Ali
Oud Maniac
Posts: 98
Registered: 10-17-2005
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Question about Sukar Ouds
Hi everyone
I was wondering if anyone knows the best way of buying
Sukar Ouds from distance.?
Does he sell directly and ship or I have to bye his ouds
from a second party?
Does he speak English or I have to speak Arabic to be
able to call him?
Thanks very much
Ali
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zakiya_alali
Oud Junkie
Posts: 409
Registered: 10-4-2008
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Mood: Jameel Bashir is a Legand
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Where about are u based? I have 3 sukar ouds n am based in london
Let me know
cheers
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Ali
Oud Maniac
Posts: 98
Registered: 10-17-2005
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Seattle , USA
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VicDiesel
Oud Lover
Posts: 14
Registered: 1-30-2010
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Other question about Sukar ouds. A shop here in town has a couple for sale, and there is one that sounds nice to me, but I'm a beginner. It has inlay
on the neck, and on the Sukar's web site I don't see anything like it. Does that mean it's an old model?
This shop is a belly dance store, not a music instruments store, so I'm not sure about the quality of the instruments. They're probably also
overpriced.
What's a reliable place for good ouds in the US? I'm in Austin, Texas.
Victor.
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Christian1095
Oud Junkie
Posts: 454
Registered: 4-29-2008
Location: North Carolina, USA
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I have ordered 2 Sukar ouds from Palmyrami. Both were positive experiances, I would suggest doing a seach for them in the forum since others have had
a bad experiance and you should make your own decision. In both cases I had them overnight the oud and received it with no problems and on time.
They ship from Michigan. Also, make sure you pay for this though a credit card or paypal so that if there is an issue, you can get your money back
with less hassle.
Here is thier site:
http://www.palmyrami.com/index.php?option=com_jshopping&task=ca...
Also, in terms of models... the only real difference I've been able to tell between the model 1 ($500) and the more expensive models is in inlay.
They all sound good and it's a solid oud. I'm currently playing an older model that has inlay....
Vic, how much are they asking for the oud?
From everything I've heard, the Khalifa ouds they sell are absolute crap, so don't waste your money... But the Sukars are top notch.
Chris Walters
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VicDiesel
Oud Lover
Posts: 14
Registered: 1-30-2010
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900, including hard case.
Victor
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Christian1095
Oud Junkie
Posts: 454
Registered: 4-29-2008
Location: North Carolina, USA
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I think that may be a bit on the pricey side for a sukar... If it's the one I'm thinking of it has a black neck with white or ivory inlay.... I
would think $600-800 would be reasonable (assuming it was in great shape and the inlay was super nice...) I think I paid $800 for my Sukar oud with
an inlaid neck and really pretty back... I bought it from a member on the forums (SamirCanada) here's a link with pics....
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6675#pid406...
The only complaint I have about that Sukar is that the action is a little high... but it's also super loud and great for playing accoustic. My
Shehata has MUCH lower action but isn't nearly as loud... so I see it as a worthwhile tradeoff.
If it's the one I'm thinking of I saw it on Palmyrami's site a while back going for right around $700 but it didn't have the inlay on the back like
mine...
Chris Walters
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spyros mesogeia
Oud Junkie
Posts: 896
Registered: 9-10-2003
Location: WASHINGTON DC
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Mood: play my ouds
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Ivory on Sukar's???????????
I really wanna see that.Real Ivory?
Regards
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
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The Sukar Model 1 that Palmyrami sells you can get from them for under $400 with hard case. These are excellent ouds. Like any quality oud, they have
a specific and consistent sound, which is strong and even across the range. They are brighter than some but not at all sharp like the floating bridge
Iraqis or the Turkish ouds.
Most of the ouds out there are "beginner" ouds, or tourist decoration items. The beginner ones are worth no more than $300. Some of them can be OK,
but it's a lottery. The wall decoration ones from the "oud mills" are worth well under $100 but they try to sell them for more. The vintage and
professional instruments are $900 to $3000. Many excellent modern luthiers (many of them frequent this forum) make superb ouds using the best woods
and technology, one to three at a time.
Sukar is a special case. He's an engineer by training. I hear he does not speak English at all, and has never answered e-mails. The Sukars come in
different models where the finish and the wood quality determines the price. For instance the fingerboard on the cheapest Model 1 is a softer wood
than ebony. But the basic design is the same on all of them, and very good. The Sukar is the only way for a beginner to buy a professional grade
instrument, as it's a "known good". There ARE some forgers selling visibly fake Sukars. If you look at the Sukar web site you can learn what Sukars
look like. An inlay looks nice but is a headache on a fretless instrument as it is not the same hardness as wood, it will wear differently and you
will get different tone depending on exactly where you finger the strings. I made that mistake on a bass and will never do it again.
For me the Sukar Model 1 was perfect. I lightly french-polished the soundboard (shellac) and coated the fingerboard with a few coats of tung oil to
harden and protect it. All fingerboards will wear down from metal strings, but a protective coating is especially important on softer woods like
walnut, maple, etc. and can prevent the grooving that requires resurfacing the fingerboard, e.g. every couple of years. An added bonus was that the
sustain on the (harder) coated neck is amazing.
The Sukars are generally quite spartan in appearance; look on youtube, you will find that most professional ouds are. I am very happy with mine, and
doing business with Palmyrami was OK. I'd say it's fortunate they exist. You can haggle with them, and they sell the higher end Sukars cheaper than
other vendors. Their lowest price Model 1 is a great deal. They usually have several on hand with photos, choose the wood and fingerboard design you
prefer. Most other brand ouds they sell are not worth talking about, and they have NO idea what is what as they get ouds packed and sealed in Syria
and they don't know anything about them.
I later got what we might call a beginner type oud from Egypt, very ornate in simulated mother-of-pearl, not as cleverly/well made as the Sukar, but
with a very warm and specific timbre I liked. A novice will generally think the Egyptian is a much better and more expensive instrument because of the
decoration, but it's the other way around.
The Sukars have an adjustable neck. A butterfly nut inside adjusts the neck angle so you can raise or lower the action. This is a very useful feature
as ouds are not equipped with truss rods and adjustable bridges like guitars. Only Sukar and one other maker offers an adjustable neck. I don't
understand why Christian's action is too high, it can normally be lowered by tightening the butterfly nut. Maybe the inlaid neck is different? Yes,
Sukars are loud. This is because of specific design features, including the clever bracing of the soundboard.
Good luck in finding the instrument of your dreams.
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Ali
Oud Maniac
Posts: 98
Registered: 10-17-2005
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Mood: No Mood
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I was wondering If anyone can help me bring a sukar oud that I order ,from sukar to Usa . ?
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