Mike's Oud Forums

Neck leaning back

Oudsofjoy - 9-24-2019 at 03:18 AM

I am replacing strings on a Turkish oud and placing Arabic tuning strings. I noticed that without the strings the neck leans back about 2°. Put on two base strings and bad buzzing caused by the strings hitting the neck and some point.
I tried sanding it a little but there’s still a difference. I’m wondering if this can possibly be by design so after adding the strings the tension will take care of it? What’s your thought on that?

Brian Prunka - 9-24-2019 at 07:18 AM

Sanding is usually a bad idea as you will almost certainly sand somewhat unevenly and make the problem worse.
A well-made neck shouldn't move with the strings on it, but it's quite possible that the tension of the strings will pull the neck more level and eliminate the problem. Did you have this problem when you had the previous set of strings?

Jason - 9-24-2019 at 08:28 AM

How is the neck attached? I had a Sukar oud with a very similar issue. The neck was still attached w/ the bolt and washer but the glue between the neck and neck block had failed. It wasn't clear what the problem was until string tension was removed and you could then see where the neck had disconnected.

Brian Prunka - 9-24-2019 at 11:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Jason  
How is the neck attached? I had a Sukar oud with a very similar issue. The neck was still attached w/ the bolt and washer but the glue between the neck and neck block had failed. It wasn't clear what the problem was until string tension was removed and you could then see where the neck had disconnected.


This is a good point—some ouds with adjustable necks can become loose and one just needs to adjust the position and tighten the mechanism.

Oudsofjoy - 9-24-2019 at 01:20 PM

It is a new our that came with strings made for Turkish tuning. I tuned it and tested sounded ok. But then got Mari strings and high they didn’t have much tension and started to buzz. Took them out and the neck wasn’t leveled with the soundboard. I sanded with a block to keep it leveled. But did t sand much. I’m gonna put d’dario strings and tune it and see.