pauldata
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New Pear Shaped Oud; Opinions??
Hi All,
I just purchased this pear shaped oud, but I will not receive it for another week or two. Any opinions based on these photos? (I think I
will have to sand down the finish on the top, as it seems pretty thick. It also has a pickup installed, but I don't know what kind. Probably some
kind of passive piezo)
PICS:
   
   
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Sazi
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And the rest!
I'd probably have a few plucks at it to see how it felt, then rip off the strings and hoe into that finish, it's bound to sound and feel a whole lot
better for the effort.
I think it looks ok, but I reckon I'd have to velcro the thing to my leg to stop it escaping! lol
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pauldata
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I'll probably just start with the top finish, I don't mind the thick finish on the bowl too much (unless it really muffles the sound, which I doubt).
The top is another story... I also usually play with a strap (often standing), so I'm not too concerned with how it sits on the knee. I'm hoping it
is overall shallower than my Sandi, which is too deep for me to play comfortably anymore because of severe arthritis. What I really want is one of
the flat back hollow body thin ouds, with electronics onboard. I know it's not traditional, but I'm not really a traditional type player...
I think I read somwhere that these pear shape ouds were originally made for women and younger players, so I'm hoping it will be a bit more comfortable
for me with all my physical handicap issues... (plus I think it looks neat and unusual)
Anyone have ideas as to where/when it was made? Looks Egyptian to me?
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alfaraby
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One simple question : Why would anybody want to buy such an instrument ?
I'm asking because I don't know ! So why dear, why ?
It seems ver Egyptian to me : the woods, the paint, the design. Well, I am not sure .
Hope it worths it, both the money & the patience. Play it & tell us afterwards.
Good luck
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
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fernandraynaud
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I would think he's looking for an inexpensive way to electrify the oud. Since a pickup largely takes the bowl out if the equation, it comes down to
what gives you a comfortable and not too ugly device with a neck a pegbox and a bridge. I was even thinking of slicing off 2/3 of the bowl on my Oud
Adani and gluing a flat back, but it hurts my heart to cut an oud.
I think this pear-shaped thing looks crude enough to have potential. Yummy dipped-in-varnish look! And you can play tennis with it!
Acoustic ouds with pickups work ok for quiet playing, but for playing loud, like i think Luttgutt said, either they can't hear you, or you're drowning
in feedback.
I don't care for the skeleton frame ouds that do look like a toilet seat. If not for the cost I'd get a Nazarian 2000 or one of the fiberglass sukars.
As it is I'm (seriously) considering this one below. Install a wide piezo on the bridge, cut into the side and mount a preamp with EQ, use an endpin
1/4" jack and a strap button on the other side. Total cost $300, and seems less ugly than a Maher WhatIsIt Saber? What do you think? Maybe glue a
cardboard face to it, or add some "wings" so it looks like a normal oud?
http://www.yourworldinstruments.com/product-p/oud-11.htm
http://www.activemusician.com/item--MC.1314?ref=fg&ovchn=SCU&am...
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mrkmni
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My opinion honestly I dont like it. I expect that its sound is not good....
sorry you asked opinions...
regards,
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fernandraynaud
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I did ask. I spoke to one of the guys who has them. He thought it sounded "surprisingly good". But in reality, it matters very little. I wouldn't play
it without an amp except at night, when the family's sleeping. With a piezo held against the bridge by the string loops, even the soundboard
contributes little to the sound, like on a solid-body instrument. I'm thus not too worried about its acoustics. Is it the appearance you dislike?
They say the pegs are ebony and the action is low. That's what matters to me. The looks, well, a little coffin seems better than a toilet seat? Stage
costume should be Dracula's black cape?
They also make an 8 course, as a lute, with tied-on frets, easy to remove. I wonder if that could make an acceptable 7 or 8 course electric oud? I
think the widest piezo I can find would only span 6.  . And the neck looks too
wide and one fret longer. Too bad.
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fernandraynaud
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I KNOW why the pear-shaped oud is finished like that! It's so you can use it it any climate, even take it fishing and swim with it!
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alfaraby
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It seems that more distinguished luthiers do make such ouds ! Scroll down the photos @ this link Abusaid uploaded about Luthier George Bitar :
http://oudgeorgesbitar.com/index_files/oud_type_En.htm
It really amazes me what makers are capable of ....
Nevertheless, no matter how it looks like, an oud should sound as one. I prefer a pear-shaped oud with sound warm deep mellow sound, over a "regular"
oud that sounds like sh.. pardon !
Enjoy it anyway
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
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fernandraynaud
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I do too. And the reason I haven't sliced my Adani is because, believe it or not, it sounds pretty good and has an excellent neck. I have other ouds
that sound better, but the humble Adani sounds better than many others I have tried, including some quite expensive ones. I'm with you on a rich
timbre.
As to the flat back, if you are playing electric the sound comes from the strings, and not the normal interaction of strings, soundboard and bowl.
Then, if you know how to use Digital Signal Processing, it's shaped electronically into whatever you desire. If you are playing live and loud, the
acoustic oud is not very practical, precisely because of its great resonance: it is very difficult to prevent feedback. Much easier to take the core
sound of the strings and use signal processing to "recreate" the oud. It's not all that different. What the acoustic oud does by vibrating, and
bouncing the sound wave inside the bowl, can happen very similarly with impulse response filters that are mathematical models of such a structure. The
desired effect in practice is not necessarily to precisely emulate the acoustic instrument (though that is feasible, with more or less accuracy,
depending on the engineer's skill), but rather to create sound appropriate to the music or that pleases the player. The electric oud is very important
in introducing new audiences to this beautiful instrument. What Mehdi Haddab is doing in DuOud and Speed Caravan is good for the oud. Playing like
they do, an acoustic oud couldn't work.
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Sazi
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Not sure if this is on topic, but it's relevant to the last post...
I suppose you know the program already Anthony, but others may be interested...
It is possible to record impulse responses of the various resonances in any oud and import them into SIR, a free impulse response vst, you could then
either chop the back and use your own original body resonances, or sample a friend's < insert favorite oud make here> and listeners will think
your Thawed Rapier toilet seat is a vintage piece of art, as you might say.
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fernandraynaud
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Your post is OUT OF PLACE!
1) Everybody knows that no computer program can do what a oud do.
2) That's Sawed Thwat toilet seat, NOT Thawed Rapier.
3) And what if you lose your backup FIR files? Can you glue the back back-on long enough to shoot more backup impulse files back again?
4) Can you take it fishing in the lake with you? What if there are piranas?
5) What if you move to Antarctica? Will the oud hold up? Will the penguins like Yabba Yabba Lah?
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fernandraynaud
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Humidity has dropped from 40 to 20 % in the last 24 hrs, temp steady day and night near 80F. Wind zero. Strange. All the pegs in my Adani let go and
will not hold. Is it the end of the world?
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Jonathan
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I've heard ouds with this shape, and they can sound quite nice.
I guess my concern with this instrument is that, from the pictures, it looks like the craftsmanship might be sub-par.
For example, it looks like there is glue around much of the perimeter of the central rose. My eyes might be deceiving me, but it looks like some of
the purfling strips on the bowl are also coated with excessive glue.
These issues will have nothing to do with how your instrument sounds, but I always think that if the luthier isn't careful with the exposed areas of
the oud that everybody sees, he might not be careful with the unseen areas, like the braces, where shoddy craftsmanship has a huge impact on sound
quality.
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