Jonathan
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Why does an oud's tone change?
We all know that an oud's tone changes over the years. Why is that? Why does it seem that the oud mellows out a bit--looses some of that brightness,
and takes on a richer, fuller tone?
Is it just the aging of the wood? If so, simply using old wood should produce this effect in a new oud.
Is it the changing moisture content in the oud? The aging of the glue?
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sydney
Oud Junkie
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Good subject
Hello Jonathan, I hope you had a great easter break.
Have you taken the aging of our listening ability into consideration?
I have had one oud for ten years and it is true the sound have changed but I can not prove that it is only the oud, I no longer have the same
listening strength. Could that be a valid point?
Cheers
Kind Regards,
------------------
Emad
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Jameel
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From what I've read and heard, its everything you mention above, plus two very important factors. The first being the effect of ~100 lbs. of string
tension sustained over a long period of time. The other being how much the oud itself is played. There are many luthiers and players who testify to
the importance of "playing in" an instrument. Actually playing the oud introduces lots of energy and movement into the wood. To me this would seem to
effect a "loosening" of the oud, and "opening" of the sound. Kind of like the action you get from a broken-in baseball glove. Different materials,
yes, and much more "loosening" with leather, but it seems to me that the theory makes sense. I'm no scientist, this is info I've gleaned from books
and articles on the subject. I don't think aging of the glue had much to do with it. Hide glue dries to a hard crystaline state (unlike titebond)
quite quickly anyway. Old wood definitely helps, too. But two soundboards of the same age, one being under tension and playing conditions I would
think will have quite different results. That would be an interesting long-term test. I'll get back to you on that in about 25 years. 
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journeyman
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I have had more experience with guitars than ouds, but my friends who play other string instruments like violin and string bass all agree that in
addition to good construction, design and wood, playing the instrument is what opens up the sound. There is something about getting the wood to
vibrate over time that increases the response of an instrument. I personally know of some acoustic guitar builders that leave their clients' guitars
standing in front of their stereo speakers as a way of getting the wood to vibrate. This has the same effect as playing it, apparently. In my
experience, any acoustic instrument will lose its response, especially the bass response, if it sits for a period of time without being played.
I also noticed that humidity affects the sound as well. Last summer I spent a week at a music camp in California in a Redwood forest about two hours
north of San Francisco. My guitar really opened up and sounded better that it ever has. Even my friend's cheap Takamine guitar sounded better.
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billkilpatrick
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i've heard that humming into your oud before playing - so that you generate a sympathetic reverberation - improves the sound. i've also read of an
instance where a guitar in the luggage compartment of a small airplane picked up this sympathetic vibration and hummed loudly throughout the entire
trip. when the plane landed and the much worried guitar player got a chance to open the case and play his instrument he reported that it sounded
better than it ever did before.
i'm sure the changes which happen to an instrument over time are miniscule but the effect is major.
many things are improved with age ... me, for example.
- bill
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oudmaker
Oud Junkie
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Jonathan
I agree with all above fellows.
Dincer
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Jonathan
Oud Junkie
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Dincer--it is great to see your name here again. We have missed your input.
And, by the way, the oud I purchased from you sounds so great already that I can't see how it can improve, but I look forward to hearing how it
matures.
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SamirCanada
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Mr. Dincer
I have a question for regarding this subject.
Have you ever built a oud and kept it for yourself some years without being played much? and could you compare it to an oud you built using similar
technique and woods that has been played for some years by some who has bought one from?
You could be in a great position to observe this. Also you have said that people who seek your ouds, also seek your own sound. Can you notice that
your own sound when producing a oud changes over time?
Regards.
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oudmaker
Oud Junkie
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Dear Samir
The first oud I made was in 1973 and I stiil have her. Yes most ceartainly the sound improves by the time. I made my first violin ( which did not
look like one at all) in 1953 and I put it next to the radio we had in our house at that time. Doing so I try to have the violin subject to the sound
vibrations. I guessed ( now I know it was correct) that the vibrations released the tension in the instrument's different parts and bring them
together to vibrate as much as possible unisonly. (I hope I explained it rigth) Therefore yes the oud and or guitar or any wooden instrument will
improve if it is subjected to vibrations like playing it. That brings up us to realize that an instrument well built with less tension and stress will
impove much faster.
Regards
Dincer
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