kampanas
Oud Maniac
Posts: 52
Registered: 6-14-2020
Location: London, United Kingdom
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Action slowly creeping up...
Hi Everyone,
So I have had my Andreas Papadamou oud for just under a year now but I've noticed the action has slowly been rising to the point that it's starting to
affect playability. The oud was made in 2018 so I wouldn't owe it to the wood settling or adjusting.
I use the standard medium tension Kurschner PVF strings tuned EABEAD.
Does anyone have any ideas? Should I just put lighter gauge strings on? My fear is that if I do, my oud will lose projection and volume.
Thanks 
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2939
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: Stringish
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Yeah, I'd switch to lighter tensions strings if I were you. Talk to the luthier as well about what he recommends.
Also make sure that the strings are not made for C#F#Bead' tuning, the extra tension on the bottom strings would be a lot if you are tuning them up to
E and A.
Projection and volume really have a lot more to do with playing technique than tension. It's not a simple linear relationship where more tension=more
sound. Think of it more as three ranges: insufficient, sufficient, and excessive.
Excessive tension doesn't get you more projection/volume than sufficient tension.
If you have insufficient tension, yes your tone and projection will suffer, but as long as you are somewhere in the "sufficient" range you are fine.
To a very limited extent, more tension within the "sufficient" range may give you a bit more projection.
Once you get into "excessive" tension, then you are putting more stress on your oud for no benefit.
On a fixed-bridge oud, I would put the usual dividing points of the tension ranges approximately as:
insufficient <2.9Kg
sufficient >2.9Kg <3.7Kg
excessive >3.7Kg
the exact dividing lines are different for different ouds and string materials, as well as playing technique and personal taste. Personally I set all
my ouds around 3.0-3.3Kg average per string and still get a powerful sound. If your oud is delicate, the optimal tension for power and projection
might very well be on the lower side, and higher tension could actually be choking the sound and causing damage. I always would recommend starting
with low tension and gradually increase it just until there are no weaknesses.
So:
1) make sure you are using a set for your tuning (i.e., old Turkish/Armenian) and not the "modern" tuning.
2) try switching to a lower tension set for a while and see if that helps
3) ask the luthier what he recommends
Note that tuning down will lower the tension substantially, however it's not a good representation of what the oud would sound like with lower tension
strings at your usual tuning. The oud reacts to the specific pitches used, and not just the tension, and most ouds have a sweet spot where they will
project best.
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