Jack_Campin
Oud Junkie
Posts: 333
Registered: 5-6-2007
Location: Scotland
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Retunable electric ouds
You don't have a soundboard to break on an electric oud.
Does that make it possible to retune between Turkish and Arabic pitch level without changing strings?
|
|
|
Jaffa Road
Oud Maniac
Posts: 73
Registered: 1-30-2011
Member Is Offline
|
|
No problem for me on my godin multi-oud
|
|
|
Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2939
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stringish
|
|
From a safety level, yes, it's possible. There is a theoretical issue that you could put stress on the neck from too much tension, but I think this
is unlikely to be a problem.
However, there is a huge difference in tension when changing tuning by a step. So there is no way to have optimal response in two
different tunings. Either one tension will be quite stiff or the other will be floppy. You may be able to get acceptable results though; just not
ideal.
|
|
|
Matthias
Oud Junkie
Posts: 473
Registered: 1-24-2007
Location: Badenweiler, Germany
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
It's only a matter of the strings. And it's depending which kind / brand of strings you have applied, as some strings are not far away from their
breaking point and if you exceed the tension, they may brake. Godin for example works as far as I know with a tension of 5-6 Kg per string, which is
already high, very high for a principally fixed bridge.
I created some sets for the godin aoud, which I would say are practically for all electric aouds. In that sets I use the tension which is necessary for a
floating bridge aoud.
More of my ideas about stringing an aoud see here.
If you change the tuning for example from arabic to turkish tuning you raise the tension of each string by more than .5 Kg. This may be too much on
one side for the strings and also makes the instrument more hard to play for you.
Best regards
Matthias
|
|
|
Jack_Campin
Oud Junkie
Posts: 333
Registered: 5-6-2007
Location: Scotland
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
I was thinking you'd use strings optimized for midway between Turkish and Arabic pitch (this level would be useful in itself if you wanted to play
Indian music). Then you'd only be taking them a semitone away from that in either direction.
|
|
|
sylvainbd
Oud Junkie
Posts: 404
Registered: 6-7-2005
Location: France - Nantes
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sylent
|
|
Cheapest way : use an arabic oud with small "capodastre" to adjust tuning to turkish tuning. But the neck finger zone will be small ...
|
|
|
Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2939
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stringish
|
|
Quote: Originally posted by Jack_Campin  | | I was thinking you'd use strings optimized for midway between Turkish and Arabic pitch (this level would be useful in itself if you wanted to play
Indian music). Then you'd only be taking them a semitone away from that in either direction. |
Yes, exactly, though even a semitone is quite a lot of difference, especially across an entire oud. You will still not have optimized either tuning
but this would work the best if you were using both tunings a lot.
|
|
|
Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1373
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: Originally posted by sylud | | Cheapest way : use an arabic oud with small "capodastre" to adjust tuning to turkish tuning. But the neck finger zone will be small ...
|
In the absence of frets the sound of the open strings is likely to be muffled and rubbery sounding. A veritable capo disastre.
|
|
|
sylvainbd
Oud Junkie
Posts: 404
Registered: 6-7-2005
Location: France - Nantes
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sylent
|
|
| Quote: Originally posted by Jody Stecher | | Quote: Originally posted by sylud | | Cheapest way : use an arabic oud with small "capodastre" to adjust tuning to turkish tuning. But the neck finger zone will be small ...
|
In the absence of frets the sound of the open strings is likely to be muffled and rubbery sounding. A veritable capo disastre.
|
Maybe you don't use the good model. Purchase this one and cut it to adjust rhe length. It works perfectly without changing sound.
https://images.app.goo.gl/d2qKMpQsiwLeWfwF8
|
|
|
Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1373
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
Member Is Offline
|
|
Yes I know this excellent capo. Note however that the photo at the link is for a capodastre for a radiused fingerboard. I don't think that will work
well with a flat fingerboard. But it's besides the point. I was just making a silly pun. Un jeu de mots. Nothing serious.
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbprobrown/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
