Greg
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When is a maker not a maker?
There have been some very interesting recent discussions about different oud makers and the level of involvement the "makers" have in the actual
construction of the instruments bearing their names.
A recent post suggested that ouds were produced by Fadel's workshop long after Fadel senior was no longer directly involved. Another post said,
"Abdo Dagher never made an oud himself, however, he has people working for him in his workshop in Cairo."
I am not implying that this makes the instruments less worthy, but I think it is an interesting topic for discussion. I guess a lot would depend on
the day-to-day involvement of the "master" luthier and that would vary depending on individual circumstances and level of commitment to quality
standards.
The ouds made by the Nahat family all bore the names of the actual maker i.e. Roufan Nahat, Abdo Nahat, Hanna Nahat etc., but it seems this is not now
standard procedure.
Do famous luthiers like Faruk Türünz, Dincer Dalkilic, Haluk Eraydin, Nazih Ghadban, Viken Najarian, Peter Kyvelos, Fawzy Monshed, Maurice Shehata,
Dimitris Rapakousios etc. work alone or do they employ apprentices or other general workers to assist in the process?
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san3any
Oud Maniac
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Hi, Greg...
Nice observation...... I always thought about this......
I definetly think that there are workers helping them or doing all the work for them, because they produce alot of ouds.
Even if one of them is doing it alone, they always need a second hand.
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
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Interesting observation Greg. I would have assumed that when it came to a musical instrument that has a label with a luthier's name in it, that this
luthier must be the main laborer and maker of the instrument. May have workers doing the rough cutting of the timber but the luthier of whose name
the instrument bares should do all the shaping and tuning of the braces, bending of ribs and making sure of their thickness and the luthier should do
all the assembly and final steps. It may be possible that the luthier doesn't actually do all that work but the luthier must closely and personally
inspect and conrol the quality of every stage of production (including assembly) of every instrument being made.
Otherwise the instrument should just bare a brand name indicating that it came from a sort of a mass production workshop. This might be the case with
labels containing "...and sons" or the "factory of..." Kind of like Fender or Gibson guitars.
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
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Hi,
It's definitely interesting, even the great Manolis Venios (Manol) had apprentices helping him (making the bodies, not the soundboards according to
the stories about him), and the great violin/cello/etc luthiers usually had apprentices as far as I know.
But I can answer you for sure about some of the makers you listed:
| Quote: |
Do famous luthiers like Faruk Türünz, Dincer Dalkilic, Haluk Eraydin, Nazih Ghadban, Viken Najarian, Peter Kyvelos, Fawzy Monshed, Maurice Shehata,
Dimitris Rapakousios etc. work alone or do they employ apprentices or other general workers to assist in the process?
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Dincer Dalkilic, Viken Najarian, Peter Kyvelos, and Dimitris Rapakousios definitely work alone on their ouds. I know some in that list have helpers,
but I'm not familiar with all of them (Fawzy Monshed for example) and how their shops are run. I'm sure others on these forums can answer about the
rest of the makers in your list, and also about makers that aren't on the list.
Take care,
mavrothis
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Greg
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San3any and Elie, thanks for your input on this interesting subject.
Mav, thanks for the clarification on some of the makers.
Nazih Ghadban has contacted me to advise that he too works alone. Even though I have one of his instruments, I was previously unaware of that fact.
It might be a good exercise to contact each of the well known makers with a series of questions about the process they each use. What do you guys
think?
Regards,
Greg
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Ronny Andersson
Oud Junkie
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Yaroub and Fawzy work alone and I know that Yaroub accept apprentices. Jameel Goergis was an apprentice in the Nahaat workshop so really this
¨snobbism¨ about working alone doesn't fit in to the early makers. The renaissance lutemakers had employees/apprentices and the Fugger inventory
confirms is.
Best wishes
Ronny
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Greg
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Ronny,
I don't see that this subject has anything to do with snobbery, or at least my understanding of the definition of that word.
The art of making fine hand-made instruments would die out if none of the masters passed on their skills to apprentices.
But a purchaser of an instrument bearing the name of a highly reputed maker has a right to expect that the "named" maker played an important part in
every facet of the construction of that instrument. That's what he is paying for and that's what he should get.
Regards,
Greg
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fyenix
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 3-5-2005
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I agree with you Greg!!
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spyros mesogeia
Oud Junkie
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Location: WASHINGTON DC
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Dear friend,
I can asure you 100 % that Dimitris Rapakousios works absolutely alone,from the beginning of the instrument,cuting of the woods,untill the varnishing
proces.He works 12-14 hours per day,but he really loves what he is doing,that is why all of his customers have to wait at least 4-5 months from the
moment that the instrument will be ordered.He keeps the order line,and some times that is painfull for his nearest friends.He doesn't make any
exeptions .....
Ofcourse,I agree with you,that a 100 % handmade instrument from one single person,is much more attended made,than an instrument made by more
peoples.Ofcourse this is not a principle.There are always exeptions,but my personal opinion is that.
Best Regards to all
Spyros
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Greg
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With many of these high quality custom-made ouds selling for less than US$2,000, it is clear that the luthiers who make them are unlikely to become
wealthy.
A friend of mine just ordered his second Gretsch guitar. That will cost him in excess of US$4,000 and AFAIK these instruments are factory built. I am
sure Gretsch production is of a high standard but, as they are made in a mass production environment, a single guitar could not take anywhere near as
long to build as a one-off well made oud.
I take my hat off to the dedicated craftspeople who slave away in small workshops to make us such beautiful instruments to play and love.
Regards,
Greg
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