Jameel
Oud Junkie
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Turkish oud players--vote for your favorite strings
Strictly Turkish ouds here. What brand set do you like the best?
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
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My three favorites:
Custom Pyramid Lute strings from Germany with PVF trebles
John Bilezikjian's Special light tension La Bella sets (only available through Mr. Bilezikjian)
Hank Levin's sets with the PVF trebles
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MrOud
Oud Maniac
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I've only used D'Addario and LaBella. I thought D'Addarios were terrible so I stuck with LaBellas.
I get my custom gauged strings from Haig Manookian a.k.a the string professor 
Regards,
Udi Mike
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adamgood
Oud Junkie
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Pyramid strings...i like them so much. I don't know that I've tried the PVF, i don't think so.
I really think Pyramid is the only string that has this kind of elasctic quality that i really like. other brands feel stiffer and have less
sustain.
probably also depends so much on the instrument.
a couple months ago when I was with Necati Çelik in Vienna, he had 3 uds by the Istanbul Mustafa (amazing instruments!) and i think he told me the
strings were Küschner (not sure how to spell that) and i loved the way they felt.
adam
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Monty88
Oud Junkie
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Ah, Mavrothis.
I have just ordered a couple of sets of hank levin. I have only used La Bellas, they sound great to me. What are hanks sets like, do they last
longer?
A friend of mine here who plays oud, can't find out what strings orignally came on his oud. They are really light in tension, and he is trying to find
a set to match these. Lighter than labella and pyramid.
What are the PVF's like?
Regards,
Paddy
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
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Hey Monty,
Hank's are pretty nice, especially if your oud needs a little higher tension to avoid extra fingerboard buzzing.
They seem to last pretty long, and I like the sound. PVFs are great for giving a very bright and strong tone with less tension than equivalent nylon
strings.
Each oud is different, just like each player. See if you like these and go from there I think.
For nice, light sets, maybe combine PVF trebles (.50 for D, .60 for A), and the light La Bella sets from Bilezikjian or Haig Manoukian...
You can always go the best/pricier route and order Pyramid Lute. I'm happy to share my preferred gauges to anyone who's interested.
mavrothis
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Jason
Oud Junkie
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Can you let us know what guages you use mav (or anyone else)?
So far I've only used La Bella which I really liked. I have a new set of D'Addario I'm getting ready to put on. I also have some slightly used
Pyramids someone was generous enough to give me that I'm looking forward to trying.
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
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Hey,
My Pyramid Lute string recommended gauges/IDs for tuning d a e B A E are:
.50(d) .60(a) 1009(e) 1016(B) 1020(A) 1026/1028(E/D)
The Pyramid Lute string types I use for the following tuning are:
.50(d) .60(a) 1009(e) 1016(B) 1024(F#) 1440(C#/B)
For the trebles, I wouldn't go higher than .52/.62 respectively, on Turkish tuning.
Feel free to experiment a little with all the gauges I've recommended, but I think that these give a balanced (on the light side) stringing for your
oud.
More info here (I recommended slightly different gauges before, I think the ones above are a little more accurate):
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=2774#pid17796
Take care,
mavrothis
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
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Thanks everyone for chiming in, for those of you who haven't, please do.
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Multi Kulti
Oud Junkie
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am i too late?
I use the last 6-7 months custom lute strings from Kuerschner (german manufacteur http://www.kuerschner-saiten.de/english/start.htm ). Very loud and clear and they totally match with my Faruk Turunz oud.
I tested them once after i spent a serious amount of euros experimenting with different gauges from Pyramid(perfect quality too) but i was not soo
lucky. With Kuerschner was a bit easier.
Nikos
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Jason
Oud Junkie
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Well the D'Addario's are wretched. My year old la bellas were louder and had more even tension than these things. I'm going to put these Pyramids on
in a few days and if I like them I'll order a new set.
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Amos
Oud Junkie
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Peter Kyvelos designs a great set with combinations of la bella strings...his shop is Unique Strings in Belmont, MA.
Amos
Our music is like an ocean...
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
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Hey,
I forgot to mention the Kurchner strings (can't remember how it's spelled either). But they are very nice too, I agree with other guys who posted
about them.
