Fahad79 - 9-23-2007 at 09:20 PM
Hi,
I am interested in learning the oud, however I am not sure where to buy one.
I'm Arizona right now, and can only really purchase one online.
My question is, being a novice, would it be just the same buying an oud from a generic online musical instruments outlet*, or would it be better
getting a real name oud from a professional luthier.
Keep in mind that I am not looking to spend over ~$350.
What do you guys think?
Thanks,
Fahad
*examples:
http://www.nileshop.net/store/nileshop_listCategoriesAndProducts.as...
http://www.instrumentalsavings.com/Oud-s/235.htm
Fahad79 - 9-24-2007 at 11:22 PM
Common guys, 65 views and no reply? One of you must have bought an Oud at one time or another.
MatthewW - 9-24-2007 at 11:47 PM
Hello Fahad79! welcome to the forum. The question you ask has been asked many times by others like yourself looking to find a first oud, so maybe
thats why there has been a delay in responding to you. the question you ask has been raised before- here is a link to a recent thread which you may
find useful:
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6608
Your budget of $350.00 might place a limit on what ouds are available to you which are made by some of the more established/better known oud makers. I
haven't personally bought an oud from either of the places you mention in your posting, though some members in the forum have bought ouds from the
Nile Shop and have been very happy with their ouds. If you bought an oud from the Nile Shop, you would probably want it shipped to you in a hard case
( you would be taking chances not to do so) and so this would add an extra cost to your budget, not to mention shipping from Egypt to Arizona. With
the Nile Shop many of their ouds are not generic either, and thier website will tell you so, like a 'shehata oud' or other makers name, but these are
their higher end ouds which will cost more than $350, especially if you want a case and the shipping.
Some newcomers to the oud have purchased an oud from Haluk Erayadin, a Turkish maker who makes very good quality 'student' ouds, his oud number 3
which is really better than student instruments, and is a great person to deal with.However they start new at 379 bucks, then there is shipping on top
of that. his website:
http://www.eraydinsazevi.com.tr
OK, so what is available for $350? perhaps a member in the forum has a good old oud that they can sell that is within your budget- in this case
you'll have to wait and see if anyone here offers one, so keep your posting active. 
Then there is ebay- however you need to be cautious here, mixed in with the good ouds are ouds that may look good but are only fit to hang on your
wall for decoration! If you see an oud on ebay that interests you, put it up in the forum and ask for feedback; there are many knowledgeable players
in the forum and someone ought to be able to tell you if that ebay oud is worth it or not.
I hope this information helps, good luck bud!
Come on the rest of you, surely someone out there can offer more advice to Fahad79 or has an oud to sell him?
Fahad79 - 9-25-2007 at 12:20 AM
Thanks Matthew,
your posting was very helpful.
~$350 isn't a lot I know, but I kept in mind the additional costs of shipping and a hard case. I am willing to spend more on an Oud if it's right.
Thank you also for redirecting me to the other posting. I needed just that.
Also, Do you know if I can buy Salmeen Oud somewhere online?
Now I can narrow down my options.
Thanks again,
Fahad
excentrik - 9-25-2007 at 03:44 PM
go to oudnazihghadban.com and drool for a while-
you might be tempted- I can personally vouch for the sound- and many here as well-
tarik
Fahad79 - 10-2-2007 at 02:38 PM
Thanks for the link Tarek!
Yeah I know what you mean about the drooling .. do you know how much they charge?
Thanks,
Fahad
cjmichael - 10-5-2007 at 08:38 AM
Fahad79,
I am speaking honestly from experience here, if you spend that much (sub 350) on a oud from a place that mass sells them, even if you get a hard case,
you may be hugely disappointed when you finally get the oud. I'm not going to name names (you can find out looking at my old posts if you're really
interested). I have two ouds, one I bought in the beginning of summer in the 400 price range, and one I bought a few months ago made by a
professional maker via OudProff. The one I spent under 1000 on is the only one I use. The other one is just sitting in its case rotting because it
has almost no play value compared to the professional one. However, in purchasing the cheap one, I realized that I did have some passion for learning
how to play, and buying an expensive one would not be a waste of money.
It's all in what exactly you want to get out of it. If you are 100% sure you want to play oud regularly, save save save and get an awesome one. If
you are not sure, buying a cheap one to find out isn't such a bad idea. I don't regret buying my first oud. It taught me just how much I wanted to
play. I've learned through my purchases to appreciate oud quality. Trust me, a oud from a good maker is worth its value.
In an endnote, one day I want to take my old oud to a luthier and get it fixed. If all the kinks and buzzes can be worked out of it with a fistful of
money, it will be worth owning.
New Oud
myeyes2020 - 10-5-2007 at 06:20 PM
Hi Fahad,
$350.00 is adequate to acuire a decent oud with a case including case from eBay for and Egyptian oud priced around $250 to 300.
For learning and Practice up to intermediate stage it will serve you well. Unless you spend anywhere near $1600 bucks, you will never have a good
quality oud.
With the oud you get from ebay, you will never hear the pure sound of the oud unless you place your ear on the back. However, it still sounds
nice.
The so called "professional ouds" priced at 700 to 1000 are essentially a waste because the sound boards are not costum made to your desired tuning
(arabic vs turkish or your exact preferred tuning of which there are several choices). So I recomend that you get that oud from ebay, pluck the heck
out of it, explore several tuning schema, occasionally put your ear on the back of the oud and after a couple of years, you can purchase a costum made
concert oud specifically made to your prefered tuning schema for the pure sound like you've never heard before.
If you are able to, purchase a couple of extra strings, plastic rishas and pegs. They're cheap.Good luck!
Myeyes2020