Ararat66 - 9-8-2007 at 01:24 AM
I'm at last ready to buy a professional quality oud and wondered what the forum's thoughts are on extended fingerboards. When did these begin to be
used - I don't often see them on older instruments and how do they effect the sound - they must reduce the resonance across soundboard area quite
considerably??
I am tempted as I play guitar and my fingers like to wonder around!!
Cheers
Leon
mavrothis - 9-8-2007 at 03:14 AM
Hi Leon,
I used to think that extended fingerboards were rather new too, until Theodorakis sent me this pic of Targan's Manol, which has this fingerboard from
the original shop according to what I've been told.
I prefer the shorter fingerboard myself, but the sound will not be ruined by an extended fingerboard, just very slightly dampened. I don't think you
will be disappointed either way.
Take care,
mavrothis
dubai244 - 9-9-2007 at 01:33 AM
Hi Ararat,
I have my Mr.Faruk oud, and i ordered it with Long FingerBoard, and all my oud are with long fingerboard. I never used oud with short fingerboard. The
advantages are:
1. Prventing from bending or collapse because of the Strings tense and pulling force.
2. It is used for "Positions" fingers techniq, when the player playing deep along the neck toward the middle hole of the oud face.
3. Does not have any effect on the sound quality at all. The brace and brace viberation is the source of the sound of the oud, not the finger
board.
4. Prevent the neckwood it self, Because if the the neck wood in the Finger Board area ruined, it means the oud will start to produce buzzy sound and
you need to change the whole neck of the oud to get ride of the buzz or Covered it with Long Finger Board. So finger Board act as blanket for the
neck.
However, Finger Board can be very bad if the maker missed handle it. I mean that the finger board must be smoothen in very accurate way in order to
get the perfect action of the strings and minimizing the buzzing. It needs alot of work and effort from the maker to get it right. They are very few
maker know how to do it, so it depens from whom you are ordering your oud.
By the way, Ararat is a name of a mountain in Turkey ....
Thanks
Ararat66 - 9-9-2007 at 10:48 AM
Hello Mav & Dubai
Thanks - I'll think about it, in terms of shape I prefer the short fingerboard, I realy like the ogee that jois the neck to the body (you know the
curved end of the fingerboard) but I also tend to wander towards the centre of the string at the octave of each open string. Hmmm
Dubai, I know of Ararat, for a start I'm half Armenian. My name is Leon, but Ararat 66 is simply the first mountain I saw (from the air on my way to
Tehran when I was about 6 months old) and the year of my birth. No more significant than that ! I am pretty apolitical on my identity, proud but
open minded - there's too much bigotry around and the bigger pcture is so often missed.
Best wishes to all
Leon
ALAMI - 9-9-2007 at 11:05 AM
A month ago, during a heat / humidity wave 2 similar young ouds from the same maker (my cousin's and mine) developed cracks on the soundboard near
the extended fingerboard. It happens suddenly and it is a scary sound.
I called the luthier and he was not surprised that cracks on the face of both ouds are near the extended fingerboard due to extreme difference in the
2 woods reaction to heat and humidity.
I agree with Leon that ouds without extended fingerboard look better