Right now I'm using Pyramid lute strings on my Faruk Turunz, and La Bella wounds on my Dimitris oud with Pyramid PVFs for the trebles. The Dimitris
is still very new and has super low action, so I probably need to change the .50/.60 gauges of PVFs to .52/.62 respectively.
You can get these trebles from Pyramid Lute, Kurschner (try another spelling), and Hank's Music caravan strings.
When it comes to nylon trebles, I don't like the thick ones you usually get with a set from most of the string companies...they seem too thick for my
taste, and affect the sound too much. I feel the PVFs allow the sound of the oud to really come through, though lighter nylons will have less of an
influence on the clarity of sound.
mavro
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Jason
Oud Junkie
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Location: Louisville, KY
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mav,
Where do you get your strings? The only place I found with Pyramids was a European site. I'm sure there are places stateside to get them
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
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Jason,
If you look above at my first response, I've linked a thread where I talked about how to order Pyramids. There is a supplier here in the US, in
Massachussetts, but I prefer to get them straight from the factory.
I find they are easier to deal with, and more willing to help (and also are comfortable with using emails, etc, for orders). They even accept US
personal checks, so there's really no discouraging factor involved in ordering from them, especially if you make a larger order.
If you personally don't need a lot of strings, group up with some other players and make one bulk order, you'll probably even get a discount if you
purchase above a certain amount.
Take care,
mavrothis
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eliot
Oud Junkie
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Note to Mike: the quick reply feature at the bottom of post pages is not working. 2 times I've lost messages I typed there!
I use Kirschner and Aquila here. It's hard to get Aquila in Istanbul, so I bought a dozen sets of Kirschner here.
LaBella's quality control has been ATROCIOUS since 2004. In the 1990s I used HUNDREDS of sets of their strings, and found about a 10% failure rate for
new sets, but now it's over 50% - sets with 2-3 unplayable strings or differently gauged strings right out of the packet. Until I have evidence that a
new quality control system is in place at LaBella, I will NEVER buy any product directly or indirectly (Labella strings with another brand) from them.
I hope that LaBella reads this message and realizes they have slipped in quality, and hope they return to their prior quality someday.
My classical guitarist friends never have this problem - if they buy a $15 or $20 set of strings it's going to work as expected. Why should oud be any
different just because it has a bent neck?
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Monty88
Oud Junkie
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Hey guys question here.
Right, I originally had labellas, and the sound was nice. Quite nice actually.
I recently put a set of Hank Levin's music caravan strings on (tuning EABEAD) and I love them. They are just a little bit higher in tension and make
my oud sound nice. Also with those strings I ordered a set of the Necati Celik ones. Now when I inspected the Necati strings, I compared the plain
nylon strings of the two types of sets.
The thinnes D strings from both sets were the same in appearance (plain, clear nylon)
But the plain nylon A strings differed slightly. In the Armenian tuning set, the A strings were the same clear nylon as the D strings, but in the
Necati Celik set, the A nylons were a slightly SLIGHTLY milkier colour. Now I don't think they were PVF, because I would think both the Ds and the As
would be that colour, and I didn't order them anyway.
So, I had tried the armenian tuning strings and loved them. The problem I have always had, is that the A strings (plain nylon) have never been as
bright as I would like them to be. My oud is a nice intermediate instrument, nothing crap. With the labellas, the As were OK, not bright enough still,
and on Hank levin's sets, the A's were pretty much the same sound. The D's from both sets were both the same, nice and bright sounding. It is the A's
that I want to try and get a more trebly sound out of.
I recently (about 2 weeks ago) put the milky-coloured A's on from the necati set to see if they sounded different. They sound pretty bad right now,
very dead and no ring to them. I might have to put the other ones back on. I have a new set of labellas as well for emergency but who knows.
THE QUESTION: Mavrothis, Eliot, Adam,
What strings have the best sounding trebles? I've heard pyramids on my friends faruk turunz, and they sound great. What are pyramids like in terms of
life span, tension etc.
Regards,
Paddy
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Monty88
Oud Junkie
Posts: 135
Registered: 8-15-2004
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Hey guys question here.
Right, I originally had labellas, and the sound was nice. Quite nice actually.
