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Cold snap

DaveH - 1-6-2009 at 08:44 AM

Just a quick observation: is anyone else in the UK particularly enjoying their oud playing at the moment? It's been a few years since we've had much of a proper winter. Outside all is white, crisp and clear, inside the wood stove is going and the long evenings are giving loads of practice time. My oud is singing like a bell with the cold, dry weather.

Long live the proper British winter!

John Erlich - 1-6-2009 at 08:55 AM

On the other hand, most of our instruments were built in warmer climates. I have heard many tales of woe from oud (and qanoun) owners whose instruments suffered serious damage from changes in temperature and humidity. Beware!

Peace,
John
in (not so) Sunny California

DaveH - 1-6-2009 at 09:05 AM

Killjoy!

Yep, I was bearing that in mind. Like most of us, ouds perform best near their breaking point!

Ararat66 - 1-6-2009 at 09:21 AM

At last ... a real winter, down here it as been freezing and clear as a bell but my oud is safe in a warm, dry house.

Leon :xtreme:

katakofka - 1-6-2009 at 09:25 AM

my oud looses its water in winter time when the heat is on at home . I am using a humidifer in these conditions. When the humidity reaches 50% "My oud is singing like a bell"

DaveH - 1-6-2009 at 09:26 AM

John - just to reassure you, I'm keeping it well away from that fire!

MatthewW - 1-6-2009 at 09:46 AM

Well let me say that I'd rather be playing and enjoying the weather in the country that my oud was made in.
Lads, though it's been cold, my oud has been sounding fine, that is when I can get my poor fingers warm enough to play it! Give me sunshine and warm weather any day! :cool:

Jameel - 1-6-2009 at 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DaveH

Long live the proper British winter!

Hear hear! As ouds go, that is. Don't you just love the sound that the dryness gives?

jdowning - 1-6-2009 at 01:40 PM

Hey guys - if you want real cold and dryness, move to the Canadian Prairies.Current temperatures (with wind chill) are around minus 50 C. Hard to play an oud when wearing mitts!!

Melbourne - 1-6-2009 at 06:14 PM

MatthewW

I can assure, its probably not much warmer than where you are in your oud's country of origin

Nazih's house is probably half covered in snow at the moment. Certain regions of Lebanon really cop it in winter.

Meanwhile downunder - summer has finally arrived, almost a month overdue. Not looking forward to the nightmares - jumping out of bed to the sound of oud pegs slipping!

katakofka - 1-6-2009 at 06:48 PM

Correct me if I am wrong: humidity is important, Ouds should avoid dry weather and hot. These affect the wood and the glue of the oud.
in a 50% average humidity the oud would be in a good condition for its maintenance and sound.
Are these wrong statments? Because I am wondering how can one enjoy the oud sound in a dry weather? What is the humidity level surrounding your oud dave?

gregorypause - 1-7-2009 at 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jdowning
Hey guys - if you want real cold and dryness, move to the Canadian Prairies.Current temperatures (with wind chill) are around minus 50 C. Hard to play an oud when wearing mitts!!

Oh, come on. When I lived in Calgary I saw many a guitarists at outdoor concerts playing in mitts

If they could do it we can do it!

DaveH - 1-7-2009 at 01:51 AM

Kata, the general consensus seems to be that 50% is about optimum.

I should qualify my post by saying that the UK is still stuck here on the North-eastern edge of the Atlantic, surrounded by water so it's never going to be bone dry, but the last two weeks the winds have been north-easterly so a bit of that continental feel has crept in. I like it but I can understand Matthew's reservations!

I have a very dodgy garden humidity gauge which I should really upgrade. It's on about 40-45% at the moment. A woodburning stove does dry out the room as it draws cold air in and warms it up, reducing the relative humidity. I do put trays of water in the hotspots in the room to stop it drying out too much though and as we have the kitchen and living room in one, the cooking puts a lot of steam into the atmosphere. If it gets below 40 I start to get nervous.

In my limited experience, it's also regular big changes that really hurt. I used to live in Bangladesh, which is about 90% in the summer when the winds come from the bay of bengal and about 30 in the winter when they come from Central Asia. That was before I had an oud, but my lute popped a brace fairly quickly and had to be sent home for intensive care. Central heating does have a similar effect though.

In short, it does worry me a bit but nazih makes his ouds pretty robustly, as you know. As Samer points out, this oud was made in the Bekaa which is pretty dry, and cold in winter, and I think is happiest in similar conditions (which are rare here) so I think I'm OK - touch oud - and I'm just loving that dry weather ring!

