JayJay
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Advice on buying a broken oud
Hey guys, new member here.
I'm looking to buy an Arabic oud after one year and a half of learning on a cheap Turkish one.
I've been looking around and I came across an oud maker in the city I live in. The ouds sounded very good to my beginner ears. There was this one
that got my attention the most, it was a professional one made of expensive woods and sounded really good to me. However without ever noticing the
maker brought to my attention that the oud was damaged a while ago but and that he had to fix it himself. It seemed like a hole that was filled with
the same type of wood but I could be wrong.
It was the price of a professional oud but was halved because of the reason mentioned above. He assured me that everything was good as ever and I can
have his word. The red flag was the fact that I had to buy it from him and not from the center/shop so I won't have a receipt for the purchase which
made me really doubtful.
Here you can find picture of the back. I wonder if you can conclude anything.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GttXklZT8kcCAp0roO1pHaM9P4OGHAMY/vi...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GpKwrkIvsD0LMNUEkYEbMKEV_0KByVoa/vi...
What do you think?
I will really appreciate your inputs on this subject. Thanks in advance
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Brian Prunka
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Hi Jay Jay, the links you provided require or password or something, you should make them public.
I'd say there's not really enough information to make a conclusion.
It could be fine, but you are taking a risk. Any purchase has some risk however.
Half price on a professional oud is a pretty big discount, and being repaired by the maker is a good sign.
Personally, as a professional, I'd be hesitant to buy an oud without a receipt for tax and insurance reasons, but that may not be a concern for
everyone.
I don't really understand why you wouldn't be able to get a receipt buying from the maker instead of a shop; this whole part seems to be missing some
information.
Also some makers have really great reputations and others less so . . . if you name the maker, maybe some folks here have experience with him and can
offer more specific advice.
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Jason
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You need to turn on sharing for the files in Google Drive or upload them to a hosting site like Imgur.com
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teslim
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looks like a very good repair from the photos, bowl repairs are less critical for the sound and playability unless poorly done, only possible hassle
is in the resale down the road, but not knowing what original price was and what the reduced price is and who the maker is,makes it very difficult to
a give clear advice on if it is worth it,
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JayJay
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Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka  | Hi Jay Jay, the links you provided require or password or something, you should make them public.
I'd say there's not really enough information to make a conclusion.
It could be fine, but you are taking a risk. Any purchase has some risk however.
Half price on a professional oud is a pretty big discount, and being repaired by the maker is a good sign.
Personally, as a professional, I'd be hesitant to buy an oud without a receipt for tax and insurance reasons, but that may not be a concern for
everyone.
I don't really understand why you wouldn't be able to get a receipt buying from the maker instead of a shop; this whole part seems to be missing some
information.
Also some makers have really great reputations and others less so . . . if you name the maker, maybe some folks here have experience with him and can
offer more specific advice.
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Hey Brian, thanks for replying.
I just updated the permission thing, you can see the photos now.
If I remember correctly he said that it was one of his personal ouds, he let his friend borrow it and he broke it but I'm not sure because it was a
while ago.
His name is Hayder Najem Abood, son of a very known Iraqi oud maker, Najem Abood.
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JayJay
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| Quote: Originally posted by Jason | | You need to turn on sharing for the files in Google Drive or upload them to a hosting site like Imgur.com |
Done. You can see it now I believe
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JayJay
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| Quote: Originally posted by teslim | | looks like a very good repair from the photos, bowl repairs are less critical for the sound and playability unless poorly done, only possible hassle
is in the resale down the road, but not knowing what original price was and what the reduced price is and who the maker is,makes it very difficult to
a give clear advice on if it is worth it, |
Hey Teslim,
His name is Hayder Najem Abood, son of a very known Iraqi oud maker, Najem Abood. The original price was either 1200 or 1400 euros. I can't remember
perfectly because it was a while ago
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Jason
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It looks like a well done repair as far as I can tell from the pictures. As long as everything else seems okay I'd be okay with buying it. The
mismatch in grain on the repaired rib wouldn't bother me. I don't really understand why you can't get a receipt for it, is he offering any type of
warranty?
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Brian Prunka
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That repair looks well done, very professional and wouldn't trouble me. A repaired rib shouldn't affect the sound and if well done is very
structurally stable.
So the final price is around 600 euros? That's a very good price if it's a truly professional oud. I would still try to get some kind of
receipt/warranty from the maker, but the reality is that all ouds require maintenance. If you paid half price for it you are so far ahead that even if
you need to do further repairs in the future it will likely still have been a good deal.
Of course—I am just commenting on this particular issue, and have no idea what other issues the oud may or may not how, or how it feels or sounds.
For the rest, I'm going by your judgment.
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JayJay
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| Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka | That repair looks well done, very professional and wouldn't trouble me. A repaired rib shouldn't affect the sound and if well done is very
structurally stable.
So the final price is around 600 euros? That's a very good price if it's a truly professional oud. I would still try to get some kind of
receipt/warranty from the maker, but the reality is that all ouds require maintenance. If you paid half price for it you are so far ahead that even if
you need to do further repairs in the future it will likely still have been a good deal.
Of course—I am just commenting on this particular issue, and have no idea what other issues the oud may or may not how, or how it feels or sounds.
For the rest, I'm going by your judgment.
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I remember it sounded really good and your reply convinced me to buy it but I went to the oud maker yesterday and unfortunately for me the oud was
sold. I might have missed out on a great opportunity but it's not end of world since the guy makes really good ones. After finding out his story, I'm
keen on buying on from him.
I really appreciate your reply, it helped me decide.
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JayJay
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@Brian Prunka
Just another question, would you be able to give a basic judgement of the quality of an oud if I provided the pictures?
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Brian Prunka
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That's too bad.
I'm happy to offer an opinion, but there's no way to truly evaluate an oud except in person in my view.
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JayJay
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I understand but it will still be valuable.
Here is the link to the album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ieeZQNx8RnZUyofr7
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Jason
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They look well built to me. Agreed with Brian in that you can't truly evaluate them by just pictures. If the sound and playability are what you're
after then I'd go for it.
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