I use sometimes the Mary strings. They have very nice & crisp sound on my oud, but it takes more time for them "settle down", like even a 7 days.
Other quality strings settle down in 1-3 days. But still, Mary is ++ with strong crisp sound. Kamil Mwez sells his ouds with Mary strings on them.
So if you look for asli arabic sound, that's it.
Abu Alla sells with Pyramid - the two labels of strings are supposed to be similar... don't know...paulO - 9-25-2008 at 05:43 AM
Dude...check the guages ! I heard about Daniel Mari Strings from John Bilezikjian many years ago, tried a set and especially like the smooth feel of
the wound strings...some oud buddies of mine and I contacted Daniel Mari, and orderd strings directly in bulk. What we got were good strings, but the
guages weren't consistent..so just check the guages and make sure they're cool for whatever tuning you're using. And at the time they were much less
expensive than either the D'Addario's and LaBella's. Good luck.
Regards..Paulsamzayed - 9-25-2008 at 10:58 AM
I am interested in trying these someday. . . Can anyone describe the tension or gauges (thin / thick) ? Or, if anyone has info their gauges that
would be cool too. .
ThanksALAMI - 9-25-2008 at 11:24 AM
Fadi Matta also puts Mari strings on his ouds, they are on the thin side, the sound is crisp and clear but they don't last very long (but they are
cheap)samzayed - 9-25-2008 at 11:27 AM
thanks ALAMI! You're always a reliable source of information BTW, did you get
my last email?Butrous - 9-25-2008 at 12:18 PM
I introduced Fadi Matta to these strings in 2001.
I have been using them for years.
A friend of mine uses the high/treble F, he said they broke easily on his Yaroub Fadel mandolin bridge oud. He did not know why.
I never had a problem on a fix bridge oud?rojaros - 11-16-2008 at 02:02 PM
Hi there,
I'm now using Daniel Mari strings on a 62 cm arabic oud and they are just marvelous - they tend to be rather light which yields a flexible and
colourful sound.
If you're not after high tension, give them a try - you might be surprized...
best wishes
Robert
PS for having them settled I used the technique that is recommanded by Aquila for their strings and it works equally well on every strings. They kept
in tune after one day or so.suz_i_dil - 11-16-2008 at 02:50 PM
Butrous, and as this is a subject about affordable strings, there is a very cheap solution for high Fa, is using fishing nylon line, diameter 0.5.
This can make laugh, but really it works fine. They may broke easily when settling initially, but as very cheap it doesn't really matter, you can
change the broken one. After settling it is allright.
I don't use those anymore, but I did first when I was not using custom set with higher tension for a floating bridge.Boral - 11-17-2008 at 01:36 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by rojaros
PS for having them settled I used the technique that is recommanded by Aquila for their strings and it works equally well on every strings. They kept
in tune after one day or so.
Hi Robert,
Can you please post the link to the technique you mentioned?
thank yourojaros - 11-17-2008 at 12:47 PM
Hi, look into FAQ no 31) http://www.aquilacorde.com/faqi.htm, I also found somewhere a better explanation, but I can't come up with a link right now.
I use it allways it, it always works great. I try to describe it. Maybe I'll post a video on YouTube one day:
When I have a new string set put on the oud I first tune it up to the right pitch; then I take the string between the thumb and the middle finger and
push both fingers angainst the string in opposit direction in the plane parallel to the sound board (not away from soundboard as the picture at aquila
faq shows). I do this quickly and boldly (not too boldly though!) along the strings on 4-5 places.
Usualy in the begining the string tuning drops quite a bit (maybe a fifth) down, but then I tune it again up to pitch and repeat it until the tunig
barely changes (4-5 times). I do this with every string separately. Having a bit of routine it takes mabe 10-15 minutes. You have to develope a
feeling for each string not to overstress them. Espacially wound strings need a good feeling.
Afterwards the string stays basically tuned, as much as it does when it is settled.
Hope I'm clear enough with my description.
I do this with my concert guitar strings as well. I never tune the whole set to high (to much tension on the instrument!).Boral - 11-17-2008 at 01:08 PM
Thank you
I also do this in my classical guitar. thank you anyway
Antoniorojaros - 4-1-2009 at 02:23 PM
Hi there, I just got a set of Daniel Mari for turkish oud, and they are very nice - I can really recommend them strongly. Contact Bill Ostrie; besides
of having and selling them he is really a very helpful and kind person
Best wishes
Robertcharlie oud - 4-2-2009 at 10:13 AM
Yes. Daniel Mari strings for oud are very good. The bass's are as good as any and I dont agree that they dont last. The tone change over time is no
different to any other wound strings for oud, and the pitch remains true for the same amount of time as any other strings also. CReda Aouad - 4-7-2009 at 04:52 PM
What strings do you think can be used with the Daniel Mari set as treble FF?charlie oud - 4-8-2009 at 09:42 AM
Pyramid custom 0.45 should do fine. Though this is my guess.Kelly - 4-27-2009 at 02:13 PM
I received an email from Bill Ostrie re high f'.He is trying to get some from Mari strings over the next few weeks I suggested there might be some
demand so he's trying to get some in stock. He's very helpful and would welcome suggestions. I've just put a set on Moussa Oud 60cm scale length-
minus high f'. Here's some initial impressions with averaged readings for gauges +/- .001
Although bottom C ( .039w)and F (.031w) seem thin/slack when compared to Aquila Turkish light the tone is still quite strong. The A (.028w) is good,
the D ( .024w) is excellent and seems to suit this oud well. The trebles are . g (.028) and c (.024) nylon. sound so far a bit more "earthy" but
seem to project better than the D'addario of similar gauge.
BTW, did you get
my last email?