himork
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Strings and tuning - Just to be sure ...
Hi everyone
I know this is a REALLY common question, but I prefer to ask once again instead of breaking my instrument in half!
I bought today my first Ud (Turkish), and I have been surfing around looking for information about how to tune it. On the Oud Cafe tuning page, I
found a list of typical tunings, but when I look at the notes written on my strings pack, I get a bit confused. It says: F# B E a d g which is way
too high in my opinion so I didn't try it.
What I guessed is that the tuning on the pack is in fact the C# F# B e a d tuning from the Oud Cafe page, but written in the Turkish way (a 4th
higher). I would like to have confirmation about this from more expert players. And if I am right, can I tune the Ud with the standard E A B e a d
using these strings?
Thank you very much in advance
Marco
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paulO
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Hi Marco,
First off, packs of strings can be marked all sorts of ways -- I've always ignored this, but have known in advance what range of tuning the set was
made for, and shortly after that I got a micrometer and always check the guages before installing them on the oud. Good thing you didn't try F# B E a
d g. I feel you're correct about the turkish 4th higher notation caryover.
C# F# B e a d -- from lowest to highest is fine, the only problem with using this set for
E A B e a d, is that the two lowest strings might be guaged slightly heavier to support tuning them to C# and F#. If you're just starting out the C#
F# B e a d is a great tuning, and I wish I had started with it...I've been playing E A B e a d since day one, and there's pretty much no turning back
for me now. What brand of strings do you have ??
Cordially..PaulO
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himork
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Thanks for the advice PaulO!
The strings are from an inexpensive chinese brand called Dadi, they came with the instrument. The set is marked OD090, and the nominal gauges are:
028, 032 ,025(w), 029, 033, 041
I guess I will give a try to the C# tuning.
Thanks again!
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paulO
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Dude...the 028 and 032 strings are pretty heavy guages for the d and a courses. You should be more in the range of 022-023 for the d, and 027-029 for
the a (and 029 is kinda pushing it I ususally use this guage when tuning everything down a whole step).
The other guages are okay. You just don't want to put too much tension on the instrument...most modern ouds can stand up to the tension, but
eventually the extra tension can take a toll on the instrument.
Check Jameel's website for some good string info: http://www.khalafoud.com/ and a wide variety of stings. Also, Hank Levin has some sets specifically designed for these tunings: http://www.musicaravan.com. Good luck.
Regards...Paul
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himork
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Thanks again, I think I will buy a new set of strings (how is the Pyramid turkish set?).
Btw, I found the set I own on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Set-of-Legend-Dadi-Oud-Strings-Ud-Ut-String-T...
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paulO
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Hi Marco,
I've tried a couple of different Pyramid sets on my turkish ouds. The sets that I ended up with here were a moderately priced set with a blue and
white cover on the set. This is a pretty mellow sounding set, the nylon strings were okay sounding, a little on the dull side. I liked the sound of
the wound strings a lot, except the 3rd string (e), started un-winding at the f note after awhile. This was the only knock on this set -- the same
thing happened to a freind of mine who ordered the strings. I also went through a crazy exercise ordering strings from Matthias Wagner (e-mail:
strings@wagner-instruments.de http://www.lutes-strings.de
http://www.music-strings.de) who was super helpful. This was like way before online ordering, so my buddy Vic spent quite a bit of time with him
on the phone, but the wound strings sounded way too bright, but the the nylon strings were excellent. So kind of a mixed bag for us. Hope this
helps.
Regards...Paul
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himork
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Hi Paul,
You have been very helpful with your suggestions! I ended up buying the blue-white (and orange Ud) Pyramid set. For the time being, since I am a REAL
beginner (have been playing for a couple of hours at most), I am mostly concerned about not breaking the instrument and keeping it in tune and not so
much about the timbre of different string sets. But as I get better (I hope), I will certainly try other sets and see the difference.
Thank you very much again for your help! 
Regards
Marco
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Christian1095
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Hey Marco... it's going to take a little while for the stings to break in... like a week or so of playing.... so don't be too frustrated when the
darn thing is constantly going out of tune... it will mellow out after a bit.
Enjoy! 
Chris Walters
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paulO
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Hi Marco,
You're welcome man. Like Chris sez, it takes awhile (sometimes a couple of weeks) for the strings to stay in tune. Take care.
Regards...PaulO
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himork
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I received and mounted the Pyramid set and I have to say that it sounds and feels a lot better than the other one. The only thing that makes me wonder
is that the two lowest string seem a bit loose if I tune them to C# and F#, although they sound good (and they were still tuned 3 hrs after I put them
on).
Regards
Marco
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Christian1095
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I'm certainly not an expert on this... but I my ouds are strung DGAdgc - and I'm using aquilla strings that are for that tuning... is it possible your
two heaviest courses of string should be tuned D and GG instead?
It's just amazing what new strings will do to the sound isn't it 
Chris Walters
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patheslip
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himork . I've just had an identical set given to me. They were recommended for Arab tuning: CFAdgc or something similar. I think they might be a
little too heavy for Turkish tuning, though this is only a guess.
Pyramid are always safe bet, as you have found.
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