Onglon
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old oud identification
Hello fellow oud lovers,
Now that i can play more or less in tune, i wanted to upgrade from my sukkar oud, and found this one in a small shop in lebanon.
There is very little info on it, other than:
- it is from Syria,
- it is around 50 years old,
- its "made of" walnut,
- it has a jack (i would imagine added at a later stage, but not sure),
- the label is gone.
I was therefore hoping to tap into the forum's collective (and impressive) knowledge in case someone has ideas about its origins or its quality just
by looking at the 3 pictures i was able to obtain?
I will also upload a short recording sent by the seller.
All the best!
Onglon
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Onglon
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Onglon
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Onglon
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audio recording
Attachment: 2017-04-19-AUDIO-00003617.opus (227kB)
This file has been downloaded 177 times
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SamirCanada
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Hi Onglon,
I am gonna say this oud is probably not 50 years old, it would mean it was made in 1967.... that oud looks more like its from the 80's or 90's to me.
Floating bridge ouds were invented in 1956 but didn't really become mainstream until the mid 70's when Munir Bashir was using his and became famous.
My personal opinion is that if you like the sound and the playability you can go for it. I just don't see how this oud is an improvement over a Sukar
oud.
you are in Lebanon where you can visit Nazih Ghadban, Albert Mansour, Fadi Matta and many more other Oud makers who are excellent.
@samiroud Instagram
samiroudmaker@gmail.com
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
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It seems extremely tiny and not a normal-sized instrument. I agree with Samir that it doesn't seem like any kind of an improvement over a Sukar oud.
Even many high-end ouds are not improvements over Sukar, either in sound or playability. In all likelihood, you should just stick with your Sukar a
while longer, or get something directly from a reputable maker (though I'd caution against a custom instrument in favor of one that you can play
first).
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Onglon
Oud Maniac
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Dear Samir and Brian,
I am very grateful for your valuable input and advice.
Best
Onglon
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bulerias1981
Oud Junkie
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Location: Beacon, NY
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Mood: John Vergara Luthier Lord of the Strings instrument making and repair
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Definitely not 50 years old or even close to that. At most 20 years, and that's being generous.
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Onglon
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Hello all!
i found this 1979 mohamad fadel oud for sale. A couple of pictures below. i was hoping if on the basis of this scant evidence, someone can tell me if
it looks legitimate? i am waiting for a sound file too.
many thanks
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Onglon
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Onglon
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Onglon
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and the sound file https://www.sendspace.com/file/q1bwlg
by the way, there is also an option to buy a Samer Kebbeh oud, if anyone has heard of this maker?
best
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SamirCanada
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That fadel oud looks great. If you like the sound and it plays easily i would say it's a good purchase. I think it's a legit one but I am not an
expert
I had an Anwar El kubeh oud. If he is anything like his father the oud will sound amazing. However I will say that I recently repaired a newer oud by
el kubeh that had white plastic inlays to look like bone. The inlays were falling off due to the fact that wood glue and plastic doesn't work.
@samiroud Instagram
samiroudmaker@gmail.com
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Onglon
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Thank you Samir.
and for completeness, this is the kebbeh oud with a sound file (https://www.sendspace.com/file/bi6laq)
the prices this egyptian trader is offering, including a box and shipping to beirut, are surprisingly attractive, i wonder if it is all true. he says
that many players come to egypt during the Eid festivities, and sell their oud behind. So once a year, he has a big and varied stock. let's see!
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Onglon
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Onglon
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this trader was probably a scam. i had a suspicion because prices were greed-inducingly competitive and after a quick search on the net i found out
that the demos and the pictures are a copy/paste from someone's else instagram account. I therefore asked for a picture of himself holding the oud to
demonstrate its existence, and it all went silent.
at the end of the day, i love my sukkar! ok, i admit, i look at other ouds' curves, but i will remain faithful... a little longer
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Onglon
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i would like to share also that i recently shifted to tuning by just intonation + ear instead of the tuner, and all of a sudden, the oud started
sounding a lot better, a bit, you know, like the classy ouds we see in the for sale section. i can't believe it took me this long to tune a oud.
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