rudeog
Oud Addict
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Registered: 1-10-2010
Location: Raleigh, USA
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Any good reasonably priced ouds around Cairo?
I have an Egyptian friend who is returning to Cairo for a few weeks, and has offered to get me an oud while there. He is not a player. I thought it
might be a good opportunity to get something that would be normally difficult to get from the US and avoid the risk of shipping.
Does anyone know of any good makers, stores or brands to look out for that are a safe bet and a good price (like maybe in the 500-1000 range)?
Thanks
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John Erlich
Oud Junkie
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Maurice Shehata/Al-Aseel: http://www.mauriceouds.com/home.htm You can read a lot about Maurice and his ouds by searching this Forum.
Maybe, as a distance 2nd choice, something from Gawharet El Fan, the best of the shops on Mohammed Ali St.: http://www.gawhara.com.eg/oud/oud02.html
I assume your friend knows how to bargain to get the non-tourist price...
I bargained for about 1 1/2 hours with Maurice in 2001 to get the price from $1,200 to $750.
Good luck,
John
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spartan
Oud Junkie
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Shehata is one of the best options in Cairo, I guess, I bought mine from him also.
There is also the son of Fathy Ameen also. The travel to his workshop is a nice journey!
http://www.fathy-ameen.com/index_en.html
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Alfaraby
Oud Junkie
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Beware my friend ! There are no quality ouds in Cairo nowadays. They make beautiful ouds, but these products are far from being musical instruments.
Maurice does not touch any of the so Al Aseel ouds. His workers do the whole job, while he's engaged in his other businesses !
Jawharat Alfann is just a shop for commercial ouds. They don't have a workshop of their own. They just order ouds from unknown makers, stick their
label in and market them as their own.
Sayyed Amin is even worse. He still think an oud is a carpentry job and act accordingly.
More: 1 $ = 6.70 Egyptian pounds, so 500-1000 $ = 3350-6700 EgP., while a reasonable instrument that might look like an oud is sold in Cairo for
500-1000 pounds = 75-150 $.
So my advise is: don't consider to pay more for such an oud.
Good luck. You're gonna' need it !
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
alfarabymusic@gmail.com
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
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From what I understand you can get a very nice oud from Fathy Amin's place for a fraction of what Maurice charges. And certainly an occasional Gawaret
El Fan oud can be a good player and a good deal. But if your friend doesn't know anything about ouds that's a huge HUGE factor and it stands to
reason that going to Shehata may be the safest (only?) bet. But maybe it's worth asking around if any shop has a high end Sukar, it should be much
more affordable than a Shehata, much cheaper than in the US, and it's another pretty safe bet.
Well, if Alfaraby is saying that nobody in Shehata's shop will care to even pick out a nice oud, then it sounds like looking for a Sukar might be the
only option. If there are any in Cairo now. The positive thing about Sukars is that they are much more consistent than just about any, play well,
sound good, and they are not ornamented glamorous crap.
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SamirCanada
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Hi guys,
I went to Maurice's shop where I picked my latest oud. Please check my thread there.
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=12313#pid83...
They have ouds for all budgets and this egypt so you have to bargain as I am sure your friend knows. Student models for around 350-400 dollars and the
more refined ouds will reach in the 1000 and up range. In the end, they will play some of them for you if your friend doesnt know how to play and he
can chose the oud with the sound you are searching for.
The "manager" of the oud shop is Hany. He has been working there for Maurice's dad for longer than Maurice himself has been involved in the oud shop,
if anything he is the real man behind he show. There are others working there too and all have their trade if you will... some are doing the sadaf
work while others are doing the finishing work.
I found myself to be well taken care of, granted I was there to spend money but they sent the kid that works there to fetch some drinks for me and my
family traveling with me.
@samiroud Instagram
samiroudmaker@gmail.com
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rudeog
Oud Addict
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Location: Raleigh, USA
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Thank you all for the great information and links!
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conroystoptime
Oud Maniac
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Wasn't it mentioned by someone that Zaher Khalife was planning a move from Damascus to Cairo?
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John Erlich
Oud Junkie
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Quote: Originally posted by Alfaraby  | Beware my friend ! There are no quality ouds in Cairo nowadays. They make beautiful ouds, but these products are far from being musical instruments.
Maurice does not touch any of the so Al Aseel ouds. His workers do the whole job, while he's engaged in his other businesses !
Good luck. You're gonna' need it !
Yours indeed
Alfaraby |
I do believe that Maurice Shehata is only the business manager, having inherited the shop from his father, and didn't seem to be trying to hide that
fact when I was there in 2000. That being said, I have always been impressed by the quality of his instruments.
At the same time, I personally will never, ever again buy an oud without first trying it myself. I have had one really demoralizing experience with
Ebay, and I just spent $150.00 to have an oud from Baghdad made playable (bought for me for $750 by an extremely generous friend -- it sat in my
basement for 4 years and would still be sitting there is Dr.Oud hadn't moved to my area!).
Although a musician who is not an oud player can probably recognize a well-crafted instrument when he sees it, but he probably couldn't discern good
from poor without some experience. Furthermore, I am skeptical that a non-musician, even a "native" one, could ever discern between a good- and
poor-quality oud. If you are going to send an "emissary" to buy you an oud, I would suggest going with a reputable builder and trying to pre-select
the model (Shehata, Sukar, Ghadban, Arafati, etc. can all probably do this).
Good luck indeed!
Peace,
"Udi" John
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bulerias1981
Oud Junkie
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Mood: John Vergara Luthier Lord of the Strings instrument making and repair
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The cheapest ouds I recommend are Sukkar ouds. Arafati and Ghadban ouds are not cheap. And for various reasons I don't usually suggest to get
anything from cairo these days
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John Erlich
Oud Junkie
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Location: California, USA
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| Quote: Originally posted by bulerias1981 | | The cheapest ouds I recommend are Sukkar ouds. Arafati and Ghadban ouds are not cheap. And for various reasons I don't usually suggest to get
anything from cairo these days |
By reputation, Sukkar ouds are the cheapest professional quality instruments. I have to say, the one Sukkar oud I had an opportunity to try, I didn't
really like. I thought its tone was thin and the string action a little high. I would love to try other Sukkar models for comparison.
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