Mehran
Oud Junkie
Posts: 210
Registered: 4-27-2006
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Up-tuning an oud
Current I tune my fixed-bridge arabic oud to D GG AA DD gg cc with LaBella strings.
I know up-tuning an arabic oud to turkish tuning can damage the oud. However what i was thinking about is an exchange of strings.
If I remove the low D drone string and GG course (leaving AA DD gg cc ff) could I theoretically add a high ff course above the cc course whilst
maintaining the same tension on the bridge? (since I would be swapping one course for another rather than just adding another course)
If i could calculate the tension for the low GG course and the tension for the optional ff course it would make this easier.
I was thinking about this mainly because the Labella strings came with an optional ff course and I also saw videos of munir bashir with a fixed-bridge
oud but with high ff iraqi tuning.
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Kelly
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 1-30-2007
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Hi Mehran
Most arabic ouds should theoretically take this swap from low to high tuning ok. What is the scale length? It depends on how the ff course sounds to
you as sometimes it can be a little too bright when compared to the other strings. You could also leave one low G or tune it to F.
See also recent threads on string tensions
Best wishes and let us know how you get on
Kelly
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Mehran
Oud Junkie
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The scale length is 60cm if that helps
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fernandraynaud
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The medium scale is very nice in that unlike a longer scale, you can even tune Turkish as long as the oud isn't fragile.
Is your la bella set the O80 or O80a ? The 80a is already designed for ff tuning. The 80 is designed for cc tuning. Compare the gauges at, say at:
http://www.juststrings.com/labellaoud.html
If you have the O80 set, and you tune DGGAADDggcc, on the 5th course I would think a 0.034" tuned GG would be a bit tense, on the 600mm scale a
0.033" is 4.51 kg, a 0.034" would be nearing 5 kg, I wouldn't like it. These are intended for E or F.
In any case, if i'm understanding you, what you propose is very normal. The added top course in Nylon should be about a 0.020" to a 0.022", or a 0.018
(0.37 mm) in PVF. A 0.020" nylon on a 600 mm scale is 3.61 kg and a 0.022" is 4.37 kg.
Then if you use the O80 set, and add an ff pair, the other strings are shifted down in position, but retain the same tensions, tuned as before. G AA
DD gg cc ff. The bottom string can be tuned F or E or even G if you don't mind nearing 5 kg. A single string at 5 kg is not likely to be fatal, but
with my bass string at 5 kg, i ended up with some soundboard spooning on that side after a month. I would not tune two 0.034" strings to GG the way
you tune now.
If you have the 80a set, it's ready to go as is, GAADDggccff, or FAADDggccff. The top course is 0.022" for ff, the bottom is the slightly lighter
0.033", ok for E, F, or G.
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Mehran
Oud Junkie
Posts: 210
Registered: 4-27-2006
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Thanks guys,
I must have a freak set as it doesnt match either of those on that website. The set I have states "Ou80" AND "Arabic Tuning". On that website, the
Ou80 set is 11 string whilst mine was 12 and says arabic tuning. I presume that the ff strings I have to be 0.022" diameters.
For the 5th course I was planning on keeping a single string and tuning it to F. I do have a spare wound string which is lighter than the .034 used
for the current GG course, which may help reduce the overall tension of the set up when tuned to F.
Im considering tuning to AA DD gg cc ff initially. If the set-up holds and the oud feels stable after a few days I may add the F drone string.
Even if I do tune it this way I don't plan on keeping it like this for too long. Its more something just to try out the sound and play along to a few
bashir tunes that ive wanted to try for a long time.
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
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There is no increase in tension just because you have an ff course. As long as the gauge of the strings you tune to f is 020 or 022, you can put on
all 6 courses.
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