Mike's Oud Forums

Opinion on Naseer Shamma oud.

andoni - 6-24-2007 at 04:11 AM

Hi all,
I came across this oud and its seller claims that it was designed and tested by Naseer Shamma. Unfortunately I never heard of its maker (Ajib Naseef) or of such ouds, so I'm asking if anyone has heard of this maker and his ouds. The seller is asking $700, what do you guys think???

andoni - 6-24-2007 at 04:13 AM

More pics of the oud ... peg box ..

andoni - 6-24-2007 at 04:15 AM

Back view ... if I'm not mistaken it looks like Walnut
.. right???

andoni - 6-24-2007 at 04:16 AM

front view...

andoni - 6-24-2007 at 04:18 AM

The maker ... oud al mahabba .. Anyone has more info on him and his ouds? Thanks

amtaha - 6-24-2007 at 06:24 AM

There are several mentionings of Naseef's work on this forum, including this

http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=3661&pa...

You can search for Ageeb, Ajeeb, Nassif and Naseef ...

Good luck

ron - 6-24-2007 at 07:41 AM

hi andoni

I recently purchased an oud by Naseef while in France. I paid 150 euros. i am currently making some cosmetic and playability changes to it. I posted some pics here: http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6207&pa...

Hope this helps

Ron

michoud - 6-24-2007 at 10:13 AM

Hi Andoni!!
Are you from the basque country??;);)

akram - 6-24-2007 at 12:15 PM

nasser oud was made by yaroub mohamed fadel
http://www.yaroubfadel.com
akram

Ronny Andersson - 6-24-2007 at 01:33 PM

No, I dont think Naseer Shamma had anything to do with the design with this oud. This maker builds ouds in the lower price range, far from Yaroubs in quality. This oud seems to be based on Mohammed Fadels model which most are except the bent soundboard.

andoni - 6-24-2007 at 03:41 PM

Thank you all for the replies.
So what I get from you is that $700 is too much for this oud, especially since Ron only paid 150 euros for a similar one. Pity, the oud actually sounds good but maybe I should save my money for a better quality one.

Amtaha, how much did you pay for yours???

Michoud, I'm not from the basque country :bowdown:, my great grandfather had the name and it's a mystery how he got it.

I found this oud in Palestine, but I will go back to the US soon, I thought it would be easier to find a quality oud here than the US.
I guess I'll keep looking ... I'll keep you guys posted, you are of great help.

amtaha - 6-24-2007 at 04:24 PM

Sorry, andoni .. but I don't have a Naseef oud. The link was for a different person called hassan.

There ought to be decent oud makers in Palestine. I found the following in the forum.

http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=5963&pa...

http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=1755

Perhaps people over there would be more able to shed more light on this matter.

Again, sorry for the confusion and best of luck.

Regards,
Hamid

dubai244 - 6-24-2007 at 09:49 PM

Hi Andoni,

700$ is too much for such oud, for so many reasons:

1. The wood guality is not that good, i think this oud is made of Walnut. Walnut is consider 3th class wood for instrument making

2.The finishing of the oud is good but not perfect compare to other makers.

I dont know about the sound quality, so i dont know about the price range.

My advise to you, buy some thing really nice and from good maker, rather than spending money here and there on some thing you dont really know.

Cheers ;)

palestine48 - 6-24-2007 at 09:57 PM

where are you in palestine. try samer totah in ramallah or there are a few that i heard about in the galilee.

excentrik - 6-25-2007 at 10:34 PM

man- did you guys check out how the strings are rested on the edge of the soundboard and bowl? thats gotta create some major structural problem in the future, right? every time you tune it the dent would get slightly wider- gheez

tarik

SamirCanada - 6-26-2007 at 06:15 AM

By the way... Most students at the oud house in Cairo led by Naseer Shamma are using ouds made by Naseef Ageeb. So its unfair to say its a poor quality instrument. In my opinion the sample posted by hassan a while ago is really great. Ebony pegs and fingerboard and spruce top is a good sign too. Dont discard this oud too quick. Also 700$ is far away from what would get you a really nice floating brige oud from Yaroub.
Walnut is 3rd in quality ratings? what about all the Nahat ouds are they 3rd quality?

Lazzaro - 6-27-2007 at 11:50 AM

I agree with you Samir, there is wisdom in your words. The instrument I used as model for the my "floating bridge project" is similar and using better wood the result is very good.
I don't remember the name of the maker, but the oud I used as model was one for the students in oud house in Cairo, I remember only a flower in the label.
For me this oud was well made and good sounding and for this reason I have convinced my friend Agostino to realize a copy with aged rosewood and extra quality italian spruce.
best regards Maurizio

andoni - 6-29-2007 at 04:40 AM

So I ended up not going for this oud after all. Mostly because it had some cracks in the back which you can't see because of the poor picture quality.
Thanks for everyone's feedback on this oud.
Right now, thanks to Palestine48, I contacted Samer Totah and I will go visit him in Ramallah. Anybody familiar with his work or with other oud makers in Palestine.
Salam...
Andoni

palestine48 - 6-29-2007 at 08:09 AM

i emailed him a few times, his family and my family were neighbors before my family imigrated. he has studied under faruk turunz(turkish maker with a big reputation) as far as i know.

palestinian makers ive learned from in this forum are

kamil mwez

abu alla

samir jubrans brother, adnan i think. (i am fascinated by these but i hear are super price and come out of europe i think. , these makers all within the green line, so you might to see if you can travel freely in there. i dunno how it is as of recent. )