danieletarab
Oud Junkie
Posts: 213
Registered: 1-18-2009
Location: Palermo (Italy)
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Crazy weather, crazy oud!!
Hello guys!
I live in Sicily (south of Italy). Usually we have a quite fresh autumn. THis year this October is being EXTREMELY hot (like in June) especially in
these last 2 days.. People are using air conditioning (I don't). It's very warm and humid.
I have always had problems with my ouds when the weather is like this, but honestly I thought that I wouldn't have had such problems with my new
Turunz oud. It was going perfectly so far; now, it gets out of tune every minute (especially the first string) and yesterday and today I couldn't play
it at all.
I have to say that September was much fresher, and that temperature goes up and down of ten degrees and more within few hours.
With this crazy weather, do you think it's normal that I can't play my oud?
How should I do if I were to have concerts? If it's normal, I will just wait for the weather to set up to start to play again, but I am afraid there's
something wrong in the oud, in the strings, or in the way I put them. But I repeat that I have been playng it for weeks, and it was perfect.
I am quite frustrated!
Thank you for your attention.
Daniele
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DavidJE
Oud Junkie
Posts: 265
Registered: 7-14-2013
Location: Vienna, Austria
Member Is Offline
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What's happening with your oud Daniele? I mean, why is it that you cannot play it? Have you asked Faruk about this?
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jdowning
Oud Junkie
Posts: 3485
Registered: 8-2-2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Do you have a measure of the relative humidity? Fluctuating high humidity levels can cause havoc with tuning day to day and can make an instrument
sound 'dull' due to increased stresses caused by wood expansion. Does your oud smell of warm hide glue (I assume that Faruk Turunz uses hot hide
glue?)?
Unlikely - but are you using gut strings?
Most likely the problem is weather related rather than any instrument fault?
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DoggerelPundit
Oud Junkie
Posts: 141
Registered: 7-28-2010
Location: Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Odar
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Body heat is a factor. Depending on the surrounding micro-climate, an oud will sharpen in the first two courses after 2-3 minutes held against your
body. The same effect can happen when taking it straight out of a closed hard case into a micro-climate different from, or opposite the extreme of
what the case was in for the previous few hours.
Ironically, the better made the oud the more likely this is to be the case. Almost all wood moves in response to surrounding temp and humidity. An oud
that is more furniture than instrument won't move much; about like a chest of drawers. A light and finely built instrument, on the other hand, will
respond more broadly to slight changes in temp and humidity in the same way it responds more broadly to the way you play it.
My 2 cents
Stephen
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bulerias1981
Oud Junkie
Posts: 763
Registered: 4-26-2009
Location: Beacon, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: John Vergara Luthier Lord of the Strings instrument making and repair
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Don't feel bad.. it's been the same here in New York, last few days incredibly warm and very very humid. It resulted in instruments that are normally
stable, to be out of tune. I noticed 75% relative humidity in my shop, and it was fairly dry right before that, so the change is bad. Things will
stabilize soon, unless armageddon comes.. or should I say oudageddon!!
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franck leriche
Oud Junkie
Posts: 175
Registered: 5-18-2011
Location: France
Member Is Offline
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I had the same kind of issue in october in Morocco two years ago( 35° and 90% humidity), the action turn out to 1mm ...then everything went fine,
only a bad souvenir!!!
Be happy you don't play iranian târ , every time the weather's a bit humid it's a nightmare....
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danieletarab
Oud Junkie
Posts: 213
Registered: 1-18-2009
Location: Palermo (Italy)
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Thank you guys! Actually it seems to be better. The weather is still crazy but a little bit less. Thank you for the reference to iranian Tar; I was
actually thinking of buying one, but I couldn't stand an even more sensible instrument than oud!
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Luttgutt
Oud Junkie
Posts: 578
Registered: 1-10-2009
Location: Norway
Member Is Offline
Mood: Curious
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Hey guys!
Sometimes I really don't understand at all what you are talking about  )
October is as warm as july so Your ouds become unplayable??
Does this applay to all of you guys in warm countries?
All Your ouds? You all agree??
I have been in Lebanon for the sommer and october. 30 degrees 80/90% humidity. No problems With any of my ouds! I "feel" some defference in the
stiffness and sustain. But the ouds are playable as always.
I CANNOT be an ecception!!
Well when I was Young and played bad ouds, With bad or old strings, bad tuning pegs... yes, I had that problem..
But that was many many years ago.
Not nowadays, With good ouds and good strings...
Anyone who has some reasonable explanation please enlighten me.
The wood might be dead, but the oud is alive.
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franck leriche
Oud Junkie
Posts: 175
Registered: 5-18-2011
Location: France
Member Is Offline
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It happened to me only once with a turkish bracing, the soundboard was super thin, very flexible, low action and light tension....I had only one oud
with me when it happened, so i can't compare.
Never happened again.
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danieletarab
Oud Junkie
Posts: 213
Registered: 1-18-2009
Location: Palermo (Italy)
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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The weather got colder, and the tuning now is fine. So, it seems to be a problem of weather after all!
I understand what Luttgutt say, and I wonder if arabic ouds with thicker soundboard stand the heat, humidity and climate changes better than turkish
made ouds (which feature a very thin soundboard).
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majnuunNavid
Oud Junkie
Posts: 622
Registered: 7-22-2013
Member Is Offline
Mood: Dude, where's my Oud?
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I live in Vancouver, and the weather is extremely humid here, usually between 80% to 100%. But fortunately my Dimitris Oud has never suffered from
tuning issues, going sharp or flat. What does happen though the ebony tuning pegs react a lot to humidity so they often get stuck in the holes or they
get too loose.
I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the soundboard is made from Canadian Spruce?
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Luttgutt
Oud Junkie
Posts: 578
Registered: 1-10-2009
Location: Norway
Member Is Offline
Mood: Curious
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Hi again!
It sounds reasonable that thin sound Board might have to do With it. Maybe oud makers can give an explanation...?
When it comes to tuning, Fadi Matta tought me a trick that has worked wanderfull for my ouds:
Soap (dry) and Chalk!
One line of each on the peg. turn it many times both ways. Add more chalk or soap depending on if it sticks or too lose.
Recommanded )
The wood might be dead, but the oud is alive.
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