NodalNim
Oud Admirer
Posts: 5
Registered: 3-14-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
cumbus strings
Hi there,
My name is Andrew, and I play mandolin and guitar. Sometime within the next year or so, I'm going to be looking into buying an acoustic fretless
string instrument. I'm interested in both the oud and the cumbus. I've found many retailers of both online, but what I have not found at all are
retailers of cumbus strings. I'm a bit perplexed by this. I'm assuming there is a cumbus player or two here, and to those players, I'd like to ask
the question: what do you do for strings?
I'm also interested in general opinions of the cumbus as an instrument, specifically the fretless version. Since this is a forum dedicated to the
oud, presumably, most players here favor the oud. I'm interested to know why. What are the significant differences between these instruments?
Thanks!
-Andrew Heathwaite
|
|
|
Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Welcome!
Do a search on cumbus here and you will find some info. I remember some posts a while back about it. I'll respond to your second question, since I
don't know about strings.
The cumbus is a new instrument invented in the last 100 or so years. I think it sounds great for folk style playing or festive ocassions, but for
classical music the oud is superior. Asking why one favors the oud over the cumbus is like asking why one favors the oud over the guitar. They are so
different sounding and have completely different applications. It's really a personal thing, I suppose. If you like the sound of the cumbus, if it
makes you happy that's great. For me the oud is more than just an instrument. It's an expression of the meditteranean heritage. (not just Arab
heritage, even though I am arab, well, technically a Phoenician according to my grandfather, but that's another subject!) A part of a culture. My
grandfather would speak of the oud when I was a child as if it were magical or special in some way, probably why it is known as the "prince" among
instruments.
|
|
|
spyrosc
Oud Junkie
Posts: 405
Registered: 9-18-2003
Location: Northern California, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Grateful
|
|
I have several ouds and a cumbus. The strings I use for the cumbus I buy from Lark in the Morning in San Francisco. They are fine and cost about $ 8 a
set.
As far as the second question, it is exactly like Jameel said. The cumbus makes a lot of noise like a banjo. It is intended for weddings and other
celebrations, or if you want to be heard when playing with other people and you are not electrified.
I also have another use for it. I tune it like a Greek Bouzouki and now I have a Bouzouki with quarter tones, since it is fretless.
There is no real comparison with the oud, in my opinion. I don't want to invoke the mystique that Jameel correctly mentions, instead I'll simply say
that the oud is for another mood, a contemplative, romantic mood. Remember you can play the trumpet in a military marching band too, and it is
considered "music" also.
Spyros C.
|
|
|
NodalNim
Oud Admirer
Posts: 5
Registered: 3-14-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Thank you both for your comments. Perhaps I would be able to buy cumbus strings through snail mail from the store in San Francisco. I think I should
seriously look into the oud as well.
Thanks,
Andrew
|
|
|
Al Billings
Oud Addict
Posts: 46
Registered: 1-31-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
I own a cumbus (the professional model, of course, with all the fruit embossed in the bowl, which greatly improves its tone, and also makes a nice
Jello mold,) and play it occasionally. Because of the high action they tend to sound shrill and brassy, which, for all I know, may have been Mr.
Cumbus' intent. But let's face it--One hundred cumbus players at full volume could blow ACDC right off a concert stage. Anyhow, I lowered the bridge
on mine, very low, so the action is smooth and slick, and I've been experimenting with plucking it up close to the where the neck joins the body. I've
been using both a risha and a flatpick, and I can manage to get a very sweet, mellow tone from it, a bit like a lavda, which gives it a lot more
dimension, though it will probably not cause Jameel to toss his ouds in the dumpster and become a cumbus master---
|
|
|
Brynley
Oud Addict
Posts: 30
Registered: 2-6-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: very positive
|
|
Cumbus strings
I recently got one of these in order to be heard when busking on a buisy street situation, its a fun instrument , but as mentioned cannot compare to
the oud in expression or subtlety of emotion. Mandolin strings fit, but you,ll need several sets of different guages, and compare the guages to what
is on the instrument, the mandolin strings are better quality. Have fun (thats what cumbus means after all!!)
|
|
|
MrOud
Oud Maniac
Posts: 84
Registered: 1-8-2004
Location: New Jersey, U.S.A
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
I couldn't help but put in a few words of mine about the cumbus. I started playing the cumbus way before I even saw an oud. The first time I touched
an oud was during a summer vacation in Istanbul. The oud was a Manol and it belonged to the great master Coskun Sabah. I was amazed by how easily I
could play it. And the sound of the instrument was just incredible. When I returned home to Diyarbakir (South Eastern Turkey) I modifed my cumbus to
obtain a sound somewhat close to the oud. First I lowered action as much as I could. I took a hand towel, rolled it into a cylinder like shape, and
stuck it under the strings behind the bridge, not too tight though. I played it with a very soft mizrap. Cumbus owners, try it. It'll be fun. You
might even be able to fool some people 
What I like about the cumbus is, you can throw it in the back of your car (no one should dare use the words "throw" and "oud" in the same sentence)
and go anywhere. My father's favorite cumbus had a bunch of dents on it, and the skin was duct taped ) Best of all, as some others have mentioned before, with the cumbus no amplification is needed to entertain a small
crowd.
Regards
Udi Mike
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbprobrown/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
