Benjamin
Oud Junkie
Posts: 225
Registered: 7-23-2006
Location: Paris, France
Member Is Offline
Mood: sababa baba
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Sukar oud strings
Hi to all,
I have a sukar oud and I always had many problem to find suitable strings for this oud. When I started to buy ready sets they were always loose or too
much tigh. I found oud then that sukar oud are a bit longer than regular ouds. I feel that the strings I'm using now (which were made upon the length
of the oud) are a bit loose, but maybe I'm wrong.. Does somebody can advise me about the strings he uses on his sukar oud (brand, tension, etc..). It
will really help me!
Thanks!
Benjamin
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rebetostar
Oud Maniac
Posts: 96
Registered: 1-31-2007
Location: the East shore, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ajam Ushayran
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Hi Benjamin,
I have a Sukar electric oud, with a string length of about 61cm. I took Jameel's (of http://www.khalafoud.com ) advice and bought Aquila Turkish light gauge strings (from him). I'm glad I did! Even though my oud is Arabic size and
tuning, the Aquila Turkish light strings have excellent tension and tone, in my opinion. The top two courses (the highest pitched ones) are plain
"Nylgut" which has a satiny feel and thicker gauge than other types of string (the oud came originally with thinner, glossy plastic-y feeling
strings).
Hope that helps
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fartso
Oud Admirer
Posts: 9
Registered: 7-22-2007
Location: Nürnberg / Germany
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Hi Rebetostar ,could you tell me something about your Sukar electric oud ,are you satisfied with it how does it sound ? I`ve seen it quite often on
ebay usa and was very interested in buying one.
Fartso
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rebetostar
Oud Maniac
Posts: 96
Registered: 1-31-2007
Location: the East shore, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ajam Ushayran
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Hi,
I am satisfied with it, I like the sound and the look, but I've made the following upgrades since I bought it:
1. new strings
2. new pegs (the originals were a white wood painted black, reasonably well-fitted. The new ones are rosewood, from Jameel)
3. metal muffler tape inside the electronics compartment, to shield the electonics from noise.
Also, since it is a floating-bridge type of oud, I use a piece of cotton under the strings to muffle them behind the bridge, otherwise the pickup gets
some unwanted sound from there.
The knobs and such are not as high quality as one would expect from a mass-produced electric guitar like an Ibanez, for example, but they work well.
You can adjust the volume of the bass courses separately from the treble courses.
The case is reasonably good quality, hard molded plastic. Nice and slender which I really like. I added adhesive weather-stripping to the inside edge
so that the aluminum edge of the lid fits more snugly.
I'm learning the maqam of the month - Sikah - so I'll post a clip soon on that thread. I can post a clip here with clean, unprocessed sound, and one
with effects added too.
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fartso
Oud Admirer
Posts: 9
Registered: 7-22-2007
Location: Nürnberg / Germany
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Thanks for the very detailed answer Mr. Rebetostar
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rebetostar
Oud Maniac
Posts: 96
Registered: 1-31-2007
Location: the East shore, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ajam Ushayran
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Please, my friends call me manga 
I forgot some things: the jack for the lead was glued on to the body, and it came unglued once so I drilled two small holes on either side and used
very small screws to screw it in.
My general impression is that this instrument was built by a good oud maker who probably hasn't seen too many quality-made electric guitars and such..
there are some things that could be done better on the technical side. If you have the money/time and want a top-quality instrument, you may be better
served by a Najarian. That said, I love my Sukar and have made it my own.
Incidentally, I bought it from Palmyrami on eBay. It was well-packed and shipped promptly, but the oud I got was not the exact one pictured in the
listing. I mentioned to him that this wasn't good practice so hopefully he's photographing every oud individually now.
All the best Mr. Fartso!
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Benjamin
Oud Junkie
Posts: 225
Registered: 7-23-2006
Location: Paris, France
Member Is Offline
Mood: sababa baba
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Thanks "Manga" ;-)!
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