Abu Ramses
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Turkish oud/Arabic tuning
Because I am small and have a reduced range of motion due to an injury, I am having a harder time than previously getting my arm comfortably around my
Syrian-style Arabic oud. I am wondering if getting a Turkish oud and tuning it in the Arabic CFAdgc style would help. Any thoughts on that?
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Jody Stecher
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Some Turkish oud makers are building Turkish sized ouds which are braced for Arabic tuning and designed to play Arabic music. One of those might be a
better choice than a Turkish oud designed for Turkish music. But you might get lucky with the latter. I have heard such ouds. Not bad. There are also
smaller bodied Arabic ouds made by Arabic makers. Nazih Ghadban for instance has made some ouds whose dimensions allow for right arm comfort without
any loss of sound quality.
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Abu Ramses
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Thanks. Nazih Ghadban ouds are above my budget range. Does anyone have an idea about what strings to use on a regular Turkish oud?
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Jody Stecher
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Quote: Originally posted by Abu Ramses  | | Thanks. Nazih Ghadban ouds are above my budget range. Does anyone have an idea about what strings to use on a regular Turkish oud?
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Any set of strings that would be used on an Arabic oud with a scale length of 58.5 (the typical Turkish oud scale) would be suitable. Probably any set
of strings intended for Arabic oud at a longer scale will also be good. The shorter scale of the Turkish oud will result in bit less tension on the
strings and that is usually not a bad thing.
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Brian Prunka
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So there are two potential issues with size - the scale length and the bowl size.
Turkish-style ouds have both a shorter scale (aka vibrating string length) and a smaller bowl.
The string length mmay matter if you are having left hand issues or have small hands.
The bowl size might be more relevant to right hand/shoulder issues.
Posture and ergonomics are usually more likely the issue in both cases (aside from preexisting injuries). Since say you are both small and have a
preexisting injury, a Turkish oud might be a good choice.
Another possibility is that some Arabic ouds have shallower bowls and/or narrower bodies. Depending on your posture, one of these might be a good
fit. Turkish bowls can still be quite deep, even if the body is not as large overall. You may wish to try out a variety of ouds to find a good fit.
I've noticed a lot of Iraqi ouds seem to have shallower bowls with rather wider bodies, while Syrian ouds more often have rather narrow bodies with
deeper bowls.
I know a handful of folks who have had success with the D'addario strings on Turkish ouds tuned down to "Arabic" tuning (i.e., 1st course is c').
I've personally found the Pyramid orange set to be pretty decent on some Turkish ouds as well.
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