Jonathan
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1583
Registered: 7-27-2004
Location: Los Angeles
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Warped Neck
OK, this is going to sound completely nuts. And, a lot of people are probably going to cringe when they read this, but here goes.
A while back, I had an oud with a warped neck. Not terrible, but bad enough that it was just too dificult to play higher on the neck. The neck was
not original to the oud, and was not a great neck, so I had it replaced. No regrets. The new neck is great.
But, could I have straightened out the neck? Not by planing or shaving wood, but by using a vice over many many days, and simply tightening the vice.
Or would the wood just fail again?
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Dr. Oud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1370
Registered: 12-18-2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA
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Mood: better than before
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Clamping the neck back might work, but it would be temporary if the neck was made from wood that bent in the first place. You would need to clamp it
past flat as it will spring back when the clamps are removed.
Neck warp can be avoided by adding a laminated stringer in the center of the neck, after correcting the bow or dip.
Another fix is to install a tension rod that you can adjust to adjust the warp in the neck. This requires cutting a channel down the neck for the rod
and a hole through the neck block for the adjusting hardware. The shamsiya would have to be removed to allow access to the tension nut or bolt.
I'm afraid there is no free lunch or simple fixes. Most problems with difficult string action is due to the body of the oud warping as well as the
neck. If the angle of the neck is such that th strings are too high at the neck joint (1/8 - 3/16 or higher depending on your preference), the only
fix is to cut off the neck and reset the angle at the body joint. Serious surgery indeed!
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2949
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: Stringish
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A repair I've seen Najib Shaheen do many times:
often (especially on cheaper ouds) the problem is not the warping of the neck or even the face, but that the original neck joint was simply not well
done; the joint then acts as a pivot point and the body and neck pull together from the string tension.
Najib removes the strings and makes the neck flush with the body (easy when the string tension is absent). Then, he re-sets the neck by drilling into
the neck block at approximately a 45-degree angle and gluing in two dowels through the neck into the neck block (this is best when adding a new
fingerboard as well, since it will cover up the dowels--usually a good idea anyway b/c this kind of oud almost always has a terrible fingerboard.
otherwise, you can stain the dowels to match the fingerboard). the neck is solid as a rock at this point and stays flush with the body after the
strings are put on . . .
I've seen him transform cheaper ouds with this technique; not only does it strengthen the oud and give you better action, the stronger joint restores
the vibrations that were previously dissapating, giving the oud a much fuller sound/projection.
with better ouds, this is usually not the source of the problem, but this fix works extremely well on many inexpensive ouds.
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oudmaker
Oud Junkie
Posts: 220
Registered: 12-23-2004
Location: Philadelphia-USA
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Why, all these work for? First the original oud was a lousy one since the neck was warpt. If there is a need to be corrected for a special reason,
then make an exact copy of the neck use original pegbox and put it back.
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2949
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: Stringish
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I think the reason people go to some trouble is often because they don't have the money for a better instrument. A $200 oud with $150 in repairs is
still only $350, much less than buying a new, high-quality instrument, which is generally $1000+
unless you're lucky and happen to find a nahat on ebay for $500 . . .
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Jonathan
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1583
Registered: 7-27-2004
Location: Los Angeles
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Mood: No Mood
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Jeez, what a memory.
The oud that I am talking about, though, was a junker that was given to me many years ago. It was nothing special. I just figured that, if I had
to do it again, maybe I would have just clamped it in a vice and seen what happenned. But, I am pretty sure it would have just failed again.
That Nahat neck, fortunately, is fine.
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