ameer - 10-23-2009 at 06:17 AM
So I've been looking into getting another oud, and found this one on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OLD-UNIQUE-RARE-PROFESSIONAL-MOSAIC-SOBHI-OUD-H...
Does anyone know if it's a remotely decent buy? Thanks.
Brian Prunka - 10-23-2009 at 06:30 AM
It looks like it could be a good instrument, but there's no way I would even consider paying $900 for an oud that I hadn't played.
If you're the adventurous type, I'd consider $500 to $600 a reasonable price for the risk you're taking (you can make an offer on the ebay page).
Things I noticed:
The face appears to have been sanded, and not carefully either. This may not be a problem, if the face was originally fairly thick. on the other
hand it could be a big problem, and the face may need to be replaced (so much for all that mosaic).
The beard (the inlay where the neck meets the body) is damaged. It's hard to tell, but it's quite possible unplayable up there in its current
condition.
The pegs look good, and most of the oud looks original.
Even if everything is OK, just because it's old doesn't mean it's going to sound good. It's a gamble. I would plan to put $200-$500 worth of work
into it, and bid accordingly.