I recently put a set of Hank Levin's music caravan strings on (tuning EABEAD) and I love them. They are just a little bit higher in tension and make
my oud sound nice. Also with those strings I ordered a set of the Necati Celik ones. Now when I inspected the Necati strings, I compared the plain
nylon strings of the two types of sets.
The thinnes D strings from both sets were the same in appearance (plain, clear nylon)
But the plain nylon A strings differed slightly. In the Armenian tuning set, the A strings were the same clear nylon as the D strings, but in the
Necati Celik set, the A nylons were a slightly SLIGHTLY milkier colour. Now I don't think they were PVF, because I would think both the Ds and the As
would be that colour, and I didn't order them anyway.
So, I had tried the armenian tuning strings and loved them. The problem I have always had, is that the A strings (plain nylon) have never been as
bright as I would like them to be. My oud is a nice intermediate instrument, nothing crap. With the labellas, the As were OK, not bright enough still,
and on Hank levin's sets, the A's were pretty much the same sound. The D's from both sets were both the same, nice and bright sounding. It is the A's
that I want to try and get a more trebly sound out of.
I recently (about 2 weeks ago) put the milky-coloured A's on from the necati set to see if they sounded different. They sound pretty bad right now,
very dead and no ring to them. I might have to put the other ones back on. I have a new set of labellas as well for emergency but who knows.
THE QUESTION: Mavrothis, Eliot, Adam,
What strings have the best sounding trebles? I've heard pyramids on my friends faruk turunz, and they sound great. What are pyramids like in terms of
life span, tension etc.
Regards,
Paddy
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adamgood
Oud Junkie
Posts: 499
Registered: 6-27-2005
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: 2.7 koma flat
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Monty88
What strings have the best sounding trebles? I've heard pyramids on my friends faruk turunz, and they sound great. What are pyramids like in terms of
life span, tension etc.
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Paddy do you mean best sounding treble strings like...the D and A strings? or do you mean best sounding treble like...brightness or producing higher
frequencies/overtones?
best sounding D and A strings? I dunno for sure since i haven't tried a million things but, my Pyramids work juuuuuust fine. i like the way they feel.
(I'm about due for a string change now and have a set of Küschner at home, dang how do you speel that. I'll put them on next and try to give a
report)
and if you mean treble like upper partials ok, now this is coming from someone who really likes to hear LOTS and LOTS of overtones ringing out in his
stringed instruments. and again, Pyramids are doing the job really well for that. In other words, I don't like playing instruments that have dead
sounding strings. Some people love it, I think Ara Dinkjian likes it and he gets an amazing sound. guitarist Pat Metheny for years used flatwound
strings that were up to 1 year old or something and his sound was great. somehow as dead and quick to decay as that was, he got some sustain. it's
probably one reason i like tanbur so much, the zzzzzing and the strings are so long, you get so many overtones. i love the natural reverb.
adam
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1674
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Location: NJ/NYC
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Hi,
I prefer PVF's for my treble strings, and I also like Adam love lots of overtones. There are lute strings from LaBella that Haig Manoukian
recommends, and also custom D'addario strings, which are more earthy in sound.
It takes some experimentation, but heavy, nylon strings generally seem to hurt the sound of an instrument in my opinion, whereas if you can get
something lighter, and of better material, than it allows the sound of the instrument to ring through.
mavro
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Ararat66
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1025
Registered: 11-14-2005
Location: Portsmouth, UK
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What does Al use?
What strings does Al Bardezbanian use?? what a sound. I've only used Aquila Nylgut which have a very rich sound on my Haluk oud (which is loud and
getting louder!!)but I think I would prefer a slightly more resin-like sound - a bit dryer and earthier.
What suggestions do you have for this.
Leon
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Jonathan
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1582
Registered: 7-27-2004
Location: Los Angeles
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I picked up Kyvelos' special lute set for Turkish ouds, and I love them. They are actually a special LaBella lute string--I know a lot folks don't
like LaBella oud strings. I actually liked them, but agree that quality control was a problem, particularly on the wound strings.
Kyvelos' lute set sounds nothing at all like LaBella oud strings. The trebble strings have a great punchy sound. They're a bit thicker than you might
be used to if you play the regular LaBellas. The sound is rich and even throughout.
He also has an Arabic set that I am going to try shortly.
Well worth the money.
If you are interested, his phone number is:
617 489-1254
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