Jonathan - 2-22-2007 at 09:16 AM
I don't know if you can look at the color of the face of an instrument and determine how old it is, especially when you consider how common it is for
people to sand the face of the oud (shudder).
I'm not an expert, but in my opinion, color alone is not always reliable. I'm not referring to the oud above, but just in general.
SamirCanada - 2-22-2007 at 10:15 AM
Your right Jonathan, but in the case of this oud.
The pickgard, The inlays, The color of the bowl's wood, The workmenship the pegs used are all indicators that this oud was made or extremely modified
at the Khalifeh workshop in Damascus. I know because I owned one and I have seen many. The color of the wood for the bowl the those types of strip
inlays are almost there trademark. The rosettes may have been salvaged or reproduced from a old oud. Same with the inlays on the face. The label does
not match the other oud made by mahmood hadad that is being worked on right now by Doc Oud.
Nassour, Could you post one more picture of the bottom of your oud? I mean the spot where all the ribs join eachother? If its the shape of a clover
like on a club playing card. Then your oud was made by khalifeh's factory with a fake label.
Also it doesnt mean its not a nice oud. I think it sounds nice but its not made by mahmood hadad you can be sure of that.
Jonathan - 2-22-2007 at 11:10 AM
Exactly. That's why I put in that last sentence.
Matthias - 2-22-2007 at 05:50 PM
Hello,
you asked for the age of this oud. The label shows the yera 1980.
Matthias
SamirCanada - 2-22-2007 at 06:01 PM
Nasir, Do you see on the pic9 you posted?
the bottom peice used to cover the joining of the ribs? its made like a clover or a club peice from playing cards.
this is the way the Khalifeh work shop does things in al Sham.
Khalifeh ouds go for around 300$ in north america. In syria its conciderably less as you probably know.
What is really alarming is that there using another maker's name. Maybe someone over at there factory thinks that there own name is not good enough?
Anyways its not verry ethical but its not suprising either.
So if the Bowl, the face, the pegs etc... are not Mahmood hadad. If its only a few salvaged inlays etc..
Can we say its a hadad oud? even the label is faked.
food for thought
palestine48 - 2-22-2007 at 09:53 PM
The question I have is who are you and what are your intentions hear. are you a dealer who is trying to con the forum with fakes or were you a
genuine collecter who was naively conned by sales people.
WShile your previous posts sounds honest i still find it hard to beleive that you purchases these with outknowing there stature.
Most people in the arwab world (non musicians of course) still think to this day that an oud can be slapped together in someones living room and
shouldnt cost no more than a 100 dollars so my assumption is i dont think u were that naive to buy all these fakes. but if you did, salamtak and I
hope you learn to not buy anything that looks too ggood to be true.
excentrik - 2-22-2007 at 11:35 PM
that is a khalifeh bootleg- the tail plate, the shape of the entire oud, the olive wood pegs, the peg box itself- these are all khalifeh factory
pieces- no doubt in my mind-
your right Samir- thats a khalifeh- and thats messed up they started putting other peoples names inside! what a damned shame... Ya Allah!
tarik
Melbourne - 2-23-2007 at 08:54 AM
Surley if your capabilities are such as those in the posted youtube video, you would know what is genuine and what isnt. Besides, Khalifeh ouds are
in my opinion the most distinguishable of all arabic ouds ever!
badon yekloo l'akhdar w'l yebis!
It's a nice sounding oud.... $300 seems a reasonable price 
Jonathan - 2-23-2007 at 01:39 PM
Just a thought--
Is it possible that, when we point out what it is that makes an oud appear to be a fake, that we are actually making it easier for people to produce a
better, less detectable fake?
palestine48 - 2-23-2007 at 03:56 PM
what is the point of producing a fake. the oud community is not that big for the demand and nonplayers do not know the value of ouds and the real
masters wh play these magnificent instruments know better than to to over pay for any instrument so who are you really gonna sell it to. I understand
there is rare occasions but I would rather counterfeit Playstation games or something.