Marcus
Oud Junkie
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Strings for mellow soud
Hi Oudies
I have a 7-course JT-Signature-Oud made by Veyssel Saricus in Istanbul.
I play Pyramid Lute strings and allways liked them because of the crispy sound and their long-lasting.
Now I like to try strings that produce a more mellow, bassy sound.
Does anybody know what would be good strings to try?
Cheers,
Marcus
Playing the oud is like feeding my soul with peace
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Jody Stecher
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Maybe D'Addario or LaBella, or certain Kurschner formulations might give you what you are looking for. Or if you can find the old formulation of
Aquila oud strings, the copper windings tend to give a mellow tone.
I have found Pyramid lute strings to be balanced in tone on every oud on which I have tried them. Bass response has been good. "Crispy" is not what I
have experienced
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Brian Prunka
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Presumably you bought the JT model because you like his sound? Perhaps you should ask Joe what strings he likes to use.
In my experience, Pyramid Lute are some of the mellower sounding strings. Savarez are also mellow, with slightly less sustain. On some ouds this is
an improvement, while on others they can sound a bit dead.
The Aquila lutes might be what you are looking for. I have them in gauges similar to Pyramid Lutes for oud, the wound are plain copper on nylgut
multifilament and the trebles are rectified nylgut.
D'addario are some of the brightest strings.
LaBella are balanced. They start out a bit brighter than the Pyramid but after a couple of weeks are very nice.
Kurschner are also fairly bright-sounding in my experience.
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Jody Stecher
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There seem to be a variety of strings called Kurschner and —during some period in the past — some were made in Turkey and some in Western Europe.
And these had the same name but not much in common sonically. D'Addario EJ95A oud strings for Arabic tuning are advertised by the manufacturer as
having "warm full-bodied tone". My experience accords with the description. But that has been only on 3 ouds. Maybe they are bright on others.
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Jody Stecher
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The D'Addario strings I have tried for Turkish oud on the other hand have been beyond bright. They were brash. I guess it all depends on the oud and
on which formulation of strings and from which years. And it depends on the player.
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Microber
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Hi Marcus,
I doubt it will be easy to find mellower strings than the Pyramid Lute.
Actually for me, as Jody says "Crispy is not what I have experienced".
The Pyramid are available in silver or copper wound. The copper is supposed to be mellower. But in my experience, the difference isn't dramatic.
I also like a lot the Aquila Lute. The feeling is different because of the Nylgut. And the trebble strings are rectified that is for me a good
point.
Maybe you may try different rishas. Or why not another right hand. But that solution could be expensive. :-)
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DavidJE
Oud Junkie
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I agree that Pyramid Lute are some of the warmest sounding strings I've tried.
Another possibility if you already have Pyramid Lute strings is to try a different pick. There can be a huge difference in sound if you compare a
softer pick material (like the black and white "rubber" feeling Turkish picks) to a stiffer/harder pick. I find the soft picks have a much warmer
sound, though playing with picks at either extreme is very different.
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
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Quote: Originally posted by DavidJE  | I agree that Pyramid Lute are some of the warmest sounding strings I've tried.
Another possibility if you already have Pyramid Lute strings is to try a different pick. There can be a huge difference in sound if you compare a
softer pick material (like the black and white "rubber" feeling Turkish picks) to a stiffer/harder pick. I find the soft picks have a much warmer
sound, though playing with picks at either extreme is very different. |
True, different picks will have a very different sound. Also the shape of the pick's tip will have a big impact also. How wide, how sharp or
rounded, etc.
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Brian Prunka
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| Quote: Originally posted by Jody Stecher | | The D'Addario strings I have tried for Turkish oud on the other hand have been beyond bright. They were brash. I guess it all depends on the oud and
on which formulation of strings and from which years. And it depends on the player. |
Interesting. I worked with D'addario on their Arabic set, and I'm surprised to hear you describe it as so different from the Turkish set. The
strings are (while different gauges) the same construction, and very similar overall. The Arabic set is designed to have a bit lower tension at
pitch, which also makes for a mellower sound.
Perhaps the strings Marcus is using are simply too high in tension for the sound he wants?
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Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
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| Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka | | Quote: Originally posted by Jody Stecher | | The D'Addario strings I have tried for Turkish oud on the other hand have been beyond bright. They were brash. I guess it all depends on the oud and
on which formulation of strings and from which years. And it depends on the player. |
Interesting. I worked with D'addario on their Arabic set, and I'm surprised to hear you describe it as so different from the Turkish set. The
strings are (while different gauges) the same construction, and very similar overall. The Arabic set is designed to have a bit lower tension at
pitch, which also makes for a mellower sound.
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The D'Addario Turkish strings I tried was years before your input on their Arabic set. It was on a Turkish oud at Turkish tuning.
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Badra
Oud Maniac
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My only non-aquila-strung oud is Thomastik. They are bright and and maybe "crispy" to me - but the oud sounds good. I wonder how anyone who has used
them would compare them to the other standard nylon strings that are not nylgut?
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grassyknoll
Oud Addict
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Mm..
I also love mellow strings
I've been dying to hear the pyramid lute copper.. but couldn't find a sound sample anywhere
If anyone has one, I'd love to hear it
About to search for a sample of aquila lute, now.. plain copper over nylgut is a very interesting proposition.
I had a set of the aquila Oud with red copper.. but found them scratchy with the risha and quite bright.. loved the feel though, which i attributed to
the nylgut monofilament. Lots of sustain and articulation on slides
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Marcus
Oud Junkie
Posts: 446
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Location: Stuttgart/ South Germany
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Hi all
thanks for the replies.
I use different rishas-soft turkish-style,pyramid medium,horn rishas from soft to very hard in many shapes-for different styles and moods-and was
always satisfiyed with the sound of the pyramid lutes on my oud.
Maybe it is just because I hear a lot of old recordings during the last month, so my "taste" changes a bit.
I guess i'll follow Brians advice and try strings in lower tension to reach the sound I'm looking for.
Otherwise there is no other way than buying one more oud-I'd love that, but my "government" shurely wont
Cheers,
Marcus
Playing the oud is like feeding my soul with peace
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2949
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: Stringish
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| Quote: Originally posted by Marcus |
Hi all
thanks for the replies.
I use different rishas-soft turkish-style,pyramid medium,horn rishas from soft to very hard in many shapes-for different styles and moods-and was
always satisfiyed with the sound of the pyramid lutes on my oud.
Maybe it is just because I hear a lot of old recordings during the last month, so my "taste" changes a bit.
I guess i'll follow Brians advice and try strings in lower tension to reach the sound I'm looking for.
Otherwise there is no other way than buying one more oud-I'd love that, but my "government" shurely wont
Cheers,
Marcus |
You can try tuning your strings down 1/2 step and see how it sounds, it may give you a general idea what it's like with lower tension. It's not
exact, since the pitch has an impact as well, but may give you an idea.
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