Victoria
Oud Addict
Posts: 48
Registered: 1-24-2023
Location: Odense, Denmark
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Tightening of tuning pegs due to string winding
Hi everyone.
I have a question regarding the strings of the oud. More specifically, the strings in relation to the tuning pegs. The reason for my question is that
I have been having a bit of issues with the strings moving towards the wood frame as it gets tightened more over time due to tuning. This pulls in
some of the tuning pegs more and more so that they become really tight! For this reason, it was necessary loosening the low C string and shortening it
(after this picture was taken). That peg surely was jammed! Now I am doing OK but yesterday I noticed that some of the other low strings are now
beginning to become slightly tighter due to the same phenomenon 
When I stringed the oud, I shortened the strings to roughly 18 cm (a hands length) past the corresponding tuning peg because I watched a video
recommending to do that. The thicker strings are a bit shorter than this. Would you guys recommend shortening them a bit more next time I mount new
strings or maybe even loosen this particular set of strings and shorten them? Or should I change the direction somehow?
EDIT: It appears that it is less of a problem than I first expected. The issue was mostly with the low C which I have
now shortened to make more space. The others are quite OK it seems. But I am still interested in hearing how much excess string you guys leave before
mounting the strings 
This was my pegbox after restringing. Please don't laugh too hard at it as it was my first time working with friction pegs  :
Thanks for reading and in advance for any replies
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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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Those strings are way too long. The approximate length needed is about 5-6 pegs past the the peg it's going to. For the heavier strings (5-6) you
can use less as the thick windings will create enough friction to keep them in place. From what I can see, it looks like you could halve the amount
of extra string on most of those strings.
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Victoria
Oud Addict
Posts: 48
Registered: 1-24-2023
Location: Odense, Denmark
Member Is Offline
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Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka  | | Those strings are way too long. The approximate length needed is about 5-6 pegs past the the peg it's going to. For the heavier strings (5-6) you
can use less as the thick windings will create enough friction to keep them in place. From what I can see, it looks like you could halve the amount
of extra string on most of those strings. |
Wow I see haha I guess that is why I experience issues. I honestly don’t know
why the videos online always state that you should leave so much excess string. The same applies to the classical guitar.
I will shorten the strings when I get home from practising. For now I will have to live with the extra length as there aren’t any pliers available
here Thanks for your suggestions
EDIT: This is the result of shortening the strings (and replacing most of them due to all the messing around which did take its toll on them). Now
everything works like a charm  :
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