billkilpatrick
Oud Junkie
Posts: 563
Registered: 1-3-2004
Location: italy
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Mood: what?
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delightful cheapy oud
the shiney pated person pictured (hopefully) below is me ... and what i'm playing is a recently renovated, cheapy syrian oud, of the type mentioned in
the - mainly despairing - ali khalifeh oud threads.
my wife - who has a small degree of tolerance for my oud passion - confounded me completely, a christmas or so ago, when she presented me with this
monster. the plastic roses were off and out by st. stephen's day and the pick-guard was removed - none too expertly - by myself soon after.
... in short, i was pretty ambivalent about this dud and my appreciation wasn't enhanced much when the neck began to droop and the strings started
buzzing.
what to do? ... a present from my wife!
i ended up taking it - and an ancient, bowl-back mandolin - to see "my" luthier and this is what i got on return.
he says the cedar soundboard won't improve with age - unlike spruce - but i'm not that fussed as its sound, for some unknown reason, has improved
enormously ... very "medieval" it seems to me now. it's no where near the quality of my other, mouhad al turki oud but for wowing the crowd in the
piazza, it'll do just great ... and loud too. i think it even looks ok now (he covered over the photo of the mustachioed senior khalifeh inside -
which gave the game away a bit as the absence of rose made his stern looking expression noticeable during my medieval music performances) especially
with the absent pick-guard.
cheap can be cheerful - bill
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jshead
Oud Junkie
Posts: 101
Registered: 10-2-2005
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Mood: Peace
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when I have had the opportunity to visit egypt or jordan I have often heard people play 'cheapy' ouds. they always sound great to me.
I think the oud is greatly influenced by the player so just about anything can sound great in the right hands.
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billkilpatrick
Oud Junkie
Posts: 563
Registered: 1-3-2004
Location: italy
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Mood: what?
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jshead
when I have had the opportunity to visit egypt or jordan I have often heard people play 'cheapy' ouds. they always sound great to me.
I think the oud is greatly influenced by the player so just about anything can sound great in the right hands. |
i appreciate the inference but i'm bound to say - in my case - it's wide of the mark.
"my" luther repaired the hump that was developing in the area where the neck meets the body simply by sanding it level again. he said the sound board
was thick enough not to be damaged in the process. this thinner sound board might explain the improved quality in sound - it's so hard to be
objective about these things - or it might be explained by the modifications he made to the nut by realigning the string grooves and establishing the
proper depth of groove.
who knows ... luthiers move in mysterious and extremely costly ways, their wonders to perform.
- bill
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SamirCanada
Moderator
Posts: 3405
Registered: 6-4-2004
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hum... I have an idea...
lets hear it  !
Congradulation on the fix. I hope it wasnt too expensive.
Enjoy playing it.
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jazzchiss
Oud Junkie
Posts: 217
Registered: 12-20-2004
Location: Madrid
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Mood: Improvising
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Wonderful landscape! You are a lucky man. 
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chaldo
Oud Junkie
Posts: 295
Registered: 2-13-2005
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Mood: archaic mood
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jazzchiss
Wonderful landscape! You are a lucky man. |
you removed letters, hence words out of my mouth... AMAZING LANDSCAPE!!
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DJCrabtree
Oud Maniac
Posts: 55
Registered: 7-26-2005
Location: Northern Ireland
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Mood: No Mood
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Hi Bill
Not only an amazing landscape, but what is that strange light that suffuses the scene? ... it couldn't be ... yes, it is ... sunshine !
I cannot begin to tell you how racked by jealousy I was as I gazed upon that picture yesterday, while outside Belfast was lashed by wind and rain
(what's new?) and the only light in the sky was from flashes of lightning.
Like the man said, you are a lucky man ...
David
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billkilpatrick
Oud Junkie
Posts: 563
Registered: 1-3-2004
Location: italy
Member Is Offline
Mood: what?
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thank you all for your comments. yes, it is beautiful here and ... yes, the background in any future photos will probably be a wall - i had this
vision of you all (shudder) showing up suddenly, en masse in your camper-vans, demanding lunch.
my "cheapie" oud wasn't really cheap at all - the original purchase price plus costly trip to the luthier would have probably bought me a high quality
oud in the first place. the point is, this was a present of sentimental value. the fact that it sounds better is just one more reason to love
it.
arrivederci - bill
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