Mike - 3-6-2009 at 02:16 PM
These are above average ouds for $500 total (this price includes shipping and gig bag). These ouds are not made by Maurice Shehata, but he has taken
them in and given them some added attention, i.e. refinish, new strings, working pegs, and overall setup. All of these ouds have bowls of padauk, as
seen in the picture below.
Once again, $500 bucks gets you one of these ouds, and $150 of that is shipping cost. For $350 bucks you can have one of these ouds that are much
better than anything out there for that price.
These are perfect for beginners who are not sure if they want to totally get into the oud, and don't want to spend big bucks finding out. These all
play well, easy, and have a nice sound to encourage you to practice. For those of us who have spent 4 or 5 hundred bucks (sometimes more) on junky
ouds, you know what I am talking about. Having a good oud to practice with encourages you to practice. This is a fact. Try practicing on an oud with
no sound, high action, and ill fitting pegs that don't stay in tune and you will see what I mean.
Anyway, enough of a sales pitch, if you are interested in any of these, you can email me or email Maurice.
$500 Oud #1
Mike - 3-6-2009 at 02:17 PM
Oud #1 (SOLD)
$500 Oud #2
Mike - 3-6-2009 at 02:20 PM
Oud #2 (SOLD)
$500 Oud #3
Mike - 3-6-2009 at 02:21 PM
Oud #3 (SOLD)
$500 Oud #4
Mike - 3-8-2009 at 10:00 AM
Oud #4 (SOLD)
Edward Powell - 3-9-2009 at 05:30 AM
Beautiful ouds!
Egyptian ouds are an excellent value for the money for sure!
Mike - 3-9-2009 at 08:23 AM
Oud #4 has been sold....
Yeah Edward, if you know where to go in Egypt, you can really get a great oud for a great price. If only we could all travel there...hey...isn't that
a great idea? We should look into planning a Oud retreat in Egypt one day. 
Edward Powell - 3-9-2009 at 12:32 PM
Oud retreat would be a great idea! ...especially if it would be somewhere in the nature!
Taric - 3-9-2009 at 04:23 PM
You know I have cousins overseas in Jordan and I asked them to send me an oud 6 months ago they never bothered besides I am to afraid he will get
jibbed or by something ornamental not for playing quality
Edward Powell - 3-9-2009 at 11:58 PM
I would never recommend anyone to get an inexperienced person to choose an oud for you. The fact is that most of them are just terrible.
I spent 3 days on mohammed ali street searching for a good cheap one and finally found something acceptable. A friend asked me to send him a similar
one so I went back to the same shop and sure enough he had another there of that same model and also sounding pretty good... so i bought this and
sent it to my friend. I thought I had done well for my friend because this oud sounded very good for the money but it did not look like anything
special. I have the feeling now that my friend was a bit disappointed because of how it looks, and since he is not an oud player he will probably
never appreciate the sound quality.
I am sure that these ouds that Maurice are picking oud will be very similar to the one that I bought - very acceptable sound and playability.
...but you know, with my oud, a few days ago I decided, since I will be playing one more concert here, to try to get it sounding a bit more resonant
and professional - - - so I bit the bullet and sanded off all of the polyester varnish from the soundboard - I also scraped off the pickguard
completely. . . . then I reached inside with a sharp knife and shaved to braces down quite a bit. The whole time I was checking the flexibility of the
soundboard in order not to go TOO FAR....
and the result is a GREATLY improved and rich tone.
personally, with one of these ouds I would strongly recommend sanding off the varnish from the soundboard at least. Anyone can do this, and if you
finely sand it up to 320 then it will be really fine looking. Afterall in the past ouds never used to have varnish on the soundboards. Just doing this
even without touching the braces will help the sound a lot.
bibo10 - 3-18-2009 at 10:28 PM
hey oud 4 is mine lol, i just got it yesterday
its gorgeous, received in great condition..absolutely stunning..i ll take more pics and i ll upload it later
THANK YOU MIKE, THANK YOU MAURICE
Mike - 3-23-2009 at 10:09 AM
Oud #1 has been sold....
More $500 ouds: Here's Oud#5
Mike - 3-26-2009 at 10:24 AM
Oud #5 (SOLD)
$500 Oud #6
Mike - 3-26-2009 at 10:25 AM
Oud #6 (SOLD)
$500 Oud #7
Mike - 3-26-2009 at 10:26 AM
Oud #7 (SOLD)
$500 Oud #8
Mike - 3-26-2009 at 10:28 AM
Oud #8 (SOLD)
$500 Oud #9
Mike - 3-26-2009 at 10:29 AM
Oud #9 (SOLD)
francis - 3-26-2009 at 12:37 PM
N° 7 , 8 and 9 will be hard to play like this!!!
Reda Aouad - 3-26-2009 at 12:40 PM
Are 7, 8 and 9 identical?
oudemir - 3-26-2009 at 01:03 PM
Mike,
Possibly interested in ouds 5 or 6. Any sound files available? 
U2U
sent. Thanks.
Mike - 3-26-2009 at 04:11 PM
that's true francis. 
hey Reda...no, they are very similar, but if you look closely at the bowls you can notice a difference. also, look at the grain lines on each
soundboard. they do look really close though.
oudemir...i'll send you an email...
whisperoftheoud - 3-26-2009 at 05:10 PM
bibo10 - 3-26-2009 at 08:11 PM
wow they are all nice but mine is better haha..jkjk
ammar22 - 3-27-2009 at 08:12 AM
hi mike im interested in oud no 5 if its still avilable how much its gona cost me as i live in uk
many thanks
Mike - 3-27-2009 at 11:22 PM
sent you an email Ammar
Mike - 4-1-2009 at 12:47 PM
Oud #6 has been sold....
oudemir - 4-5-2009 at 09:11 AM
Yes, oud #6 will soon be arriving! Shortly after receiving it, I will post some more pics and sound files so others interested in these $500 ouds will
have a chance to hear an example.
Mike - 4-26-2009 at 08:46 AM
All these ouds have been sold. He should be getting some more of these affordable ouds soon...stay tuned for another thread.