Mike's Oud Forums

Choosing strings

londonoudi - 2-9-2012 at 10:50 PM

Hi all
Since I put very cheap (4 pounds) Alice strings in the buzz has been increasing, and the sound is worse than before I put them in.

I was hoping for some advice on what strings. My previous strings had a much nicer richer sound to the extent that people are convinced that recordings from pre string change are from a different oud to the one I have now!

Are there any strings which have certain characteristics sound wise?

Thanks

Brian Prunka - 2-10-2012 at 01:27 AM

Hi Londonoudi,

I can help you.

Here's the important information I need:

How are you tuning the oud?

What is the scale length (distance from nut to bridge)?

Does your oud have a fixed bridge or floating bridge?

Do you prefer lower or higher tension?

If you're in C-c' Arabic tuning, a good general set is Pyramid 650/11 or MusiCaravan Arabic set. Daniel Mari is inexpensive but a good low-tension set for Arabic ouds.

Lots of people like Aquila, as well. They have a bit higher tension. They work well on some ouds, but not so well on others.

cheers,
Brian

PS. I have never heard anything good about "alice" strings.

charlie oud - 2-10-2012 at 08:46 AM

Alice is a naughty girl she never sings properly, avoid her at all costs. Probably the poorest strings available.

Brian Prunka - 2-10-2012 at 11:34 AM

Quote: Originally posted by charlie oud  
Alice is a naughty girl she never sings properly, avoid her at all costs. Probably the poorest strings available.


Oh, I don't know . . . she has some competition:




These look suspect as well:


This isn't even an oud on the package!

fayyazi - 2-10-2012 at 02:17 PM

i have a turkish "Sandi" so for the tuning i use turkish sets. i have tried pyramid (the blue set), La Bella and D'Addario. to me so far the pyramid is the worst and La Bella (which is the most expensive) is in the middle. although it is not that long since i've put the D'Addario set on, so...... :)