SAX
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Strings for FADGCF
Good morning!
I would like to ask a question about the recommended strings for F tuning (FADGCF-from low to high).
If i had an Arabic instrument, i would go for the LaBella or Pyramid strings (is that right?).
But the oud i have is Turkish
The question is: Whether that fact makes any difference in the oud's resistance for F tuning, or not.
Thanks a lot in advance
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hama
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i Have a turkish oud made By faruk Turunz , i use the same tuning without problems, but I advised him that I will be using arabic tuning when I
ordered the oud so the oud was built to support this type of tuning.
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SAX
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Hi again,
Thanks for your answer.
Can I ask you also what strings you are using for the F tuning?
I 'm using the D'addario strings but I'm afraid that the tension ( F ) is too high and it will damage the instrument. (It was made to be tuned in
D)
Thanks
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Hatem_Afandi
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Hi SAX,
Please stay away from the D'addario !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did the same thing you are about to do a few years ago and I still regret it until today.
I am not an expert. However, I remember reading somewhere that a higher 1/2 tone note adds 800 gms of tension on the bridge.
Your best bet is LaBella Arabic tuning. The best place to order is:
http://www.khalafoud.com/labellastrings.htm
I have been using LaBella Strings in all my ouds for several years with no issues.
Good Luck,
Hatem
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saddas
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Hi Hatem,
Do you find the Labella strings better than Daniel Mari strings?
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hama
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Faruk used kurchner on my oud , also a lot of people in this
forum recomends Daniel Mari strings
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Matthias
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Hello,
don't make any experiments with string set that are not directly calculated for a f-tuning. You may damage your instrument!
Through my website in the download section you will find a PDF-file with a lot of sets for different tunings and string lenghts. These sets you can
find too in my shop.
Kürschner does not have a set for a f-tuning.
Regards Matthias
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SAX
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Hi everybody,
Thanks a lot for the tips. I'll give it a go with LaBella or Aquila T13.
Rerards
Sax
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fernandraynaud
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Wow, all this absurd mystery and worry! If you can, get a micrometer, really nice analog ones on e-bay for $9.99 plus shipping, or a 6" digital
caliper like this
http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Digital-Caliper-Screen/dp/B00...
that will read down to 0.001" (and in metric too) for about the same price. There's only mechanics involved. THERE IS NO MYSTERY. If you feel a
mystery, you haven't fully pierced the veil and you need to. Then do some reading and make sure it makes sense before you trust any particular sets of
strings, or you will either a) worry all the time or b) your oud will essplode, your house will be leveled and all your family will be completely
essterminated.
Matthias' extensive documentation has just enough errors in it to give me ulcers.
That top string if you tune it to f can't be much thicker than 0.020", Turkish or Arabic, pretty similar, these aren't ukuleles or string basses.
The Daniel Mari sets that Bill Ostrie sells have an optional ff "course zero" pair in 0.020" for $0.75 additional, and they're good (and safe). If you
get the Mari Turkkish set, or the Arabic, the former is a little lighter, with the course 0 strings added you can handle pretty much any oud tuned
however. From there with Matthias' tables and a micrometer and a calculator and those string tension programs and some head-scratching you can arrive
at a perfect custom set for your clever tuning, but at least you won't be worried about losing your family 
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David.B
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I don't use "FADGCF" tuning anymore, but there's a Kürschner set (the low F has only 1 string).
hama, I'm about to try the Daniel Mari set, does anybody have a comparison feedback between the two brands (Kürschner / Mari) ?
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hama
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David, i am using Kurschner at the moment, but have a set of daniel mari eith(ff)and will change them soon and let u know
a few people speak highly about daniel mari strings
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=8878
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David.B
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hama, I went to Le Point d'Accroche where I buy my strings and Wolfgang told me he sells Kürshner from Germany but there's a factory in Turkey and
he's not aware of the product... Maybe people on this forum tried the Turkish brand and didn't appreciate its quality ?
