Rob
Oud Admirer
Posts: 6
Registered: 6-10-2004
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Mood: glad to be here
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good woods and strings?
good woods and strings?
i'm looking to get an oud soon from Istanbul, can anyone recomend good woods (to complement a warm resonant tone) also do the quality of strings
vary much? what are good strings to use?
also does anyone know of a good teacher in Istanbul?
any advice would be appreciated
thanks
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Haluk
Oud Junkie
Posts: 419
Registered: 2-6-2004
Location: Aydin-Turkey
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Mood: oud and saz producer
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La Bella and Aquila nylgut strings are good.Ihave sent a U2U message also to your inbox.
Regards.
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Rob
Oud Admirer
Posts: 6
Registered: 6-10-2004
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Mood: glad to be here
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Thankyou Haluk
Regards
Rob
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Jonathan
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1582
Registered: 7-27-2004
Location: Los Angeles
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Does the wood on the back of the oud affect the sound significantly? I know that the soundboard is the important part, but, as far as the bowl, does
the type of wood significantly affect sound? Also, does anybody still use gut strings on their oud? I am wondering how much different that sound is?
I am using La Bella OU 80s, which I do like a lot on my Turkish ouds.
Thanks
Jonathan
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 582
Registered: 4-9-2004
Location: Kansas
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Mood: Gebran Tueni Lives For Ever, 12-12-05.
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Hello Jonathan,
My understanding is that the back's function is two-fold: to reflect the sound is main function; secondly and to a lesser extent resonate (not
absorb any coupled vibrations.) So if the back is made of softer wood which may absorb more of the sound and vibrations from soundboard and neck,
this would have an undesirable dampening effect. The hrader the wood and smoother it is on the inside the better. Perhaps an oud with a back made
out of concrete would have ideal sound qualities (more sound reflection, minimum vibration absorption!) but who wants that. I also wonder if dry bent
back isn't better than wet bent back... Dr. Oud and other luthiers?
As for strings, I have been using both Nylon and Aquila Nylgut at the same time in my oud for a while now and I think that the Nylgut course sounds
warmer and more melodic for an oud.
Elie
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Jonathan
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1582
Registered: 7-27-2004
Location: Los Angeles
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Thanks a lot. I wasn't too sure how available the gut strings were, but now that I have a brand, I am going to order them.
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Mike
Super Administrator
Posts: 1568
Registered: 12-3-2002
Location: California, USA
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Mood: Happy
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Hey guys,
This is an interesting topic for me, because each of my ouds has a distinctive sound. I think it's because of the wood used for the bowl, and
there have been discussions about this before. A question I have though is, was it common to use a thin coat of finish on the inside of the oud bowl,
and what, if any, effect does that have on sound? Astrid did this on her last oud I believe, and her oud sounds excellent.
Look for some new videos of 3 different Shehata ouds. I should have them by the weekend. We can compare and contrast the sounds for the same maker
(with the same bracing I'm assuming), but different woods used for the oud bowls.
Take care,
Mike
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 582
Registered: 4-9-2004
Location: Kansas
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gebran Tueni Lives For Ever, 12-12-05.
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mike
A question I have though is, was it common to use a thin coat of finish on the inside of the oud bowl, and what, if any, effect does that have on
sound? Astrid did this on her last oud I believe, and her oud sounds excellent.
Mike |
Hi Mike,
Looking forward to the videos.
Here is my 1 cent on the coating the inside: if the coating material is selected to improve the reflection of the sound compared to the bare wood then
that would a plus. Also coating the inside of the of bowel would further stabilize the oud so it is less affected by the humidity variation so I
would think the sound would be more consistant. But you know varnish is a sensitive and illusive subject when it comes to lutherie is what I have
been finding and almost as secretive as the bracing. If you'll read this article http://www.sempleguitars.com/articles/cgart07.htm, you'll see what I mean.
I even wonder about using the paper strips and glue method in inforcing the rib joints on the inside, perhaps a better method is to use decorative
inlay strips to inforce the rib to rib glue joints from the outside instead (here is a new idea, I wonder if it'll catch on?)
PS. Where can I listen to Astrid's oud.
Take care,
Elie
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