michoud - 10-27-2007 at 04:46 AM
Hi all!
Has anybody an oud with ebony back??
Can you post a photo of it???
Thanks
zalzal - 10-27-2007 at 09:20 AM
Este es un oud de Mauricio Shehata y creo que es ebano.
As soon as i get monies i'll take an ebony oud also, but i would prefer more black coloured.
SamirCanada - 10-27-2007 at 09:44 AM
Zalzal this oud is actualy really black in coulour.
the powerfull flash of the camera is showing the grain of the wood in different lights.
but under normal lights the oud is really dark.
zalzal - 10-27-2007 at 10:33 AM
You say dark, so is not black....
This back of this Maurice Shehata oud, is really black (not dark, black), like an ebony finger board, like ebony pegs, like the pickguard ?
SamirCanada, In this video you play an ebony oud ?? It looks more black color.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=F3LkJLfRFGc
BTW i think this is the back of the oud which the khaliji player was relaxingly trying at the Maurice's workshop. it is ebony mixed. you know what is
the other wood used??.
Ebony oud is my dream
Faladel - 10-27-2007 at 11:31 AM
Hi Zalzal:
Hacer un oud de Ebano es casi imposible por su dureza extrema y por su peso y por el dificil corte que ofrece, la mayoria de los ouds que (dicen) que
es de Ebano son de Nogal ennegrecido.asi lo dicen la mayoria de los Luthiers.
amtaha - 10-27-2007 at 12:43 PM
I am guessing, but don't know, that Faladel is referring to the difficulty of utilizing ebony for the ribs due to its density and the fact that it
cannot be easily shaped .. (I don't know french .. :-))
Now what I didn't get is the rest of the post .. :-)
zalzal - 10-27-2007 at 01:16 PM
Amtaha, you got exactly what Faladel said in.....spanish. (not french) . He also said that most black ouds are in fact blackened walnut.
My question in my previous post to SamirCanada was if back of ouds can be really black like ebony finger board, like ebony pegs, like some black
pickgards.
Then i asked SamirCanada, if the oud he played in his video was an ebony oud, because its back looks really black.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=F3LkJLfRFGc
And finally i posted another picture of another oud which seems to be the oud which is shown in a youtube video posted by SamirCanada where a khaliji
player was relaxingly playing it at the Maurice's workshop. The back of this oud is mixed.
And i wanted to know what is the other wood used in this last oud apart fm ebony.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=LzEcdA3xjus
I think Maurice is using Mpingo wood or black africanwood (which is a kind of ebony wood). And he succeeds to use it for almost all parts of some of
the ouds he makes -except soundboard and bracings-; in spite of its difficulty to shape and bend the ribs.
I believe ebony has no dilatation and thus avoids usual humidity problems (less tuning disorders etc).
Anyhow, i do not want to divert the question of Michoud, hopes this is giving some useful infos.
There are other posts in Mike's forum on ebony ouds.
amtaha - 10-27-2007 at 01:36 PM
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?fid=11&tid=...
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=1922
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=1922
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6562
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?fid=14&tid=...
I think there are discussions from several angles in the above threads ... Just find ebony on the thread.
There's an interesting alternative to using the forum's search on google. You type the following, for example
site:www.mikeouds.com/messageboard ebony ribs
Will get you anything with ebony or ribs on the forum. If instead you write
site:www.mikeouds.com/messageboard "ebony ribs"
You'll get what the forum's search gives you.
Cheers.
Hamid
p.s. Zalzal, I also don't know spanish .. 
) But thanks, man.
SamirCanada - 10-28-2007 at 12:38 PM
Zalzal under normal lights its just as black as a fingerboard.
ebony has streaks in it naturally. so most fingerboards are actually ebony that is further died black.
It looks really dark... black same thing !
enjoy your search for an ebony oud.
once you play one... it will be a dream come true.