Mike's Oud Forums

Arabic Oud Case Options - Opinions?

John Erlich - 1-9-2022 at 10:13 PM

I am also considering these 2 options for an Arabic oud case:

SalaMuzik 1: https://www.amazon.com/Oud-Hard-Case-HOC-404-Bag/dp/B07JLT2V5X/ref=s...

SalaMuzik 2: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Case-Oud-Ud-TOC-201/dp/B01N0F838C/ref=sr...

Zaza Percussion: https://www.amazon.com/Zaza-Percussion-SUPER-DELUXE-Egyptian/dp/B08Q...

Any opinions or experiences to share?

Thanks,
"Udi" John

MattOud - 1-10-2022 at 07:01 AM

John,
I posted on your other sukkar oud case thread just now ,and forgot the name of my newer generic case, however,
this is the exact one you posted:option #1 above, that my wife bought me for my birthday or something.
There is a thread on this case on the forum somewhere, as we discussed it as well. Id I recall correctly, Brian bought one as well and found it a bit small....however, my sukkar fits it PERFECTLY so it does work depending on your OUD size. It should work great for Zeyrab sized oud's as well....
I feel it is an OK case, but again, If I had a Turunz OUD or something, I am not sure if I would feel confident with this case to travel on an airplane... It could potentially work, but is made of styrofoam mainly and could potentially 'shift' if hit hard enough....
cheers,
Matt

Ronny Andersson - 1-10-2022 at 10:34 AM

I have owned several different flight cases and the majority lack the support for the peg box. Lute makers never let a pegbox rest against the bottom of the hard case. I had several that were made by a guy in Sweden who unfortunately ended his production in vacuum pressed ABS plastic. He pointed out that the neck need support and the peg box must not rest against the bottom. The same thing Mathias Wagner pointed out when he sent me a design on the same type of vacuum pressed flight cases.
I have owned SalaMuzik 2 and it suited a Turkish oud. Is not so stable if the bag is open as it tends to tip. Otherwise stable and well protected.
A custom-made case costs a lot and today there are many good case makers.

John Erlich - 1-10-2022 at 12:29 PM

Quote: Originally posted by MattOud  
John,
I posted on your other sukkar oud case thread just now ,and forgot the name of my newer generic case, however,
this is the exact one you posted:option #1 above, that my wife bought me for my birthday or something.
There is a thread on this case on the forum somewhere, as we discussed it as well. Id I recall correctly, Brian bought one as well and found it a bit small....however, my sukkar fits it PERFECTLY so it does work depending on your OUD size. It should work great for Zeyrab sized oud's as well....
I feel it is an OK case, but again, If I had a Turunz OUD or something, I am not sure if I would feel confident with this case to travel on an airplane... It could potentially work, but is made of styrofoam mainly and could potentially 'shift' if hit hard enough....
cheers,
Matt


Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts, Matt!

John Erlich - 1-10-2022 at 12:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Ronny Andersson  
I have owned several different flight cases and the majority lack the support for the peg box. Lute makers never let a pegbox rest against the bottom of the hard case. I had several that were made by a guy in Sweden who unfortunately ended his production in vacuum pressed ABS plastic. He pointed out that the neck need support and the peg box must not rest against the bottom. The same thing Mathias Wagner pointed out when he sent me a design on the same type of vacuum pressed flight cases.
I have owned SalaMuzik 2 and it suited a Turkish oud. Is not so stable if the bag is open as it tends to tip. Otherwise stable and well protected.
A custom-made case costs a lot and today there are many good case makers.


Thanks, Ronny!

John Erlich - 1-10-2022 at 12:35 PM

I am understanding better the issue of proper fit for a hard oud case. The case that came with my Iraqi (non-Bashir-style) oud fits well. The problem is that the zipper in disintegrating, and, based on my recent experience the cost of replacing the "slider," it will probably cost many times the cost of the new case to have the entire zipper removed & replaced. I have reached out to a luggage repair shop (same folks who replaced the slider) to see what they would charge to install 2 or 3 buckles on the case (and if this would be possible). Thanks for the feedback. Will let you know how it turns out!

