| Pages:
1
2 |
fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
Member Is Offline
Mood: m'Oudy
|
|
You need to turn the brightness way down on your camera so we can see the nut details.
Also some of the images won't load off imgshack for me. Like #8 for instance.
http://img594.imageshack.us/i/1000472a.jpg/
Is it my popup-blocker? Check it pls.
|
|
|
Scolecite
Oud Lover
Posts: 18
Registered: 8-17-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
I put in the two black lines where the grooves were on the nut to the left and the other black line at the bottom to so you can see how level it is.
(For #8)
Imageshack isnt working for me either, with no popup blocker. You can right click on the photo and "save as" to your desktop though once you clicked
into imageshack.
|
|
|
fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
Member Is Offline
Mood: m'Oudy
|
|
Can you please remove these huge photos now?
they are causing problems with subsequent posts.
OK, now I see it. I think you have to do some
level-headed thinking here.
This is an overpriced "Muhamed Ali Street oud".
You can buy it in Cairo for less than $100.
Of course markup is the nature of business,
but shame on Arabinstruments for misleading people
with the description:
Professional Egyptian Oud By Ahmed Abdel Halim
It's supreme quality manifest in every possible way.
The Oud is made of Walnut and Paldouk wood and has a perfect finish.
The craft is undoubtedly unique and one of a kind.
It's structure and texture are inimitable.
Sadly, this is the standard bullcrap of the bazaar.
Of course the fingerboard is not ebony.
But that's not very important. That nut is a bit of a riddle:
is Ahmed visually challenged?
And what IS that spongiform substance it's made of?
The neck seems good, the action is great, the soundboard
looks OK, the bowl is nice, the bridge seems alright.
The fact the pegbox sits at an angle is not critical
as long as you can fix the nut.
What I would do is try to work with them and get some
money back, as they misled you in several respects in
the item description, including the ebony fingerboard,
and you will have to "get the nut fixed". At say $300
plus shipping, that's par. Or maybe they'll let you
have the next oud at a deep discount. If you paid with
Paypal, you have leverage that they don't want to resist.
If they don't want to be reasonable, send it back, if
they won't let you do that, file a Paypal complaint.
If you can work it out, it's probably worth keeping as
you can spend twice as much to get say a Sukar.
And it seems there are many things right with this oud,
in spite of your initial impression. For a "diamond in the
rough" it doesn't need a lot of work. Usually there are
problems like a high action that are much harder to fix.
You have to figure it out. The fact it's light is definitely
a plus. How does it sound? Does the oud come to life a
nd vibrate when you play it, or does it sit there like
a kitchen cabinet or a dead dog?
From what I can see, and you're the only one who can
determine the feasibility, the nut can be replaced and
leveled without losing more than a few millimeters of
fingerboard, which doesn't matter, as there are no
frets and the "seventh fret" at the neck-body junction
is seldom more accurate than that. You get a bone nut
from a guitar shop, get your files and sandpaper out
and get to work. Do you have some tools and nimble hands?
You won't be "fretting" in the first few millimeters of
the fingerboard, so you can use filler or you can cut
back the left side of the fingerboard. Don't worry
about the pegbox being a bit crooked, that's often the case.
Then the other thing I would do is sand and wash (alcohol?)
the varnish off the fingerboard (careful you don't create dips).
Then sand it smooth and level with a sanding block, and
apply something like the TruOil that they use for rifle stocks.
The will give you a better sustain and prevent premature wear.
After working with several brands of Tung Oil finish, I
think TruOil will probably be better, as it sets faster.
Then personally I'd level the varnish on the soundboard
with some fine steel wool until it turns satin.
But it's hard to see, maybe it doesn't need it.
You have a few days' work ahead of you, but it could
have been a LOT worse. You just have to see what
Arabinstruments' position is, and how you feel about
the instrument once you're over the initial anger.
Of course if you can afford to just send this one
back and start looking for something between $500 and $1000,
maybe you want to go that route. But keep in mind
that it's true that most Arabic ouds do suffer from
a bit of ISO9000 deficit. You can spend more money
and not be a lot better off. I wouldn't mess with
any of the Gawaret El Fans or any of that. If
Arabinstruments has a Sukar coming, they might give you a special price on it.
But, hey, have you seen this one? OudProf usually sells
much more expensive ouds, and this looks like a good
deal if the shipping can be worked out (he usually
has expensive shipping):
http://cgi.ebay.com/High-Quality-Oud-Ud-Aoud-/250685855766?pt=LH_De...
It has a lot of Turkish characteristics, but it
sounds at least half-Arabic.
And there's this, whoa! It looks like a Sukar Model
8 with a long fingerboard:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Syrian-Oud-/150481334840?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0
If he can confirm that label inside says Sukar,
and since shipping is included, it's worth doing the
"buy it now" pronto, Sukars are in demand and bidding
vultures could easily drive the price into the $700 range.
