roddie
Oud Addict
Posts: 25
Registered: 6-17-2005
Location: Dallas, TX
Member Is Offline
Mood: In the mood for oud.
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Looking To Buy (and looking for advice)
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to buy an oud in the next couple of weeks in the $500-700 range. I want something to learn with and to play at home, so I don't need an
ultra-professional model - That said, I do want something that is both built well and sounds good.
I'm guessing I'd use Arabic tuning (being that I'm Arabic and that would be the style of music I'd play), so I assume an Arabic oud would fit my
needs, though I am open to suggestions.
I've done some searching online, and it looks like "Lark In The Morning" is one of the more established stores in the US (with online purchasing).
Though I've used eBay for many things, I'm hesitant to buy an oud from there, simply because I have no idea what to look for in terms of name or
quality.
Am I on the right track? Should I focus on buying a used oud instead? Are there any other online retailers in the US that anyone would recommend?
Thanks for any advice!
Roddie
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palestine48
Oud Junkie
Posts: 448
Registered: 6-9-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Free Palestine
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don't do lark, they are garbage and over priced. search the forums and ull find out.
Also search these forums for maurice shahata from cairo or samir from el homs, syyria.
These are 2 good makers who offer ouds in your price range, arabic style. Ill explain more later but if u search the forums ull hear good things
about these guys
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Stefan Andalus
Oud Maniac
Posts: 59
Registered: 10-15-2004
Location: San Francisco
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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I totally agree with "Palestine 48". The usual designation we give to "Lark" is "Shark in the Morning"! Shehata and Samir are good choices. If
something looks good on eBay, contact this forum and we'll try to set you straight on what you might be getting for the money. Welcome to the world
of al 'ud!!!
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japan
Oud Maniac
Posts: 98
Registered: 5-19-2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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roddie,
Palestine 48 is absolutely right. Palestine 48 has given me the same advice a while ago when I first came in looking for suggestions to buy an Oud
and I almost bought one from Lark. I purchased two Ouds from maurice shahata via Yehia of NileShop. Thank you Palestine 48 for the advice.
maurice shahata and Yehia from Nile shop have an outstanding service and products. Search the forum for Yehia and you should be alright. I also
heard lots of good things about Samir.
Good luck.
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roddie
Oud Addict
Posts: 25
Registered: 6-17-2005
Location: Dallas, TX
Member Is Offline
Mood: In the mood for oud.
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Thanks to all for the responses!
I looked up Shehata after palestine48's answer and I came across the Nile Shop. Their ordering process seems broken right now, but I'll try again
next week and maybe pick up one of these:
http://www.nileshop.net/store/nileshop_viewItem.asp?idProduct=1027
Thoughts?
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palestine48
Oud Junkie
Posts: 448
Registered: 6-9-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Free Palestine
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Hey guys I just got home. Thanks for the kind words but please dont thank me. Thank these forums, everything I have learned is from here.
I actually dont own a shehata or samir oud but i had some dealings with both people.
I bought a learner model from yehia who brokers for shehata off ebay. his ebay store has the cheaper versions. they are decent mass produced but
from what i know, if u pay a couple hundred bucks more for a sheata made for you, it is a better value. but I have no regrets because i can beat up
on my oud without feeling guilty.
Hey Roddie, you dont have to buy that specific oud that is on that site that u linked to. If you email yehia or maurice you ccan ask for an oud
specifically the way you want it, types of would, design etc. and they will make it for you. good thing about maurice and samir is thay dont make a
bunch of ouds and sell em. they make them specific to each order. if u search the forum u can get an idea of what people have asked for, and some
people actually might sell theirs second hand but I would be careful because someone recently got ripped off on one of these second hand deals. So
theefore I suggest you email yehia and negotiate with him about what you want. it is better because u will know what to expect.
Yahia is a great dealer and very honest and friendly, he knows how to do business.
As for samir, I asked for him to make me a bridge to replace the one on the learner model I have. He decided to send me a total of four at no charge
which I think is extremely kind of him. I am still waiting for them but I feel its my duty to tell the group that he is a kind guy to deal with and I
have not heard anything negative about him. lee varis on this forum bought an oud from him and he seems to be happy with his purchase. I like his
attitude about oud making, its more about the sound that whatit looks like and if u notice his ouds are probably the simplest ouds you can find.
reminds me of another great oud maker, mohamed fadel and his son yarub. you can also that nahats made great ouds with lots of bells and whistles but
I like the simple style, its mysterious. To me it says dont knock it until you hear it. Plus i beleive samir makes violins, and one time i asked a
local repair guy if a guy can build violins, does that mean hes a good oud builder? He basically said yes because violins are extremely hard to build
but peoples opinions may differ on this question.
