a.meter
Oud Admirer
Posts: 3
Registered: 8-24-2014
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Sukar oud bought in Jordan
Hello everyone,
I'm new here so before exposing my question I'll introduce myself real quick: I'm a 22 year old french student, working in Jordan at the moment. I
play guitar and I love oriental music in general, and I hope to start learning the oud soon 
Playing guitar for a few years now, I was very interested in trying the oud since I have arrived in Jordan. While in a coffee shop in Amman, called
Jafra, I asked the oud player (a Syrian immigrant) where I could find good quality ouds in Amman, and he offered me to sell his Sukar oud as he wanted
to buy a new high quality one (he was now becoming a professional oud player and playing gigs every day). So after looking up Sukar ouds on internet,
and mostly on this forum, I believed it was a very good deal. It is second hand but I understand that all Sukar ouds are now second hand since
Ibrahim's workshop got destroyed in Syria...
So here are the questions: First of all... is this in deed a Ibrahim Sukar Oud? He has been using it for live shows on a regular basis for the past 2
years, so in anyways i'm assuming it can't be a crappy oud. If it is a Sukar, which I hope, he was not able to tell me what model it is, can someone
tell me?
I bought it 150 JD (roughly 180 dollars) and I feel like it was a great deal, how much would it cost in Europe?
Thanks for your answers,
Andrew
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soltanov
Oud Lover
Posts: 16
Registered: 7-27-2014
Location: Brisbane
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Dear Andrew welcome to the forum, it is very nice to see someone from France who is interested in playing the Oud. Moving into oriental music from a
western background is a big and brave step . yes it is a Sukar oud ! Sukar ouds are very well built and affordable for beginners; moreover, they
sound nice. Sukar's factory got destroyed by the on going battles in Syria (I don't know if people in the forum know that) . Please can you upload a
video of the Lute being played , it would help us more to tell you about the sound quality. In general it seems to be in a good condition , are there
any cracks or is the surface wavy? When I used to live in Lebanon the cheapest Sukar Lute was for 300 USD and I had a 20 % discount in the store
because we used to buy lots of music equipment. I advice you to buy a new set of strings , make sure to get some good quality . How are you willing
to learn , through a tutor or by yourself?
Looking forward to hear back from you ,
Cheers
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Almelaifi
Oud Addict
Posts: 30
Registered: 7-28-2014
Location: Madison, WI
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It looks like a Sukar Oud and it has the Sukar's label, so most probably it's a Sukar Oud.
I know that it costs over $500 in the U.S.. I also know that 150 JD equals $212 today.
For me, it all now depends on its playability and the sound quality to determine whether you got a great or fair deal..
Good luck, and enjoy your Oud journey
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a.meter
Oud Admirer
Posts: 3
Registered: 8-24-2014
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Hey,
Thanks for the replies! I'll try getting a video some time or maybe I can record directly on the computer once I go back to France, he got a
microphone installed in it in Syria I think (which is awesome), so I can plug it to my sound card and make a sample. I know it sounds very loud
(unplugged) if you play it with a feather, which I'm sure is a good sign. I don't find it wavy in any ways, although there is a crack, on the neck...
he seems to have put some kind of glue on it or something... I think I won't like your thoughts on that..
Honestly I don't know if I'll ever take any lessons seriously. I've already been messing around with it and now I know what I believe to be the Hijaz
scale, I've also found a few basic chords... I know I can figure out how to play it on my own, I'm not planning on having any lessons, but I don't
know if I'll ever get the real Arabic style playing, its just so foreign to me. I play that hijaz scale like on a guitar, try to add little slides and
stuff, but I have yet to understand the logic of the progression of Arabic music as well as those lovely weird sounding Maqabs they have. If you have
tips on where to start in order to play authentic Arabic style music on oud I am very interested. Also, I don't know how to read music, and I'm
guessing there are no tabs for oud, so I don't know how handicapping that is. Do you maybe have simple songs on video I can try reproducing by ear?
Many thanks
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Jason
Oud Junkie
Posts: 733
Registered: 9-17-2005
Location: Louisville, KY
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Mood: Loving my oud
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That crack in the pegbox looks rough. I'd have someone take a look at it for sure.
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soltanov
Oud Lover
Posts: 16
Registered: 7-27-2014
Location: Brisbane
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Dear Andrew,
Sorry for my late reply I have been really busy.
As long as the crack is not affecting the peg keys and the tuning of the Oud you are on the safe side , or else it might need a replacement, make sure
to figure it out because it is easier and cheaper to get it fixed while you are in Jordan. There are lots of helpful videos on youtube that you might
rely on but most of them are in Arabic , do you speak some Arabic?
At the beginning I recommend that you focus on playing the main Maqamat and mastering them , because when you do that you could play any song. Please
try to listen to heaps of Arabic music and Oud players like Sumbati , Abel Wahab , Saliba Katrib ,Farid Al Atrash , Abadi el jawhar , wadeh el safi .
It is good to expose your self to different styles of Oud players , since you play using your ear but don't focus on people like Charbel Rouhana and
NAsir Shama (at the risk of getting criticized) because Oud and oriental music is not about circus style techniques.
I'm looking forward to hear your Oud when you get back to France, if you need any help in finding some helpful videos or just translating some of them
let me know .
Cheers
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a.meter
Oud Admirer
Posts: 3
Registered: 8-24-2014
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Hello,
So I saw the oud player who sold it to me, I asked about the crack and he told me it was not a problem. We went to a shop he knows and the guys over
there also said it was not a problem for now. They said it could get worse but the guy who sold it to me assured me he has been playing it for a while
and it has been ok. So for now I shouldn't worry. I also got new strings installed. Yeah I already started learning maqams, I mostly need to train my
ear for quarter tons used in some maqam, I love how they sound but whenever I play them I feel like something is wrong... Oh and no I don't speak
Arabic. Thanks for the names of oudist, I'll definitely look into it.
Thanks again for the replies!
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