em.20
Oud Maniac
Posts: 74
Registered: 8-27-2011
Location: Germany
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First New Oud - Some Questions - with Pictures and Sample
Hello,
I just bought my first Oud.
I have some questions for that Oud.
1. Can you detect which woods are used?
2. On the back the Oud has a small crack. Could that be a problem?
3. For me the 5th string doesn't sound like an Oud. Why?
4. The Oud was built 3 months ago. Can I expect some improvements from the sound in future?
5. The Tuning I use is D,A,E,B,F#,C# . Is that right?
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DoggerelPundit
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 7-28-2010
Location: Pacific Northwest
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Hi em.20, welcome to the forum!
Congratulations on beginning what is hoped to be a long and pleasurable musical road.
My 2 cents:
1. To me, the bowl appears to be ebony and mahogany. The face is probably spruce or perhaps cedar.
2. This one is best left to the luthiers who hang out here.
3. To me, all the notes in your sound file sound like they're from an oud. Pretty good sound, too.
4. All of the ouds I've played not only sound better as they age, but also if they are played regularly.
5. One of the more common Turkish tunings, I'd say.
6. As of Friday's exchange close, that's about $202 U.S. dollars. Heh. I'd like to get hold of one that good for $200. More like $500-$600 here.
Ya done good!
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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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Pundit is right. Looks and sounds good. Good deal. The little separation on the back doesn't matter unless it rattles. You can fill it, e.g. with a
little liquid hide glue with a bit of sawdust if you want. Check the height of the strings at the neck-body junction. For a zingy sound you want
about 2-2.5 mm. For a more percussive sound 3-3.5mm. You can adjust the height a little by how you position the string loops at the bridge (loosen the
strings one at a time to rotate the loops up or down). If you find the strings are showing sign of wearing grooves in the fingerboard, i.e. if the
wood is soft, you can coat it with a hard wipe-on varnish (see the many discussions on the forum). That will also brighten the sound, with longer
sustain. You might want to buy some new strings, they never come with good strings. There are different materials, like PVF instead of nylon for the
plain strings, a bit more metallic sounding, so there's no discontinuity in timbre with the wound strings. You've got a lot of discovery in store.
Play it a lot. The more you play it, the better it will sound, the vibration causes it to "open up". It looks like a great buy. Welcome to the oud
community!
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em.20
Oud Maniac
Posts: 74
Registered: 8-27-2011
Location: Germany
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Hi,
Thank you very much! I'm a lot happier now.
The Oud truly seems to get a better sound since I've bought it.
There is a little rattling when I'm playing a bit louder and close to the saddle. Especially the third string. I think the fingerboard isn't
completely even.
I will try to height the strings a little like you explained. I hope that will fix the problem.
You mean the height at the marking on the picture?
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
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Location: San Francisco, California
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Yes, exactly. Most of us here like the Egyptian timbre, more snap and less buzz, but a little zzzzing is lovely too. Of course the fingerboard should
be even. If you find little problem areas, you can wrap sandpaper on a long-enough wooden block and level the fingerboard if/when you get around to
coating it.
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em.20
Oud Maniac
Posts: 74
Registered: 8-27-2011
Location: Germany
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I can't see any issues on the fingerboard. I'm happy with the sound but that rattling disturbs me. If I get closer with my ear on the fingerboard I
can hear that rattling louder. So I suppose it is the fingerboard.
Can you give me examples for Turkish and Egyptiean timbre?
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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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Egyptian:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obzgliL8NsE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWddWhpKrmM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z0kmrV7BEA
Turkish - slightly shorter strings, lower action, smaller body:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo74NZq5pKc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhN1vI0eZxQ
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