twinwillows - 5-5-2004 at 12:46 PM
I JUST GOT MY OUD FIXED (I THINK). BUT, I AM HAVING TROUBLE TUNING. WHAT DO YOU GUYS USE (TUNER,PIANO)? I REALLY WANT TO START PLAYING! I JUST
CAN'T TUNE IT. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT. THANKS.
TruePharaoh21 - 5-5-2004 at 01:10 PM
Hey twin. When I first got my oud, I used my ear to tune it (bad idea when you're a beginner). After I found out it was horribly tuned, I got a
tuner. I have a Boss tuner, I think it's called Boss TU-12H or something to that effect. Anyways, after you use that for a while, you'll
find that you can tune it by ear once again, only successfully by the use of harmonics. Hope this helps. (Tuner is more accurate than a piano because
it conforms to your instrument).
TP21
twinwillows - 5-5-2004 at 01:20 PM
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. WHEN I TRIED TO EVEN TURN THE PEGS IT SLIPS. THIS IS AFTER PUTTING THAT WAX STUFF ON IT. BUT ONCE I GET IT FIXED (IF I DO)
I'LL GET A TUNER! THANKS AGAIN!
chuckerbutty - 5-5-2004 at 01:42 PM
I usually try to ensure that the string is cleanly wound on the peg on the side nearest the inner cheek of the pegbox (if that makes any sense). This
is so that the tension of the string is pulling inwards. But make sure that the string isn't pressing so tightly against the pegbox cheek that
you have the opposite problem of the pegs sticking. This may or may not make a difference in your case. The other thing that you might try doing is
visualising tightening a peg as GENTLY screwing it into its hole - in other words, you must exert a very small amount of pressure to ensure that the
peg doesn't slip back.
TP is right, I wouldn't attempt tuning the oud by ear unless you have perfect pitch. In addition to not helping with your playing, you could end
up overtensioning the strings which isn't going to do your oud much good in the long run. I use a Seiko chromatic tuner which does the job nicely
(I got it for about £20 here - not very expensive at all).
Hope you manage to sort out your problems and start to enjoy your oud.