MatthewW - 1-7-2009 at 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Melbourne
MatthewW

I can assure, its probably not much warmer than where you are in your oud's country of origin

Nazih's house is probably half covered in snow at the moment. Certain regions of Lebanon really cop it in winter.

Melbourne you got a good point there, maybe I'll pass on Lebanon at this time of the year....how about Hawaii?
Now I don't mind a bit of cold weather, but today is forcast at -12 C ( yes, MINUS 12 C!)...brrrrrr
enjoy your summer while you got it mate! :cool:

abusin - 1-7-2009 at 03:40 AM

Hi Dave and folks,

Man its freeeezing here :mad:

the good thing mate is for the last 2 weeks my playing arena the kitchen :cool:

always warm plenty to eat

and nice smels

and the misus is always happy to have me around

)

littleseb - 1-7-2009 at 07:33 AM

Yes Dave,

I find the cold very inspiring. I love being at home with a good ol' cup of tea, plugging away on my oud....what a great excuse to cancel all appointments and to stay at home, practising maqams.
Plus, I don't know what all the fuzz is all about - 10 years ago it was perfectly normal to have sub-zero temperatures in Jan!
The only down-side: I have spent all my money on my new oud, strings, and lessons - hence I haven't been able to pay my long overdue gas bill! Touch wood they won't cut off my supply before it gets warmer, because playing with gloves is impossible.....maybe some bright brain will invent a heated neck with hot strings!

Seb

MatthewW - 1-7-2009 at 10:12 AM

Awad, better be careful about playing too much in the kitchen mate, with all that good cooking and smells going on your oud may end up smelling like a shish kebab!

Ararat66 - 1-7-2009 at 11:54 AM

Hey guys

notto mention the shisha - remember that Awad

lol
Leon

abusin - 1-8-2009 at 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ararat66
Hey guys

notto mention the shisha - remember that Awad

lol
Leon

Man that was the best memory mate

can't wait for the next one,

Best regards to you and family, we'd a little'n recently

billkilpatrick - 1-10-2009 at 04:05 PM

can't say i miss the british winters but i do wish there were more of you(se) here in not all that sunny - or warm, even - italy ...

John Erlich - 1-13-2009 at 05:16 PM

Just wanted you all to know:

California's cold snap has turned into a heat wave: Today's high temperature in my city was 70°F/21°C. Just had to share that... :cool:

Peace,
John

oudplayer - 1-13-2009 at 05:48 PM

john
Rub it in lol. thursday is going to be coldist it has ever been in 10 years they said in new jersey, its ganna be -10 to -20 below 0 .
man i cant wait lol. ahahahah anybody wanna jam outside :>

John Erlich - 1-14-2009 at 12:36 PM

Hi Sammy,

After 3 weeks of unusually cold weather (at least cold for us), we are now having record high temperatures in Northern California. At a rehearsal Monday night, the non-wound strings on my oud were going crazy from the change in temperature and humidity. I had to keep retuning my upper 2 courses all evening. :shrug:

Peace,
John

billkilpatrick - 1-14-2009 at 02:40 PM

i detect a solar-enriched, fahrenheit-ist attitude here ...

Quote:

Originally posted by John Erlich
Hi Sammy,

After 3 weeks of unusually cold weather (at least cold for us), we are now having record high temperatures in Northern California. At a rehearsal Monday night, the non-wound strings on my oud were going crazy from the change in temperature and humidity. I had to keep retuning my upper 2 courses all evening. :shrug:

Peace,
John

John Erlich - 1-15-2009 at 10:35 AM

Perhaps we should attibute the U.S. abandonment of its plan to switch over to the international celsius/centigrade system (promised incessantly during my [mis-spent] childhood in the 1970s) to our strong plurality of German ancestry, and, therefore, affinity for Herr Fahrenheit. Also, there may be some anti-Swedish prejudice involved, as well as anti-French, with the centrigrade system being (perhaps unfairly) associated with the metric system, which is "tainted" due to its French origins.

With respect to the other matter: I am shedding my warm coat, which is not going to be necessary today. Maybe for lunch I will eat at one of the two best Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area (one Palestinian, one Israeli) which are both within easy walking distance and both have outdoor seating. :cool:

Peace out,
John
Current Location: Albany, CA, USA
Latitude: 37.8869444 ≈ Athens, Greece
Attitude: Satisfied ≈ Smug

billkilpatrick - 1-16-2009 at 02:20 AM

... sunshine sadist!

anti-swedish and french aside - what about anti-freeze ... ?

John Erlich - 1-16-2009 at 04:23 PM

I think my cat lost a kidney from drinking anti-freeze, so I'm pretty "anti-"! :mad:

billkilpatrick - 1-17-2009 at 12:48 AM

... now that there is what you call a non sequitur.