StephenGrayce
Oud Admirer
Posts: 2
Registered: 5-8-2010
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Ali Khalifeh - Something Missing?
I just purchased a used Ali Khalifeh oud, in great shape. The problem is a numbers game. There are 12 tuning pegs, six pairs of holes for strings in
the bridge, but only 5 pairs of string slots in the nut! The previous owner had the third pair split at the bridge. What am I missing here? One string
was broken and of course I want to get a new set. But do i get 10 or 12, and how do I put them in the nut?
Thanks from a novice,
Stephen in Florida
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
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Mood: m'Oudy
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"The previous owner had the third pair split at the bridge. "
What means that?
Many if not most ouds are made so the user can choose 5 or 6 courses. The standard perhaps these days is 5 double courses and a single bass string.
What you usually do is slot the nut "anew". Remember that the slots are not like on a guitar nut, they should start as barely scratches on the nut.
First you cross your fingers and verify that they used hide glue and you can unglue the nut with damp heat. You can then:
1) Unglue existing nut with steam, get a new bone or plastic or wood nut and slit it for 5x2 + 1
2) Unglue existing nut with steam, file it and reinstall it it with a little shim, reslit for 5x2 + 1
3) try to use the existing slits. I'd need a better close-up photo to tell, but it seems there is a slot for a single bass string 6th course, and two
slots for the 5th course. Once you put on a bass string, it might be obvious that you can make a couple of fine marks with a little file and move some
of the strings over for a better arrangement.
I would try #3 for openers, because the bottom "bamm" string is usually played open anyway, and the fact it's going to be tight on the fingerboard
might not be a serious problem. You can choose a more permanent solution if you need to.
The additional detail is that making these slots is trickier than it seems, and a slow start on the path to turning your house into a sawdust-covered
boneyard is not a bad idea. If some genius used "carpentry glue" to bond the nut in, the boneyard is just around the corner, look up glue types etc.
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StephenGrayce
Oud Admirer
Posts: 2
Registered: 5-8-2010
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"The previous owner had the third pair split at the bridge. " This will explain.
If you count from the high strings toward low, there are 12 holes in the bridge at the bottom (6 pairs of 2).
12-11 10-9 8-7 6-5 4-3 2-1
Presently, the 1st pair of strings are in 1-2; 2nd pair in 3-4; third pair in 6-7; fourth pair in 9-10 and fifth pair in 11-12. Holes 5 and 8 are
unused at the moment. Present spacing makes the third pair of strings wider apart than the other pairs. Only one of the fifth string pair show in the
picture because the other string was broken and I removed it. Though hard to see, there are clearly 2 slots in the nut to match the strings that were
in 11-12 (string 11 is the one I removed). So 5 pairs of slots at top, 6 pairs of slots at bottom.
Stephen
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