About the F tuning in fact it's f c G D AA EE (high -> low) and I changed the single EE for 2 strings VN 5180.
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hama
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When I bought the oud from mr Turunz he kindly put an extra set
in the box , so I haven't bought them myself and
don't know where to by them. But I had a Turkish oud befor
and put Daniel Mari set on it gave a real crispy Arabic sound
which I was happy about I will doing the Same on this one too
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Kelly
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Hi David/Hama
I've used Mari arabic tuning and also just changed to Kurschner arabic set with basses: d A F C (h-l) for 61cm string length oud. early comparison is
that while gauges are vey similar Maris sound a liitle warmer/softer and kurschners have a little more attack maybe slightly stiffer initially.
Again these are for basses as Ive not tried the nylon trebles yet. I tried the Mari Turkish but the trebles were way too slack for this particular
oud. I hope this helps.
Kelly
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David.B
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Hi Kelly,
What you wrote is exactly what I fell with Kürschner. About the low courses, I've got to change what is supposed to be a EE (Accord d'Alep) for VN
5180 and I think I should change the CC for VN 5245... But if Daniel Mari sounds softer with the same good quality I buy it right now Thanks for the feedback !
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Luttgutt
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Well it all depends on the OUD!
I am now trying Daniel Marie on 3 of my ouds. All 3 are turkish size ouds (as I mentioned before, I am no more playing arabic size ouds- because of my
shoulder).
2 of them are floating bridge 6- course tuned to EAADDggccff.
And the 3rd is fixe bridge 7-course, CEEAADDggccff.
And the result is TOTALLY defferent from oud to oud!!
Only on one of them (floating bridge) I am completly satisfied with the result, the other two I am not so sure of yet.
My point is that it depends on the oud. you have to experiment with defferent strings (possible to do WITHOUT dameging your oud, if you know what you
are doing!)
But all in all, I love these strings : )
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SAX
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Thank you all for the tips.
I've just ordered the Daniel Mari strings and I'll have them in few weeks. I'll let you know my impression.
Searching for information on FADGCF tuning on this forum, I never came across any comments on the Pyramid string sets.
That will be my next step in case Daniel Mari strings don't satisfy me.
Any remarks on Pyramid nylgut?
Regards
Sax
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Kelly
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Luttgut,
I agree it does depend on the oud to some extent and the above comments ar my experience with particular ouds.
I was just thnking about the Pyramids-orange label nylon by way of comparison.( I'm not aware that they do nylgut.) I find them a little heavy and
dull- not as responsive generally as the Kurschner or Mari. The kurschner nylon trebles by the way are just newly installed and play with much more
response and attack than the Pyramids.
Aquilla Light tension arabic from Jameel are also very good value and with nylgut trebles give a brighter sound,.He also supplies the high 'f.
Kelly
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David.B
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Kelly,
I share the same felling about Pyramids-orange label vs Kurschner.
Sax : You can make your own set with Pyramid. One by one the strings are really good products (and expansive !).
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Matthias
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Hello fernandraynaud,
it would be fine if you can specify the reasons for your ulcers. As you are the first who is getting some, it will be interesting for me to get your
comments, and if I made faults I want to correct them.
regards Matthias
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
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Dear Matthias,
Sorry, I sure did not mean to offend. When I started out on the string issue, I didn't understand the relation between materials density, scale
length, tension, pitch etc. So I started from the equations, and your pages, using manufacturers' data that they and you provide. I kept running into
inconsistencies that really worried me. When I finally figured it out, I felt a lot better, but initially the errors in your tables really worried me
a lot, as I didn't want to damage my instruments, and all this voodoo about "each oud is different" creates needless confusion. Each oud will sound
different, but as far as tension and potential damage is concerned, it's all a matter of a few simple parameters, especially scale length and pitch.
I cannot now remember where specific errors in your document are, but there were a few, as I recall they were data entry errors, and e.g. the sort
resulting from lbs and kg being switched, I'd run the formulas and would get totally different results. I'm sorry I didn't write down each issue.
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