ArmoOudist
Oud Junkie
Posts: 128
Registered: 11-21-2020
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Info on Onnik Karibyan
Does anyone have any info on the Armenian Oud luthier Onnik Karibyan?
I know he's held in very high esteem, especially in the Armenian community. Were his ouds generally higher quality? any interesting biographical info
on him?
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hartun
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 12-26-2012
Location: Detroit, Michigan
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His ouds are considered high quality and have a good sound. However some of the Armenians will even say that they are weakly built and guys who played
in the old nightclubs did not prefer them because they could break easier. They are very light.
The Karibyan ouds were popularized among Armenians in the US for whom it became the standard high quality oud to aspire to. Most could not afford a
Manol and only a professional would know the other makers. Karibyan was the popular high quality well known maker. Udi Hrant also contributed to this
as he generally played Karibyans and would actually sell instruments he had played after US concerts causing a larger than expected number of people
in the US to claim they "have one of Udi Hrant's ouds". This was also an income stream for Hrant.
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ArmoOudist
Oud Junkie
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Thanks for the info!
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Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
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Location: California
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I played 3 Karibyan ouds in the late 1960s/early 70s. One was good, one was great and the third was useless. My oud skills were rudimentary back then
but I was able to judge the responsiveness of an instrument. The great one responded as if it was a living creature. Amazing. The bad one one was
inert. Was this difference because of how they had been played by their owners? I don't know. It was a long time ago. These 3 instruments were indeed
very light weight and each looked very nice. If I remember right, the price in Turkey was about $350 USD.
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ArmoOudist
Oud Junkie
Posts: 128
Registered: 11-21-2020
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Yeah, Karibyan and Manol get thrown around as the two big oud lutheirs for Turkish oud.
Kerestejian is also a good one. My oud was built by Aram Papazian, a luthier from Izmir who eventually moved shop to Athens. It's definitely a little
worn around the edges, but still produces a nice sound with quite a lovely sustain. The upper register sounds a bit soft and mellow, a bit less bite
than I'm used to hearing on a Turkish oud, I'm not sure if that's the age of the oud (almost 100 years old) or if it's just how it was built.
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