Mike's Oud Forums

La Bella OU-80B

john (beloved) habib - 9-14-2005 at 12:02 PM

I tried my best to search the forums for an answer but couldn't.

I have an Arabic Oud and wanted to try out some La Bella Strings. I bought some off of juststrings.com... they sent me the OU-80B strings instead of the OU-80A strings.

Anyways... those strings claim to be for Arabic Ouds, the strings are as follows

1st - D (plain nylon)
2nd - A (plain nylon)
3rd - E
4th - B
5th - A
6th - G

Is that turkish tuning? I don't know what to do. Are the OU-80A intended for Arabic Tuning? Or are they the same?

How do I put these on my oud ... would it be too much tension?

THANKS in advance for helping me out :)

john (beloved) habib - 9-14-2005 at 04:47 PM

help me :) :shrug: :D

LABELLA OU-80

syrianoud - 9-14-2005 at 05:00 PM

The way I tune it is :
1st =C 4
2Nd= G 3
3RD=D 3
4TH= A 2
5TH= G 2
6th= D2

Thois is Arabic tuning and I do that on my KORG chronograph Machine for tuning My Ouds.
LABELLA OU-80 11 STRINGS The B is 12 STRINGS ,Where I tryed to use and did not like. 11 string is fine.

john (beloved) habib - 9-14-2005 at 05:08 PM

thank you for replying...

Does anyone know if the tension is too high? thanks

syrianoud - 9-14-2005 at 05:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib
thank you for replying...

Does anyone know if the tension is too high? thanks


JOHN ..Go to this page and read about articeles How to restrain ouds and ETC>>>>

http://www.oud.eclipse.co.uk/links.html

hope that will help you .

When you in there try that link : Quick Intro to the Oud for Guitarist.

SamirCanada - 9-14-2005 at 06:38 PM

hello Yohanna,
on a side note.. I remeber you were looking for a oud a few days ago. Your mood states: love my new oud.
Did you get one? if so can you share some pics?
Thanks
Samir

john (beloved) habib - 9-14-2005 at 07:19 PM

very observant you are... haha.. i never bothered changing my mood since I got my last oud...

it should say... "waiting to be satisfied by a new oud or some new strings that make my current oud sound better"

:) I am actually waiting on a new oud from Maurice Shehata... it's a combination of various member ideas on things they got... we'll see what happens :) :D

Elie Riachi - 9-14-2005 at 09:31 PM

Hello,

It has been a while since I looked into the strings, but if I recall from my earlier searches and posts, what the A is for is not Arabic but Arminian. I do not think LaBella makes anything Arabic and they do not seem to want to give much information about the strings (at least the ones I contacted.) My best experience so far has been with the Aquila strings or you can order custom sets from Pyramid. I have posted a lot in the past regarding string tensions in the technical forum on Mike's site and it may still be there(if didn't get wiped out.)

Hope this helps.

Elie

john (beloved) habib - 9-14-2005 at 09:40 PM

thank you so much.

ya... i'm not happy with La Bella either.. waste of my money... whatever.

Does Aquilla offer D string (3rd string) plain nylon for Arabic Ouds?

Does Pyramid? I think I'm a big fan of nylon strings...


Thanks anyhow..

samzayed - 9-14-2005 at 09:44 PM

They do make arabic strings http://www.oud-strings.com/#labella_oud

I think it says "arabic oud" on set. So I think you have the right ones. I didn't really care for them either.

syrianoud - 9-14-2005 at 09:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib
thank you so much.

ya... i'm not happy with La Bella either.. waste of my money... whatever.

Does Aquilla offer D string (3rd string) plain nylon for Arabic Ouds?

Does Pyramid? I think I'm a big fan of nylon strings...


Thanks anyhow..


John LABELLA id very good OU-80 11 string < I jsut waisted two sets of Aquilla and i am trying it on my new Shahata OUD ,I dont think that I like it andPyramid if you can get Made in Germany they are good ,But I still prefere LABELLA ,Ask Viken Najarian the Oud maker he uses Labella ,And My Nazih Ghadban Oud he replaced the pegs and had labella strings on it and it sounds great. I have spend Hundreds Of $'s the last order $193.00 on 9 sets of Strings ,Labella 3 setts,Auuilla 3 setts which I will never ever get it again and 3 sets of THOMASTIK-INFELD new to me the three sets are $75.00 where i will try them on one of the Ouds later on.But stick to Labella OU-80 11 string they are good.

john (beloved) habib - 9-15-2005 at 06:40 AM

thanks for your advice .. i purchased some thomastik as well.. i'll see if they're good...

DD - 9-15-2005 at 11:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib

Does Aquilla offer D string (3rd string) plain nylon for Arabic Ouds?



A forum post from Mimmo at Aquila about a year ago gave the values below for Aquila Turkish and Arabic oud strings. You'll see that the wound strings have solid-gut equivalents given for each. The plain Nylgut strings have that same value and are designated according to it, e.g. the Aquila 108NG and 116NG are the plain Nylgut equivalents to 1.08 and 1.16 solid gut strings.

