the lighter maybe mulberry or something. I don't
know what the neck, peghead or top are.
I'll try and get some other photos of the oud taken. Thanks for your help on this.