Also roddie one last peace of advice, would sused for oud seem to be based on preference and what u prefer in sound. u cant really tell until you
hear it which is a catch 22 becuase they are in the mid east and you are in america but some more experienced people on this forum can recomend what
they think is a good choice. One thing that seems to be standard good choice is to make sure the fingerboard is of ebony wood and the pegs too. in
some cases that may vary but usually this type of wood is the best type for these components of the oud. Sorry for the long message but I hope that
helped.
P.S. guys please call me Rami
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palestine48
Oud Junkie
Posts: 448
Registered: 6-9-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Free Palestine
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sorry I have made typos as always, I should learn to proof read.
here are the corrections:
1. I like his attitude about oud making, its more about the sound than what it looks like
2. you can also argue that nahats made great ouds with lots of bells and whistles but I like the simple style
3. wood used for oud seem to be based on preference and what u prefer in sound
I apoligize, I really can type well but I get lazy to review my messages before I submit.
take care
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revaldo29
Oud Junkie
Posts: 418
Registered: 6-24-2004
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: inspired
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Hey Roddie,
With that amount of money that you are looking to spend, You can get a nice shehata and probably get it shipped all the way to the states too.
You can see some of shehata's ouds all over these forums and you can also go to his website if you haven't already.
http://www.mauriceouds.com
Finally, if you are in no rush, there are always nice ouds that pop-up for sale on the forums by reputable members and are usually well priced. I
remember Lee was selling his shehata for $650 with shipping included but he may have sold it already. Good luck to you bro. I'm glad that your
bypassing the entire starter oud phase becuase it is really just a waist of money and time.
Regards, Adnan
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SamirCanada
Moderator
Posts: 3404
Registered: 6-4-2004
Member Is Offline
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Hello Fellas,
Here is my point of view.
The two makers mentioned Samir and Maurice are great and provide great service for a great price. In the price range that you mentioned, both makers
are available depending on the amount of customization. We all agree that a ebony or rosewood fingerbord and pegs are excellent features of a oud but
these things will add up to the price. I think the main decision you have to make is wether you wish to go with a Lebano-Syrian type of oud witch is
Samir Azar's specialty or you wish to go for a Egyptian type oud witch also has its own distinct sound wich I would also recomend getting from Maurice
Shehata. Either way, thats ur decision.
On the other hand, I think having a starter oud is one of the factors that made me stick to oud. I see it like this, your just getting to learn how to
play and handling a oud is sometimes tricky you know... It can hapen that it gets nicks here and there... If that happened to one nice ouds of mine I
wouldnt be in the best mood. The other part is also the fact that you might be under the empression that a professional oud will make you sound and
play like a pro. Its like the myth of Nike shoes making you jump higher.lol
I feel that when you start on a intermediate oud and you move up afterwards.. its much more rewarding and you can truly apreciate the quality of the
instrument. The truth is.. learning in the begining especialy if you have no teacher will take a LOT of commitement and practice and research on your
part. I dont want to sound pessimistic at all.. I actualy enjoyed praticing and doing the reasearch its a important aspect to apreciate the oud. And
what I enjoy the most out of my intermediate ouds now.. is that I can bring them out when we go for a picknick or at the park. Its not the greatest
Idea to bring a quality concert instrument in that evironment.
Hope this helps
Let me know what your ideas are...
PEace!
Samir
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roddie
Oud Addict
Posts: 25
Registered: 6-17-2005
Location: Dallas, TX
Member Is Offline
Mood: In the mood for oud.
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Wow - Thanks for all of the feedback and great info, everyone.
Mike emailed me and mentioned that he might have a Shehata oud coming in to sell, so I'll wait and see what it looks/sounds like.
I'm looking forward to picking one up - I've played a couple of times over the years, and was able to figure out a few Arabic classics by ear, so
that's pretty much my plan once I get my own.
I didn't know there were two types of "Arabic" ouds, Lebano-Syrian and Egyptian. What are some of the major differences? No one better say "the G
sounds differently," either. (Hopefully some of y'all got that one).
Samir - This is something that would stay at home, for sure. I'm obviously not aiming for the ultra-professional model, but I do want something that
will sound and look good once I do learn how to play correctly. No tour plans. 
Any more suggestions?
Thanks again, everyone - I'll let you know how I make out.
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