Mike's Oud Forums

Oud construction book

Elias Al-Muntarib - 4-7-2004 at 09:19 PM

I would like to learn more about the bracing part of the sound board. I would like to know how the positions, dimensions and the shapes of the braces are detemined.

I have Dr. Oud's book and it is a very good book. But I would to be able to more than just copy patterns.

I suspect that the bracing and the sound board pretty much determine the sound quality of the oud.

So does anybody here know of a good book that goes into this area in details?

And how do you judge the authenticity and quality of the Oud sound? What defines it as an Oud sound? Is there a certain frequency spectrum that the sound board resonates at which charcaterizes an authentic Oud sound?

Thanks

Oud Construction

wfspark - 4-7-2004 at 09:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Elias Al-Muntarib
I would like to learn more about the bracing part of the sound board. I would like to know how the positions, dimensions and the shapes of the braces are detemined.

I have Dr. Oud's book and it is a very good book. But I would to be able to more than just copy patterns.

I suspect that the bracing and the sound board pretty much determine the sound quality of the oud.

So does anybody here know of a good book that goes into this area in details?

And how do you judge the authenticity and quality of the Oud sound? What defines it as an Oud sound? Is there a certain frequency spectrum that the sound board resonates at which charcaterizes an authentic Oud sound?

Thanks
Hello Mr. Almuntarib. I think the shapes and patterns of the brasing are pretty much the same. Haluk? Could you help us out with this subject please?

William F. Sparks

Dr. Oud - 4-8-2004 at 12:11 PM

Quote:

I think the shapes and patterns of the brasing are pretty much the same

I beg to differ; while similar, the bracing shapes, sizes and locations are slightly different among the many styles of ouds. Variation as little as one millimeter in brace size and/or location can dramatically change the frequency response of the face. The string is the main element in producing the sound wave, but the face adds harmonic overtones and the body cavity adds reflective resonance. The location of the braces determines the fundamental nodes for the dominant frequencies of the harmonics produced by the face or soundboard. The volume of the body plays a part in enhancing or resonating with the frequencies produced by the strings and face. It is these harmonics and resonance that give the oud it's characeristic tone quality. I have not found any book describing how these elements are interrelated. I believe the master builders found combinations that worked by trial and error over thousands of years of making ouds. Copying patterns of master made ouds is a valid means to achieve the desired result of a good instrument.

The Turkish oud is a result of a culture that supports apprentice instruction, and most Turkish ouds are based on the size and structure as defined by Manol. This is a very good model and accounts for the consistant quality of Turkish ouds, but even Manol made ouds with slightly different patterns.

Arabic oud making has suffered from the culture's reluctance to hand down skill and knowledge. Many great oud making dynastys have died out with the master's passing and the knowledge is lost. Consequently Arabic ouds are all over the place in size, structure and quality. A few are good, many are not. No offence intended, it's just a fact I have observed over more than 30 years of playing and repairing ouds.

Faruk Türünz has published some articles on acoustical research:

http://www.oudmaster.com/characteristic_of_oud.htm#A%20Short%20Summ...

http://www.oudmaster.com/Lecture.htm

My own opinion is that mathmatical formulas rely on homogenous material characteristics. Every piece of wood is different in weight, density and stiffness. and even each piece varies as the grain changes over it's width and/or length. Even the masters could not produce consistantly great sounding ouds, they just had better yield due to their skill and successful designs. I am content to copy patterns of the masters.

Good info, thanks

Elie Riachi - 4-9-2004 at 05:52 PM

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and I am very glad that I found it (thank you Mike for the super idea of creating this site).

I grew up in the Arab World, Middle East, but immigrated a long time ago.

It seems that the only one who is willing to lend an insight into Oud making is Dr. Oud. It is disapointing (no offense) that the Arabic Oud makers aren't willing to share their knowledge to keep this heritage of quality Oud making from dying out.

But some of them blame it on their governments for not supporting them by providing them with positions at technical schools. I tend to agree with these Oud makers and it would be the wise thing to do since the good ones end up having to just make cheap tourists Ouds to survive.

I have been looking for books on Oud making and the only one I found on the internet is Dr. Oud's (thanks, someone is sharing the knowledge.) I purchased it and it is a great book in my opinion. So I guess we just copy "patterns of the masters" for now, which is time and cost effective, and continue to seek a deeper insight into what makes an Oud a great Oud.

Dr. Oud - 4-10-2004 at 06:23 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Elie Riachi
So I guess we just copy "patterns of the masters" for now, which is time and cost effective, and continue to seek a deeper insight into what makes an Oud a great Oud.


I gained my oud making knowledge by repairing and buying broken ouds, disassembling them and recording the measurement data. I was inspired to write my book after reading a book on santur making by Masood Mishakian, who experienced the same frustration with Persion santur makers. He has written the only book about building the santur.

I have continued to learn (thanks to Jameel Abraham's courageous and wonderful project website).

http://www.msocp.com/Jameel_OudConstruction.htm

My thanks also to Ronny Andersson who has shared the design of his 1956 Mohammad Fadel Hussein Bashir oud with me for a replication build (still in process, the design and build instruction to be pulished at a later date).

http://www.iraqi-oud.com/index/project/bashir_oud_project.htm

I am collecting data for a Nahat oud database and would welcome any information Nahat owners have about their instrument, including pictures, measurements or knowledge of the Nahat family.