charangoud - 11-8-2006 at 06:15 PM
hi
i just got a second-hand oud & it seems the strings haven't been changed in a while...i've tuned it to (starting from highest-pitched, farthest
away string) C-G-D-A-G-F ... there's buzzing on a few of the open strings when played, also buzzes when i play the note where the neck meets the body
(5th interval right?)....this oud appears to be a student model possibly a Haluk one...it is fine & i paid a fair enough price for it but i just
need it to sound decent....i know eventually, budget permitting, i will get a higher-quality model as my playing gets better...for now, although i
play guitar, tres, charango and laud, i'm at the very beginning steps of the world of oud....any tips, advice greatly appreciated, thanks very much!
SamirCanada - 11-8-2006 at 08:47 PM
what is the action at the nut? is it around 1 mm?
where can you tell is the buzzing comming from?
Is the buzzing comming from the action being too low? ex: the stings hit the fingerboard when you strike them on open and fingered positions? when
fingered the string should be rather clearly above the fingerboard and face between your finger and the brige.
or is there clear grove marks on the fingerboard? unlikely if its the 5th interval since not much playing goes on there.
Is the buzzing commin from the face? if you tap lightly on the face all over. Do you hear a rattle?
Is the buzing coming from the peg box? sometimes the the strings might touch another string or the pegbox wall and they ring out sympatheticaly.
tell us more
charangoud - 11-8-2006 at 09:07 PM
thanks...i tried tapping the face, no rattle...action is not too low, strings are not hitting fingerboard when struck...there's some knotty stuff in
the peg box, strings right next to and touching each other & peg box wall, this is probably the source of the problem but i'm not sure...i'd like
to just change the strings as i have a new set here;however, i've never strung up an oud before and would like some tips on the best way to do
it...also the tuning pegs of the lower (3) strings tend to slip as i tune them up to pitch, sometimes even almost unraveling at the peg shaft...what
is the remedy to this? thanks again!
SamirCanada - 11-8-2006 at 10:24 PM
try this
http://www.oudcafe.com/stringing_and_tuning.htm
look at the picture down at the right.
you could use some pegdope from a violin store for a temporary fix.
untill then strugling with pegs is part of your training on the oud Iam affraid
charangoud - 11-9-2006 at 06:26 AM
okay thanks samir...i realized that the buzzing seems to be coming from the bridge area...funny because when i got the oud a few days ago there was no
buzzing but yesterdaY when i tuned it up to pitch the buzzing started...and it seems like the oud itself sounded better for the first few days when i
got it...is this possible that the sound would deteriorate just like that? all i did was tune it up to pitch C for the 1st(highest) string
Brian Prunka - 11-9-2006 at 11:37 AM
If you're tuning the highest course to c, then the lowest course should either be C or D (unless you're doing the all-fourths c g d a e b tuning).
The buzzing could be from a loose brace, uneven fingerboard, wrong neck angle, loose rosettes, etc. . . .
One thing you can try is raising the action slightly on the bridge by pulling the loops a little higher (away from the face). Sometimes this reduces
buzzing.
Open string buzzing can also be caused by a too-low or improperly cut nut. you can raise the nut by cutting a small piece of an index card and
slipping it under the nut.