I'll probably order one of these strings from Aquila USA shortly to test, myself. Since people seem to feel that the plain 3rd is on the thick side, I'm thinking that I might try the 108NG, even though I have an Arabic oud (1.08 mm already sounds very thick!). Also, I'm just about to ask them what the tension would be with each of these strings, tuned to d with a 62 cm vibrating string length (I don't know how close it will be to Mimmo's given wound-string Kg values).

It will cost about $10 just for the one string this way, but at least if one orders, say, the 108NGE ("E" for extra length of 200 cm), then two strings can be made from the one. I'll let you know what they say regarding the tension.

Thank you for bringing all this up, and I heartily wish you success in your search altogether,
Don

Mimmo's Post Excerpt:

TURKISH TUNING
vibrating string length: 58 cms
pitch: a-440 Hz
nylgut & gut density =1.30
1st d: 2x .60 mm nylgut = 4.3 Kg each string
2nd a: 2x .77 mm nylgut = 4.0 Kg each string
3rd e: 2x wound strings (of 1.08 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.4 Kg each string
4th B: 2x wound strings (of 1.40 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.2 Kg each string
5th A: 2x wound strings (of 1.68 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.5 Kg each string
5th 5th F#: 2x wound strings (of 1.87 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.2 Kg each string
6th E: 1x wound strings (of 2.10 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.2 Kg 
6th C#: 1x wound strings (of 2.48 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.2 Kg 


ARABIC TUNING
vibrating string length: 62 cms
pitch: a-440 Hz
nylgut & gut density =1.30

1st c: 2x .62 mm nylgut = 4.3 Kg each string
2nd g: 2x .80 mm nylgut = 4.0 Kg each string
3rd d: 2x wound strings (of 1.17 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.7 Kg each string
4th A: 2x wound strings (of 1.50 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.2 Kg each string
5th F: 2x wound strings (of 1.87 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.3 Kg each string
5th G: 2x wound strings (of 1.68 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.3 Kg each string
6th C: 1x wound strings (of 2.48 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.2 Kg
6th D: 1x wound strings (of 2.20 mm equiv. solid gut) = 4.2 Kg 

DD - 9-18-2005 at 03:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DD
Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib

Does Aquilla offer D string (3rd string) plain nylon for Arabic Ouds?





It will cost about $10 just for the one string this way, but at least if one orders, say, the 108NGE ("E" for extra length of 200 cm), then two strings can be made from the one. I'll let you know what they say regarding the tension.



Tension values are: 3.9k for the 108; 4.5k for 116. This is for a 62cm vibrating length, tuned to d.

john (beloved) habib - 9-18-2005 at 08:10 PM

awesome.. how would i go about purchasing that customized string? what website or contact info... and what do I ask them exactly?

thanks so muchb

DD - 9-19-2005 at 11:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib
awesome.. how would i go about purchasing that customized string? what website or contact info... and what do I ask them exactly?

thanks so muchb


You can email info@aquilausa.com if you're in the USA (aquila@aquilacorde.com elsewhere) and say that you'd like to purchase the Nylgut 108NGE or the 116NGE. $10 or so plus minimal shipping.

I was going to go ahead and order the 108NGE for my Arabic oud, but now I've decided to talk to Mimmo at Aquila first (when he gets back from vacation in a couple of days) and get his recommendations. I know that he supervised some testing of plain d strings when first designing the Nylgut oud set, and that the concensus was in favor of the wound d. I would like to know what the favorite plain strings were in the testing, and details regarding the choice of the wound string over the plain. I'll keep you posted with my progress if you'd like.

Take care,
dd

paulO - 9-19-2005 at 01:00 PM

Here's my 2 cents on strings:

LaBella - Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're not, mostly the nylon strings especially top (highest) strings are problematic - the pairs may or may not tune together.

D'Darrio - I've used their sets, and the individual strings, Larry White at the Thin Man String Company sold the individual guages. The wound strings were blisteringly bright sounding, but calmed down pretty nicely -- then the 3rd strings started breaking on me, and I stopped using them, but individual guaged strings seem fine. When I saw Larry using a micrometer to check the guages of the strings -- I went out and got one. Every new set I open, I check the guages, of course consistent guages, doesn't mean great sound -- but it's one thing you can check.

Pyramid -- an oud buddy Vic Fernandez and I went through an oddessy a few years ago, and got some Oud sets, and Guaged lute strings, as well as some PVF strings. The Oud sets were okay -- the nylon strings were a bit dead sounding and the 3rd's were very fragile -- they'de come unwound near the nut. In this respect, the sets were no better than the LaBella's. We had some problems with the guages of the lute strings; the wound strings just sounded incredibly bright and nasty along with too much tension -- which was a problem on our end since after a ton of figuring -- we must have ordered the wrong guages/tensions of wound strings. The individual nylon guaged strings are top quality, and the PVF if guaged correctly are can be used to help an oud which has a weak sounding treble response.

I have also tried Savarez red and yellow card nylon strings as a 2nd string and liked them.

Once you find what works well on your Oud, you can stick with it, good luck in your search.

Cordially..PaulO

john (beloved) habib - 9-19-2005 at 01:55 PM

thanks so much...