oudplayer
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old strings
hey all
i have a quick question to ask anyone here.
What did they use for strings years ago centrys ago bc pymids came out and labella and aqulla.
what was it made out of
thx sammy
we are lost camels in the desert and wanna find our way to water and the water is in aden
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Jason
Oud Junkie
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I imagine they used gut strings
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will_oud
Oud Maniac
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They most likely used plain gut for the trebble strings and coper, silver, or brass wound on silk or gut.
William F. Sparks
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INFAMOUD
Oud Junkie
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Gut was definately the main ingredient in making strings way back when..But I believe they used to Oil there strings with Varnish like substance..
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oudplayer
Oud Junkie
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hey guys
what is gut made out of i have no understanding of this basicly.
thx sammy
we are lost camels in the desert and wanna find our way to water and the water is in aden
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Jason
Oud Junkie
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It's made out of the stomach of an animal. I believe they usually used goats or sheep. Gut strings have a distinctive tone but are notoriously hard
to work with and are very temperature sensitive.
You can still get gut strings but they are quite expensive. Most baroque orchestras who perform on period instruments use real gut strings.
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will_oud
Oud Maniac
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I on't know if you can get gut sets for oud, but you can get gut sets for lute, which should be adaptable for oud. Gut is also refered to as cat gut.
It is usually the fibers from the stomach or intestine which have been boiled to seperate them from the fat.
William F. Sparks
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SamirCanada
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The famous musician Zeryab in andalusian spain was said to have strings made of the gut of a Lion. It was said to be the best sounding oud in the
whole of court in cordoba.
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oudplayer
Oud Junkie
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hey guys
thx alot i now know something new i would never understand what u guys said if u didnt explain but now i know .
i wonder who would ever think of using animal for stings
who knows
we do
thx sammy
we are lost camels in the desert and wanna find our way to water and the water is in aden
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jdowning
Oud Junkie
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Early texts tell us that the strings used over a thousand years ago were made from gut or silk and even give details on how many strands of silk or
gut were used to make each size of string. The gut strings were made from the intestines of an animal - the best being considered to be those made
from the gut of a young lion - but likely just superstition just as the worst strings were claimed to be those made from a serpent!!.
In Europe most gut strings were (and still are) made from sheep's intestines. There is no evidence to confirm the use of the intestines of cats - so
the origins of the term 'cat gut' remains something of a mystery. It is likely that strings made from these materials continued in use on the oud
until relatively recent times.
Metal wire overspun strings were not invented and did not come into use in Europe until the late
17th C. The strings used on European guitars prior to the general introduction of nylon strings in the 1950's were gut for the trebles and silk
filament overspun with copper or silver wire for the basses.
When I purchased some oud strings in Cairo in 1964 these were exactly the same as 19th C guitar strings - gut trebles and silk overspun for the
basses.
There are string makers today specializing in the manufacture of 'authentic' silk and gut strings for lutes and other historical stringed instruments
and who could supply custom strings in these materials for the oud also.
So, if you really want to find out how ouds used to sound centuries ago it is possible.
I do not have my files on this subject immediately to hand but will post information in more detail when I can find them. Early string research is an
extensive and interesting subject in its own right.
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INFAMOUD
Oud Junkie
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| Quote: | Originally posted by aquila
Hello my friend,
I am going to consider new ways to produce oud sets.
I mean here not to consider the standard or light oud sets (that alreaday work) but something of very special.
I ask: do someone know about the oud strings before 1940's??
strung with gut for the first three upper strings and wound silk basses for the rest.This was the choice of the past.
Maybe the upper three were in pure silk also.
well, I have already made such set just to ear the result: gut strings and silk wound basses produce a quite warm sound.
Was this the true oud sound??
The second idea is to start to produce a new Aquila ud set made with pure silver wires.
Normally all brands (Aquila enclose) employ silvered copper wires or, sometime, pure red copper ones.
Pure silver wires grant a different feeling and lifetime.
what do you think??
Ciao
Mimmo from Aquila |
JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU GUYS A COMMENT THAT WAS POSTED BY AQUILA IN 2004...MAYBE WE SHOULD EMAIL HIM AND SEE IF HE EVER FINISHED THIS KIND OF SET..IT
IS CLOSEST TO THE STRINGS THEY USED WAY BACK WHEN...AND HE SEEMS WILLING AND EAGER TO PUSH NEW SETS OUT...
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Elias
Oud Junkie
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Hello
I regulary use the Aquila Pure Silver Wound basses,expecially on Nahat...well the sound is so warm and deep....!!!!!...pure tarab just playing the
open strings!!!! ;-)
..and yes, their lifetime seem to be much longer then
the normal strings and expecially the red copper wound....wich are still great.
Using Aqula Pure silver with Gut on the Trebles(expecially with Gut Re strings) you are near to reach the true old sound but the set become very
expensive... but using Pure Silver with Nylgut on treble you still have a deep old sound with lower price...(but still more expensive than the
standars sets)
Salamat
Elias
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Elias
Oud Junkie
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WOW!!!...now i am and Oud Junkie!!
Elias
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