danoud
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sukar or Shehata ouds?
Hi all
I have 2 Sukar pro ouds, and I'm very very happy with both, sound is really arabic and loud, and string low action, so easy to play
What about Shehata?? anybody has sukar and shehata ouds for compare both??
I never had a shehata on my hands, but I think the finishing is very good, but what about the sound??? is louder than ghadban ouds?? I play 2 ghadban
ouds last 2 months and the finishing is good but low sound than both sukar I have...
I think now Sukar make real good and profesional ouds, not like the ouds he made 4 or 5 years ago
What do you think?
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mjamed
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hi
I had Ghadban, Sukkar and Shehata
Ghadban is great instrument arabic oud/little turkish taste
Shehahat is really great arabic oud espacially for singing
and i prefer the above 2 over Sukkar
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jaron
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There are two Sukkar ouds in my life, one old and one new, and I have recently had a chance to play a bunch of Shehata ouds, so maybe I can offer some
useful thoughts.
Since I didn't grow up with oud culture, I don't have the intuitive feeling that a lot of other people have for what oud really has the "authentic
Arabic" sound, which is often attributed to the Sukkar. It seems to me that it might just be a difference between a Syrian and Egyptian sound and
that they are both authentically "Arabic."
I agree with you that the new Sukkars are much more professional than the older ones. As visual and tactile objects, however, the Shehata ouds are at
a yet higher level- like jewels.
On a musical level, I don't think one is better than the other, but they are so different as to be almost different instruments.
The Sukkar ouds respond very well to a light touch, but once you've reached their top volume, they won't get any louder no matter how hard you play.
The Shehatas don't seem to come alive as much with a very light touch, but just keep on responding with more volume if you play hard.
The sound of the Sukkar is deep and feels to me like swimming through thousands of years of history and deep mysteries. That might sound to dramatic-
I'll just say that I think the Sukkar is very suitable for highly personal musical journeys.
The Shehata projects out to the world more, and makes me feel like playing in front of people. The tone of the Shehata has a lot of structure to it-
each note has a little world inside it, but like I said, it responds to more energetic playing, so it brings out a little more of an extroverted
personality.
This is obviously highly personal.
I didn't think I'd become one of those people who had to have a lot of different ouds in his life, but there's something amazing about switching
between ouds. Each maker and national style offers a new world to explore, and it's thrilling to switch back and forth between them.
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danoud
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Thanks guys!
I like your answer jaron, I understand you...
what about the size of Shehata's ouds (about bowl size)???
Do you know if Shehata makes ouds with diferent sizes?
and if he usually makes the same size
Can he make diferent size for me?
for example, I sold one of my sukars to Charlieoud, because is too big for me, I can not play the Sukar big size ouds...
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charlie oud
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Hey Jaron, Well said, your heart is with the oud. I dont have a Shehata but I do have a Sukar which Dan knows well as he sold it to me. The depth of
this instrument is astonishing and yes it does respond to a light touch very well which is fine for me as I use an extremely thin risha made from a
milk carton. It also has plenty of volume and a sound which wants to tell a story each time it is played, since having the Sukar Ive done nothing but
spontaneous improvisation in modes found from Mumbai to Marrakech, Raga to Raml el maya and many in between. I may one day go in search of another oud
which speaks differently so I have a different sound to play with aswell. Though I know for sure I will NEVER part with my Sukar, it has such a
meaningful sound. Thanks again Dan, by the way she is currently strung with aquilla turkish tuned to arabic; D G A d g c. Pyramid orange label also
work well on this oud.
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SamirCanada
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I have to disagree on one thing.
I have owned 3 Sukar ouds.
and i have owned and played my fair share of shehata ouds.
I dont think this comparison is a good way of determining which oud is the best. First of all it depends on each actual oud.
There is something I dont agree with is that sukar ouds have a light touch.
Sukar ouds are LESS responsive then shehata ouds. that is for sure IMO.
the face is thicker in sukar ouds and that is probably what gives that punchy tone but it doesnt ring out like maurice's ouds.
It makes for a heavy risha technique to be used. As compared to maurice ouds which are very responsive even with light risha strokes.
yes the sukar ouds sound really deep but as soon as you go in the nylon strings GG CC and FF if you use a high ff.
then they are not even close to the sound of a shehata oud.
Sukar ouds are great for one thing. using live.
they dont have many overtones if any at all. so they dont feedback as much as shehata ouds and they sound better with a piezzo.
to me they dont belong in the same class. the workmanship and the feel is much nicer for shehata ouds.
