delamora
Oud Admirer
Posts: 3
Registered: 6-26-2012
Member Is Offline
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Wanted: First/Beginner Oud
Hello everyone! I am looking into getting my first oud. Since I am just getting into it, I hope I can find one for less than $500. I am in Southern
California.
Thanks!
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ExtreamTarab
Oud Junkie
Posts: 185
Registered: 8-31-2006
Location: Montreal, Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: ...Lessa Faker...
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Hey delamore, check your U2U...
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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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Please don't be too eager to go below $500. Right around/above $500 you can find some nice first Arabic ouds. There are some terrible money-wasters
for sale on the 'net below $500 that are dead ends. You would not believe the quality of what is often marketed as a "professional" oud, for instance
of Egyptian origin.
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luan
Oud Junkie
Posts: 159
Registered: 11-25-2011
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Yeah, listen to what fernand says.
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Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1373
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
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I know of a nice oud made by Dr. M. Moussa that is for sale in northern california (Bay area). It's his Um Kulthum model. It's not one his fancy
ouds but it's a real instrument made by a reputable maker. The one on the magic strings website is bamboo. this one is not, it's made from European
woods.
The sound is good and the action nice. It belongs to a friend. He is asking something like $600. If it's more it's not by much. The condition is
perfect.
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
Member Is Offline
Mood: m'Oudy
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@Delamora, allow me to add some afterthoughts to cover the eventuality of an inescapably constrained budget.
If you are handy with tools, are willing to do a lot of reading in a short time, and/or have done some maintenance on instruments before, you CAN even
get by under $500. A lot of the imperfections in cheaper ouds can be worked on/around, and even if the end result is not stellar (and the timbre could
turn out great or dismal), such experience is highly valuable. Many of us have traveled that path to advantage, in the belief that it could be done.
It's not true that you ALWAYS get "what you pay for". And no oud is "the last you buy" anyway. All imperfections but one: the action. Since the
traditional oud has no saddle, no truss rod, no adjustable bridge, you are stuck with the action you get unless the angle of the neck is adjustable
(and that's only true of ouds made by 2 or 3 specific luthiers). If your purchase has a high action, the instrument is hard to play, discouraging, and
your options are limited, short of doing major work. If your budget is truly a problem, and you won't defer gratification, you can consider this
approach, but you must at least verify the action, which should never exceed 4 mm at the body-neck junction. There's no substitute for trying as many
ouds as possible to get oriented.
Another possibility is to go for a Turkish oud. They are a little smaller, but can be tuned Arabic just fine, and the inexpensive ones (e.g. direct
from Turkey) tend to be better finished than the corresponding Arabics, and with lower action.
If you are like the majority of us here, the oud will turn out to be a more important part of your life than you EVER expected, especially if you
delve into the Maqam/Taqsim system. It's worth hunting for the best instrument you can afford at the time, so it will cheer you rather than require a
lot of work up front.
I hope this is of some help.
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Giorgioud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 287
Registered: 11-18-2011
Location: United Kingdom
Member Is Offline
Mood: Oudbsessed
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"If you are like the majority of us here, the oud will turn out to be a more important part of your life than you EVER expected"
Absolutely correct Fernand, very wise and prophetic words........
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