samzayed
Oud Junkie
Posts: 485
Registered: 11-1-2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mashee el hal
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D'Addario Strings
Oud friends,
After experimenting with different types of strings over the years (Aquila, Pyramid oud strings, LaBella, Pyramid Lute, etc), I have finally tried
D'Addario once again. I tried them once before when I first starting playing, but someone told me that they were too high tension, so I stayed away
from them. However, I've gained some knowledge in strings since then, and according to my calculations, they are not high tension at all, but
somewhere in the middle.
I've had these strings on for the last 2 1/2 months, and I'm quite pleased. I tune to arabic tuning on a 60 cm string length oud. I am satisfied
with the sound and feel of each course. The strings are very comfortable to play, and the sound is clear and balanced. I think I may have found my
strings of choice, at least for now 
What are your thoughts or experiences of these strings for arabic tuning?
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hamed
Oud Junkie
Posts: 295
Registered: 1-18-2005
Location: Seattle, Washington
Member Is Offline
Mood: Iss'al rouhak
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I used these in the past for arabic tuning on the same string length 60 cm, they sounded nice but i thought they were too loose when tuned to arabic,
i like a little higher tension. I'm using aquillas which i like better.
hamed
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excentrik
Oud Junkie
Posts: 291
Registered: 5-19-2004
Location: Refugee Status...
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Mood: Now Here, Nowhere...
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not to tear em up too hard- but-
I really cant stand d'addario oud strings- I used them once a few years back and they tarnished after a couple months of playing... the higher pitch
stings were too thick and the nylon used felt cheep... I dont know, maybe they worked on the oud branch since then...
D'addarios are what I always use for my electric guitar, though... I never tried them for my classical-
Tarik
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hakeem.ram
Oud Junkie
Posts: 107
Registered: 11-28-2005
Location: Singapore
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ouding my time away
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I tend to agree with excentrik and hamed
Though my teacher did say that D'addario was suitable and good, i found it too loose for me. i was not able to get the sound that i wanted. I jus
sounded dead for me. Now with Aquilla, with higher tension it really feels nice and i am really happy about it! Ain't got cash for the PYramide Laute
strings though! perhaps one day i will try that.
Cheers
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Brynley
Oud Addict
Posts: 30
Registered: 2-6-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: very positive
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D,Addario strings
While waiting for a new set of Aquila,s, (long time coming ,maybe oud strings are classified as a security threat at the Canadian border these days!),
I bought a set of D,addarios the only oud strings available locally. I had some concerns after reading here, and also seeing the tuning designed for,
F#BEadg low to high, but needed strings badly so... I tune lower, DGAdgc low to high, as I was bringing my A string (their E string) up to my pitch ,
it snapped at the bridge! I,m a string player for a long time and know how to change strings, luckily I,d left enough string wrapped around the peg to
make it work. I can,t wait to get another set of Aquilas they never let me down. D,addario oud strings buyer beware, fishing line might be
better!
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samzayed
Oud Junkie
Posts: 485
Registered: 11-1-2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mashee el hal
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Wow, I'm really surprised at all your negative experiences with these strings. I shyed away from them for years because someone told me they were
high tension. But according to my calculations, they are these tensions (for 60 cm string length, for arabic tuning)
C 32N
F 36N
A 37N
d 39N
g 22N
c' 24N
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Brynley
Oud Addict
Posts: 30
Registered: 2-6-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: very positive
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Apart from a string breaking immediately, the sound of these strings on my oud is definately not as full, especially mid range to high end, its like
the reverb turned off on the top strings, no depth to the notes. Of course they may sound different on other ouds, or at the higher tension turkish
tuning they appear to be made for , but at that tension I,d think breakage would be a real problem! I still vote for the Aquilas, much better
sounding on my instrument.
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samzayed
Oud Junkie
Posts: 485
Registered: 11-1-2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mashee el hal
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I agree with that, Aquilas do seem have more "waahh" and humm on their strings. The D'Addarios are more brittle and bright sounding
But the tension isn't really an issue, not sure how you broke the string.
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palestine48
Oud Junkie
Posts: 448
Registered: 6-9-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Free Palestine
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I just bought some d addaros, cuz thats what was available. they havent settled yet to know for sure but so far they seem to be ok. the most notable
was the low c was nice and deep. i beleive i previously had aqquilas on. they were on the oud when i bought it. that low c was a little more twangy
and felt looser than I preferred so i dunno maybe it depends on oud. I have a 60.5 cm floating bridge.
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