Heck you could drive over to Boston and pick it up,
maybe he'll give you a discount?
Anyway .. best of luck and use yer head.
|
|
|
Scolecite
Oud Lover
Posts: 18
Registered: 8-17-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
Thanks Im looking into returning it and getting another one. I took a gamble and lost, but learned so much (from you) in the process.
|
|
|
fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
Member Is Offline
Mood: m'Oudy
|
|
As long as you don't fish in the same general waters -- as you could easily come up with one that needs more work!
|
|
|
Scolecite
Oud Lover
Posts: 18
Registered: 8-17-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
So I was going to return the Oud, turns out shipping was way too expensive. So I decided to fix up the oud. I contacted arabinstruments.com about it
but they were only willing to give me a $35 refund(oh and $10 set of strings), kinda crappy for how the nut needs to get fixed and the fingerboard was
so uneven at the top. It WILL be a professional instrument but as I recieved it, it was NOT a professional instrument by a long shot.
Arabinstruments.com did not care about how they misadvertised it as a professional instrument, or how they misadvertised it as having an Ebony
fingerboard. They did give me a small refund, however they made out like bandits.
Be aware that if you buy through arabinstruments.com you cannot dispute their claims since they don't use paypal, they have their own internal payment
system. If I had used paypal I would have had some leverage since they blatently misadvertised this oud as having an Ebony fretboard (which it did
not) and it being a high quality professional instrument, that couldnt even BE STRUNG with a full course of strings in the condition I got it.
So far I have sanded down the fingerboard getting rid of the laquer, and applied Tru-Oil, its looking AWESOME, its 100X better so far. Next will be to
file the top of the fingerboard evenly across, and fashion a new nut or salvage and fix the old one. Then it will be I believe a sweet oud. I will
update when I get it all stringed up and how it compares to my Sukar which fernandraynaud helped me find, thanks!. Least now I know what a
professional oud looks and sounds like.
|
|
|
BaniYazid
Oud Junkie
Posts: 225
Registered: 8-20-2010
Location: France
Member Is Offline
|
|
Hello Scolecite
sad story.
I bought a cheap used oud last month and have some repairs to do. I unglued re-glued the pegbox, reamed the peg holes and adjust new pegs. Tow days
ago I've made an ebony nut to replace the poor pvc nut (I first made 2 nuts with a piece of oak to train).
I think it's better to make a new nut, it depends on the material with which yours is made, as fernanraynaud says you can buy a blank ebony or bone
nut and make the string guides by yourself.
There is nothing difficult in this reparations, just go slowly and full of love.
Regards 
|
|
|
jack
Oud Junkie
Posts: 116
Registered: 4-5-2010
Member Is Offline
|
|
Sorry to hear of your experience. I had a very good experience with arabinstruments.com, as did my friend, but they're certainly off my list of
trusted merchants now. False advertising just don't cut it.
|
|
|
fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
Member Is Offline
Mood: m'Oudy
|
|
I had an experience with a different vendor where even though Paypal was used, the delivery and discussions dragged beyond the time limit for redress.
By the time I had given them every fair chance to work it out, and was fed up with the foot-dragging, I found (surprise!) that the time was up. At
that point you have to get very creative in applying pressure, and this is clearly something most people are not prepared to handle.
Scolecite did what most buyers do. In his case it might make sense, as he can do the "repairs", and has the time & energy to do them, but in many
other cases it's simply a loss. I still have my first oud, and will fix it up "any day now". For everybody the simple situation is one where the
seller makes a reasonable profit and the buyer is reasonably satisfied. But if there are unexpected defects or damage, things get complicated, even if
both parties try to be fair.
What I have most trouble with is guys who sell instruments they know are unlikely to meet the high expectations they have very deliberately created.
They have balanced the probabilities, and count on most people not being too picky, or in any case giving up when faced with the options.
For one, insurance is largely a myth. Realistically who's going to go collect from a freight forwarder in Outer Mongolia, or the state postal service
in Timbuktu? And how do you prove value, where the damage occurred, etc?
Even if a return is theoretically possible, in most cases it's completely impractical, because an oud, e.g. shipped from the US overseas, in spite of
being light, just happens to be at the limit of postal dimensions. If you pack in cardboard & foam, it's too big. If you crate tight, it's too
heavy and/or might not be protection enough. The "overnight" services charge more than the oud is worth, even for slower service. Freight
consolidators generally work only with professionals. There are not many locations on the planet from which an oud can be easily dispatched overseas
at reasonable cost. Be aware, and please consider various "what if" scenarios ahead of time.
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2 |
|
![[*]](images/xmbprobrown/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