They have also more character where as all the sukars I play sound pretty much the same. the high end models and the low end models they have the same
sound.
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charlie oud
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Samir, I have never played a Shehata oud, your post makes me keen to try one.
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Jason
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I agree with Samir's assessment of Sukar ouds. The Sukar feels like more of a workhorse to me. It really does have a great sound and I have used it
for recordings when I need that really deep sound... but it doesn't inspire me to play the way my Ghadban does.
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jaron
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Samir's experience seems to be quite different from mine, but maybe not...
One explanation might be that there ARE differences between Sukar ouds after all.
My older Sukar is brighter, likes to be played hard, and matches Samir's description quite well. It does seem like a workhorse, but not
inspirational.
This is one of Samir's Sukars:
http://www.arabicouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6675#pid4...
And here is my older one:
http://www.arabicouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=7711#pid4...
There are people on the boards here who know Mr. Sukar, and might ask him about this... I'm just guessing, but these two ouds look a little similar,
and perhaps share some playing qualities as well.
Another explanation is that I received an unusual Sukar model 14. I've never tried another one,... and yet another is that by choosing an unusual
string set (Musicaravan from Hank Levin) I brought out an unusual character in my Sukar 14.
I really love the Maurice ouds. I visited Mike M recently and played his various Shehata ouds for absolutely as long as he would let me (Thanks for
that generosity, Mike! What fun that was!), and found myself exclaiming "What a GREAT oud" many times. There is definitely a Shehata oud in my
future. I completely agree with every compliment bestowed upon them on these boards.
I didn't mean to suggest that the Sukar 14 was more responsive than a Shehata oud, just that it responds well to extremely delicate playing. I would
agree with Samir that the Shehata ouds are all individuals, and yet all the ones I've played seemed to me to have a greater range of tones and
feelings within them than either of my Sukar ouds.
A piezo pickup worked great on my older Sukar, and was mediocre on the 14. The 14 is very personal instrument, and just doesn't project.
I personally think the Sukar 14, at least the one I have, is something special. It's not my best oud, by any means - I have a Nahat/Merjanian
instrument that is just astounding - but still I really enjoy going back and forth and playing the Sukar. It has those particular magical qualities I
talked about earlier.
Attached is a picture of the Sukar and Nahat next to each other. The Sukar is black- and I have no idea if that's because the wood is black or
because of a stain. The model 14 pictures on the Sukar website aren't black.
I am extremely curious to try a Ghadban oud. Does anyone in the San Francisco area own one?
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SamirCanada
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the wood sukar uses is stained walnut I think.
like you say man.
you may have lucked out and gotten a nicer one.
I know that most pros who play sukar ouds go there and pick the one they like the most.
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charlie oud
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Interesrting thread, which seems to further confirm that it's the relationship between the oud and the player which determines the view the player
holds. What the player thinks of the maker appears to have nothing to do with the outcome.
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Christian1095
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I actually bought that Sukar oud from Samir... I also have this one
Chris Walters
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Jason
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Here is my Sukar
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]
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SamirCanada
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oh well the other thing you could say about sukar ouds is that in truth they are probably the most bang for your buck.
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Christian1095
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Jason, that is a REALLY pretty oud... I love the pickguard design.
I have to agree with Samir about the quality of Sukar ouds... The one I bought from him is really nice... but so is the one I bought from Palmyrami
for $400. In fact, the one I bought from Palmyrami has a slightly more narrow neck... so it's a little easier to play. Also, the action is slightly
lower (I lowered the action on both... but the older one only goes so low) -- so from a quality perspective my experiance has been really positive
with both ends of the spectrum.
Both of my ouds respond well to playing delicately.... But playing softer/harder doesn't really change the sound that much -- there is a consistency
that unless you are really going at it with your risha, you pretty much get the same tone/volume. For someone more experianced, I could see how that
would be viewed as a defect. However, for a beginner like me, it's nice to have such a large range to work in before I start impacting the sound.
This seems to be even more applicable when playing amplified.
Chris Walters
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Luttgutt
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picking up an old threat : )
Hi Jason!
I just saw your lovely Sukar. And it strikes me to be very
similar to my newest custom made Sukar oud, dated to 1/1/2010  (Mine is 7 course,
58,5 cm though).
And I am wandering wether yours is custom made as well! If not, where did you bye it? (if I may ask).
I have never seen bone nut on a Sukar oud! I have asked him, every time I order a oud from him, to use bone nut. But he always answers that he does
not use bone!
I love you oud 
Best regards
Geko
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