Just to chime in — I have mostly the same experience as Channing and others with regard to scale length: I don't really notice the difference in
scale length when switching between ouds.
I have a 58.5cm Turkish and 57, 59, 60 cm Arabic and also occasionally play 61, 61.5 or even 62cm Arabic ouds. My main ouds are 60cm — this is my
preferred size for Arabic ouds, so it's right in the middle. I imagine for someone who usually plays 58.5 and then played 61.5 that might seem like a
bigger difference.
I do notice some significant differences around 61.5-62cm, which I expect has more to do with the actual size of my hands and not just what I'm used
to. My hands are relatively large (I have to buy large men's gloves, for example) but not huge (x-large gloves are not the right fit). So someone
with smaller hands may have a lower threshold for when they have to noticeably adjust their technique for a larger scale oud.
But there is very little issue with switching, generally speaking. Part of the reason is that most of your oud playing (if you have reached a decent
level of skill) is not anywhere near the limits of your skill technically, so even if there are some small adjustments or slight loss of technical
capacity, you have plenty to spare. Something like competitive archery is, I imagine, almost entirely exploring the upper limits of technique and so
any loss of skill is significant. I can imagine for a very technical piece that is at or near the limits of my ability, switching ouds would require
some readjustment. |