MatthewW
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A saddle/bridge unit for the oud: pros/cons?
I've been wondering if any oud makers have ever attempted to adapt the bridge and saddle construction used on classical/nylon string guitars onto the
oud. We are familiar with the fixed bridge and the Bashir floating-bridge used on ouds, and as far as I am aware these seem to be the only two sorts
of bridge constructions used on ouds. Has anyone come across an oud where the bridge and saddle unit as found on classical guitars was succesfully
adapted to an oud? The closest adaptation I have seen of this bridge has been used by Jameel Abraham, on his double top oud ( pictured below). Here he
has taken a flat length of bone and laid it across the top of the fixed bridge, which I thought was a great idea, helping to keep the strings from
slowly wearing away into the wood of the fixed bridge. This seems to me to be a step away from an oudmaker taking a similiar flat piece of bone or
high density plastic ( the saddle), and inserting it into a groove that would be cut into the top of the fixed bridge. The strings would then pass
over the saddle, and then be tied as normal onto a slightly extended or wider bridge unit as in classical guitars. I am no luthier or craftsman of
ouds, but to me it seems the bridge/saddle unit might actually work well on an oud- the saddle would lift the strings somewhat like a version of the
Bashir floating bridge set-up but also be part of a single bridge unit. As regards the action of the strings on an oud being too low (causing
buzzing) or too high to play comfortably, all you would have to do is remove the saddle from its slot in the bridge, file it down to the right height
or even replace it, pop it back into the bridge and 1,2,3 you are ready to play; no need for further bridge work or even replacing a bridge. 
I would be very interested to hear from any one who has seen or experimented with a classical guitar style saddle/bridge unit on an oud, and to hear
from an oud maker on the pros and cons of this idea. thanks!
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MatthewW
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classical guitar saddle and bridge unit
here is what most classical guitars use. note that the strings are lifted and pass over the length of bone or plastic ( the saddle), similar in some
respects to the effect of a floating bridge. The saddle sits in a groove cut into the top of the fixed bridge. However the strings are tied into the
rear section of the bridge, and not at the base of the oud bowl.
what are the pros and cons of this adapted to an oud?
(graphic resized to 800 pixels wide, by moderator)
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MatthewW
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another view of the bridge/saddle unit. Could this be adapted to an oud?
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JT
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Hello Mathew,
The Oud that I play "The JT signature model" has this bridge you talk about. You can see it here: http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=6281&pa...
It has not affected the sound, the sound is still quite arabic and the tension is not higher either.
All the best,
JT
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MatthewW
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Dear Joseph- thanks for the reply. This is the first oud I have seen with this type of bridge, and it is a beautiful looking oud at that. Did you
request it be made like this? Has master Faruk made other ouds with this same type of bridge, or was it his first? Do you think this type of
bridge/saddle unit works better than a traditional fixed bridge? by the way, what measurements are used for the fingerboard at the nut on your 7
string model? thanks!
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JT
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Hello Mathew,
The type of bridge is used inconjunction with an electric pickup. Master Faruk has used this bridge on many other ouds, mostly with electric
inputs.
As for working better than afixed bridge, I think theyre the same. The main thing is sound and it has not affected the beauty in any way. As I said
earlier its tension is reasonable aswell.
As for measurements etc, yoiu can find this on Master Faruks website http://www.oudmaster.com
He is also much better to ask than me in reference to bridge, sound etc...
Cheers,
JT
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SamirCanada
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I owned a Tayyar brothers and a Fouad Haidar of Syria made some ouds with those kind of briges.
I just found it was rather useless in terms of... it didnt add much of an advantage in terms of sound or ease of tuning. I supose its better when
using a brige pick-up which I have never tried...
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MatthewW
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Dear SamirCanada. very interesting, would you have any old photos of those ouds? Could you share some of your thoughts on what you found useless or
not of any great advantage of that classical guitar style bridge/saddle set up? Though I've not tried an oud ( or seen one untill JTs signature model)
with this bridge/saddle unit, I would have thought that one advantage would be in having an easeir way of raising or lowering the action of the
strings on your oud: if the strings were too low you could remove the saddle and replace it with a higher one; if the action was too high you could
file it down a bit. Did the bone or pastic saddle help in any way to give a crisper or cleaner sound, or was no difference in sound? Any more personal
feedback would be welcome my friend. Thanks!
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SamirCanada
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Sure Matty...
I have one picture right here the link where I sold it.
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=2504&pa...
the sound wasnt so much influenced by the saddle brige to my ears. the recording there doesnt do that oud any justice. I think the one thing its
suposed to do is to make sure the tension on the strings start at the same place. where as the loops can be at different hight and lenght.
the other good thing would be to be able to raise or lower the action but then again.... you can do that with loops too. Its more of an esthetic thing
to me. But it probably is way better for a under saddle pick up that would be the main advantage.
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jdowning
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The saddle bridge is a 19th C invention applicable to classical and acoustic guitars - not ouds (or lutes) where tied string bridges have been just
fine for centuries so why try to change it and create an instrument that is neither an oud or a classical guitar? During the 1960's, classical guitar
players invented "lutes" with saddle bridges (and fixed metal frets, fan bracing etc.) - creating essentially classical guitars that looked something
like lutes - so that they could play both guitar and lute repertoire without having to change technique. These instruments were also more heavily
strung so that they were louder and could be used for large concert hall performances. Many were fine instruments in their own right but I doubt if
any are in use today by professional lute players.
Action adjustments at the bridge - regardless of bridge design - can only be quite small, certainly not enough to correct a situation requiring
resetting of the neck.
As Samir points out the strings on a tied bridge can be raised (a little bit) by pushing up on the loops. The strings can be raised even more by this
method by increasing the bridge height (by adding a plate) above the string holes - but there is an obvious limit to this - as is the case with a
saddle bridge.
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Lintfree
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The bridge you're talking about, a cross between an oud bridge and a classical guitar bridge is the brideg on all najarian electric ouds and he's been
putting those on his instruments for years now. John Bilezekjian and Henri Besancon put similar bridges on their ouds back in the eighties. On
accoustic ouds the hybrid bridge is about one third the volume of a standard tie-on bridge. One of the features I like about that bridge is that to
lower the action you cut the saddle down and to raise the action you put in a higher saddle. You can also change saddle materials and use graphite or
aluminum or bone or ivory or ebony to change the tone. But the main advantage of this type of bridge is that you can put a piezo pickup under the
saddle; Fishman, Highlander, Barcus Berry, Shadow, Najarian. I have also found that this bridge on a Turkish oud makes the lower Turkish tuning BEBEAD
sound more defined. The lowest string doesn't flap it goes "twang" when you fret it. On an Arabic long scale oud it sounds truly frightening
with a pickup. And it's good to scare people.
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