suz_i_dil
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advices on buzuq strings and tuning
Hello
Do you have recommendations of strings brands to use for an Arabic buzuq, stringlength of 76 cm ?
I think a usual tuning is c - g - c am I correct ? Actually the nut is settle for the instrument to be use only with 2 courses but all others features
are present to use it 3 courses
Looking forward for your recommendations
Best regards
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al-Halabi
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Yes, the standard tuning of the buzuq is c - g- c. For the c strings in the first and third courses GHS .009 sub-zero ball end should work, but you
may want to go with .008 if you find the tension a bit too high. For the g string use GHS .012 or GHS .011, depending on the tension that works best
for your instrument. (These strings cost about a dollar each.) For the lower C string in the third course try a .022 metal wound ball end (Savarez
makes one). I have also used an oud string, which produces a mellower timbre than a metal string.
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suz_i_dil
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Great, thank you go this very accurate advice.
do you know a trustful resseler online for those strings ?
For the oud string the one you were using was like a pyramid 1006 for example or even thinner?
If not yo much asking, as a player, did you came to settle the strings height lower ? The buzuq is a syrian one,from zeryab. I feel the strings a bit
high, but this is maybe very normal on Arabic buzuq and part of its characteristic sound. Maybe just a feeling because prior to it I was practicing on
a Turkish baglama, strings are very low on those instruments. I'm hesitating because it is easy to settle low but lf I go too low I will have to make
new bridge and nut.
Have a nice day
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al-Halabi
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You're welcome.
I recently ordered strings from juststrings.com, which carries a huge selection and has good service.
I can't remember off-hand what oud string I used for the third course, but I'll try to find out. It was not quite long enough to reach the peg, and I
extended it with a few inches of used string.
The action should not be so high as to make playing uncomfortable and to cause the distortion of some of the pitches. If that is the case with your
buzuq it could be that the bridge needs to be lowered a bit, but also quite possibly that the neck may have come up a bit and would have to be reset,
something that is not uncommon with buzuqs. Several years ago I bought from a music shop in Cairo a buzuq that had belonged to a Syrian musician and
was put up for sale by his widow. The action was too high, but a luthier reset the neck and made a new floating bridge, and it's been perfectly stable
since. You might want to have a luthier check your buzuq to see what exactly needs to be adjusted.
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Jody Stecher
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The advantage of two courses tuned Gg/ cc is that the player gains an extension in the bass range. Gg being a fourth lower than Cc. All videos I have
seen of Mattar Mohamed show him playing tuned like this (but lower). Mohamed Abdel Karim sure sounds like he plays a 2 course buzuq as well.
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suz_i_dil
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Thank you both for those useful complements.
Indeed I perfectly understand what you mean Jody,I have in mind those characteristics sentences of Mohammad Matar for example,ending in basses.
I will check the action with a luthier. i dont think the neck as move,just they settle the nut and bridge a bit high I think, maybe to let the player
the place to put it to its taste
Best regards
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