samzayed
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info on this Shehata oud
I saw this several pics on this beautiful Shehata oud in the gallery http://www.mikeouds.com/scores/displayimage.php?album=lastup&ca...
I was wondering if the owner could tell us what kind of wood the bowl is made of of? It's very beautiful!!
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zalzal
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I am quite sure is all ebony (two kinds of ebony) OR ebony and something else
Yes that's beautiful oud
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samzayed
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Hi Zalzal, I'm stumped - I think it can be rosewood (the redder wood), and ebony (the darker wood). However, the grain on the darker wood doesn't
really look like some of the ebony I have seen.
Would the owner of this oud please come forward  )
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Jameel
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That's most likely Ebony and Palisander. Pretty sure I sold some strings to this fellow a couple months ago. It might very well be African Blackwood
(Mpingo) not what we call Ebony. I'm almost 100% sure that the black wood Mourice uses for bowls is African Blackwood. Blackwood is actually a
rosewood (dalbergia). Like any wood, there are natural variations in color, grain pattern, density of grain etc. Blackwood's sapwood is banana-yellow,
and sometimes Mourice uses this. Most people are used to seeing Ebony in the form of fingerboards, pegs, and other small pieces where the wood is jet
black and totall uniform. Some of this is due to excellent wood, but often black dye is used to make it more uniform.
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samzayed
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Hi Jameel, I heard African Blackwood has an amazing sound, but is very difficult to work with - i heard you literally need new tools when you're done.
Check out these pages:
http://www.mangore.com/special-requests.html
http://www.nitsugamangore.com/blackwood-spruce-guitar-cutaway.html
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Jameel
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It's right up there with Brazilian rosewood, among guitar makers, steel and classical alike. Sidi told me that it's Mourice's favorite bowl wood.
African black wood is hard stuff, but not much different than working with other hard tropical woods. You definitely have to sharpen your tools more
than if you were working with say, walnut. But it doesn't destroy tools. I've worked with it a fair amount over the years, for a few oud parts, but
mostly for fine furniture. It is a very nice wood to work, as it planes and scrapes wonderfully. The luthier that helped me with the sandwich top has
made several guitars with it (I saw and played one--excellent). It's getting harder to find it. Blackwood is the standard wood for clarinets, and
that's where a bunch of it goes before it winds up at a specialty lumber store--my source.
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zalzal
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Nice with yr infos
On this link
http://www.mpingoconservation.org/
it is written
"Mpingo is the preferred wood of the musical instrument trade because of its high density, fine texture and exceptional durability. Also its natural
oiliness seals the surface, prevents absorption of moisture and protects metal fittings from corrosion. Its fine grain means that the finish is
beautifully smooth, and the wood holds its tone well in different conditions. By far the biggest demand is for clarinets, but oboes, bagpipes and
wooden flutes are also made from the tree. At one time mpingo was even used for the black keys on pianos though this is no longer the case. In
addition mpingo is the wood of choice for local carvers, most notably the Makonde tribe. A new use is in parquet flooring in the Far East. Most users
prefer dark wood and only the blackest is acceptable for the manufacturing of musical instruments."
And here
http://www.exotichardwoods-africa.com/blackwoodafrican.htm
"The wood has severe blunting effect on cutting tools.
Tungsten/carbide tipped saws are reported to be essential for conversion.
The material is reported to be too heavy and too dense to be used in steam bending applications."
So bravo to all the luthiers, to have succeded to transform hard wood into marvellous instruments and bravo to "Makonde people , whose tribal lands
straddle the Tanzania-Mozambique border, are particularly renowned for their mpingo carving, with Makonde families handing down their carving skills
from father to son."
Mpingo is the national tree of Tanzania
(I want an all mpingo oud.....my dreams)
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Basho
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Hi
the Shehata oud is mine and it is ebony and pallisander used in the bowl. The top is spruce from old piano. I think the ebony Maurice uses is african
blackwood. The sound is deep and warm.
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palestine48
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I agree it looks beautiful, any chance of hearing the sound of it?
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Basho
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Sorry I am a beginner but maybe I can record my teacher playing it later.
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zalzal
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I did not know that iraq wood was dark...
See this link, black bowl iraqi ouds, but no floating bridge.
http://www.nilecommerce.net/en/Oriental_Musical_Instruments/iraqi.h...
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Hosam
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Hey Basho, Very beautiful oud, looking forward to hear it, I am sure it will sound as nice as it looks! Is there any chance that you can tell us the
weigh of that oud?
Zalzal, I do not know what is the Iraqi wood, my understanding is Iraqi builders have to import tone wood from other countries as the palm trees and
other species that grow in Iraq are not suitable for oud making. I guess that oud in the above link was stained black
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Basho
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Hi Hosam
the oud´s weight is about 1,1 kg.
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zalzal
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Hosam, this is a november release fm usa today,
...."The best Iraqi ouds are made mostly of Indian wood, which is difficult to find in local markets, al-Abdali says. Kyvelos says Indian rosewood is
popular for making ouds. Abdali goes on scavenger hunts to find quality wood, sometimes finding it in unusual places. "The old closets that Baghdadis
were using in the 1940s and 1950s were made of the most expensive wood," he says."....
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Hosam
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Basho and zalzal thanks!
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