Edward Powell - 7-30-2009 at 09:25 AM
Hi Friends
As some of you know, I am developing an instrument which is sort of a combination of an oud and a sarod - the "Ragmakamtar" -
I have built 4 already all with varying degrees of success in terms of sound, playability, and visual appearance.
The latest one in particular got the ergonomics really close and the sarod sound perfect.... however the oud is not sounding the way I want it....
sure, I searched out what IT'S sound wants to be and it is very very nice, but still I want the oud side more like an oud - - - so off I go again,
when perhaps I ought to be focusing on playing, and promoting my music - - - I am reaching into the air again in search of an new design which will
give me that experimental hybrid that I am trying to achieve.
The obvious thing is that the sarod side is easy because a sarod's soundboard is really small. And the oud side is simply not going to sound like an
oud unless the body and soundboard share a large amount of similarity with that of an actual oud - - - - I probably should have realised this a lot
earlier, since it all seems so obvious to me now - - - but better late than never, so here we go again.
The new one will be strictly a quickly made prototype simply with the purpose to see if I can get the oud part sounding good, and the playability
comfortable.
The design of this one is essentially an oud but with extra parts added in order to squeeze the sarod and sympathetic string off into the corner
(since that is all they seem to require anyway).
Here are some pics of the process so far.....
Edward Powell - 9-8-2009 at 08:32 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfIZnqvco4U
Here is the best from the test clips taken last month of the FIFTH VERSION of the Ragmakamtar. As is obvious, this version is just a prototype, not
intending to look polished... made in a very short time (3 weeks) and the back is made of papiermache.
This clip was taken just minutes after stringing it up after the 4th bracing change. The first soundboard didn't work out, so this is the second
soundboard and the 3rd bracing change on that.
Right off I was happy with the oud sound but thought the sarod sounded like a thin banjo. Of course this is still very rough and the fingerboards are
not completely smooth causing sound gliches... but still I thought to put up this clip for the public's interest.
In order to get the sarod side this resonant I have to reduce the lattice bracing so thin that the soundboard is now almost too warped to play...
and finally I am not satisfied with the sound... it took me a few days to understand the OBVIOUS - why the sarod sounds like a banjo :-) ...it is
simply because the sarod side does NOT have enough SPACE around the bridge.
So I have designed a new soundboard - and since I am off back to Europe in 2 weeks, I will wait til getting back there to build the new version.
However, all in all I consider this latest experiment a great success because the oud is finally going in the direction I am looking for. The sarod
unfortunately went in the WRONG direction sound-wise, but the good thing is that finally I understand WHY! The ergonomics are fantasic (finally!) and
the instrument is very light.
The down-side is the asthetics... :-) it is not exactly the most graceful design I have every seen or come up with... but hey, sound and
playability take a STRONG FIRST. If it doesn't sound great and play easy, but looks amazing - what good is it?
- - -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfIZnqvco4U
fernandraynaud - 9-9-2009 at 06:17 PM
Ours is not to wonder why .... as you say, sound takes first place .... The oud side sure sounds "convincing". Best of luck with the Monster.
Edward Powell - 9-9-2009 at 07:13 PM
Thanks so much--- actually the oud didn't really come out well on this clip because the action and fingerboard were absolutely not set properly
here... but you can hear that the instrument is responding to the strings...
why?? Yes, that question always comes. Often asked is, why not just have an oud and a sarod both on-stage. The primary answer is that I want to be
able to instantly jump back and forth between Middle-eastern and Indian sounds with one instrument. This is the music I am composing these days...
something on which ragas and makams can truly be combined. You can do this on a violin of course, but the timbre of an oud is particularly
middle-eastern, as is a sarod indian.