Peace,
"Udi" John

dusepo - 1-10-2022 at 01:59 PM

I have the Sala Muzik case you have listed here as #1. It fits ouds OK, provides good protection and is comfortable to wear like a rucksack (but takes some getting used to when you turn corners etc!) but a couple of issues I've come across:

* It has no bit cut away into the foam where the neck goes. This means that when you put the lid down, it might be putting pressure on the neck. Not ideal and could be solved by simply cutting a space for the neck into the foam under the material.
* Many of my ouds have decorative finials on the end of the pegbox. This is also a feature of many other makers. These do not fit into this case, or fit very tightly to the point where they would probably snap off. So check if the length and angle of the neck fits.

gkhouri - 1-10-2022 at 03:17 PM

I have the Sala Musik 2 case. It's lightweight enough to carry around, and for my purposes, it offers good general protection. EXCEPT: The top/lid has little rigidity against flex to protect the face of the oud. If the bridge of your oud is close to the lid, as mine is, you could probably flex the lid enough with your arm to crack the face of your oud. My case would certainly not withstand much impact to the face without damaging the oud. My oud has 19.5 cm bowl depth. My case is about 7 or 8 years old and perhaps they have changed the design.

John Erlich - 1-10-2022 at 09:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by gkhouri  
I have the Sala Musik 2 case. It's lightweight enough to carry around, and for my purposes, it offers good general protection. EXCEPT: The top/lid has little rigidity against flex to protect the face of the oud. If the bridge of your oud is close to the lid, as mine is, you could probably flex the lid enough with your arm to crack the face of your oud. My case would certainly not withstand much impact to the face without damaging the oud. My oud has 19.5 cm bowl depth. My case is about 7 or 8 years old and perhaps they have changed the design.

Thanks for sharing!

John Erlich - 1-10-2022 at 09:50 PM

Quote: Originally posted by dusepo  
I have the Sala Muzik case you have listed here as #1. It fits ouds OK, provides good protection and is comfortable to wear like a rucksack (but takes some getting used to when you turn corners etc!) but a couple of issues I've come across:

* It has no bit cut away into the foam where the neck goes. This means that when you put the lid down, it might be putting pressure on the neck. Not ideal and could be solved by simply cutting a space for the neck into the foam under the material.
* Many of my ouds have decorative finials on the end of the pegbox. This is also a feature of many other makers. These do not fit into this case, or fit very tightly to the point where they would probably snap off. So check if the length and angle of the neck fits.

Thanks for sharing, Jo! It sounds like fit is a big problem, and that buying a case on-line, sight-unseen, might not be such a good choice.

Ronny Andersson - 1-11-2022 at 12:15 AM

Can add a comment about my Turkish lute case that I used the bag only to protect the lute at home - partly for my cats and dogs .. ;-) and I used a folded towel to provide support for the neck. Also partly to keep an even temperature. It is another matter with the humidity in the indoor environment that depends on where you live and what climate the country you live in has.
If I were to travel more intensively, I would order a custom made case according to all the measurements required.

Khalil_Oud - 1-11-2022 at 01:12 PM

Hi all,
It means that a lot of little problems exist about oud cases, especially the hard ones. I have a khalaf soft case more than ten years, it is ok and I have been searching for a hard case that doesn't cost 1000 $/Euro.... honestly, It is difficult to find a good hard case with a convenient price (I think that 100 $ to 300 $ can be considered as convenient for the range of the prices of the oud available these days, the market).
Also, many sellers put poor quality photos of their cases on websites (the only 'place' where we can buy, because no choices locally, particularly in Europe and Americas). In addition, no/little specifications/dimensions are given as if measuring is a complex and hard task !

Hope it will change : someone could provide a good product not only for Turkish ouds as it's always sad.

coolsciguy - 1-12-2022 at 09:38 AM

This post might be of help:

http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=17712#pid11...