Mike's Oud Forums

My new Mourice Shehata Oud

john (beloved) habib - 3-9-2004 at 07:47 AM

I got this thanks to Roy and his informative post on the forum about Yehia from Ebay at the nileshop thingy.... Yehia was amazing... very professional and he did everything for me...

the Oud:
EBONY (fingerboard, bridge, pegs, etc)
ROSEWOOD (bowl)
SPRUCE (face, with a thin layer of some kind of something)

The Rosettes are COPTIC (Egyptian) Orthodox Christian Crosses.

Zulkarnain - 3-9-2004 at 08:05 AM

Hi

Sorry to ask..are u a christian?

Regards

**very beautiful oud that is!!

john (beloved) habib - 3-9-2004 at 08:08 AM

I requested that Mourice put those crosses there... so Yes, I am Christian. Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox Christian to be specific.

Zulkarnain - 3-9-2004 at 08:20 AM

Hi

Cool!


Nice oud u have there buddy!

bluesyOud - 3-9-2004 at 08:25 AM

Wishes for good playing with your beauty!!!:airguitar::D

john (beloved) habib - 3-9-2004 at 08:30 AM

Thanx so much...

My last oud ... cheap wood, low humidity .. result was cracked face and bridge came off... horrible..

Even more terrible was the fact that I haven't been able to play the Oud for nearly 2 months... For those of you who play virtually every day as I did, to be without an Oud for that long is .. my goodness.. the horror, the anguish, .. INCONCEIVABLE!

Seriously, it was pretty bad. So 2 months and a bunch of money on my credit card bill ... I finally have a quality instrument...

Jameel - 3-9-2004 at 09:02 AM

John,

How much did you spend total on your Shehata?

what a lovely oud

sydney - 3-9-2004 at 03:34 PM

ereny pasy John,

I love that oud ,it goes very well with your tonya , I do have one but I made my own decoration to it. I'll post a photo of it soon.

be well

Sydney

john (beloved) habib - 3-9-2004 at 03:46 PM

ke tu epnevmati so

Thanks for the complements... ya... it does match my Tonya.. haha... post a picture up!

take care...

New oud.

wfspark - 3-9-2004 at 05:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib
ke tu epnevmati so

Thanks for the complements... ya... it does match my Tonya.. haha... post a picture up!

take care...
Wao John! Is that a Turkish or an Arabic oud? You have my dream oud! The only thing I'd change would be to put Celtic crosses on their. The next oud I order from Haluk Eraydon will have that decoration on it. Neet!

William F. Sparks

One more thing about oud specs.

wfspark - 3-9-2004 at 05:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by wfspark
Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib
ke tu epnevmati so

Thanks for the complements... ya... it does match my Tonya.. haha... post a picture up!

take care...
Wao John! Is that a Turkish or an Arabic oud? You have my dream oud! The only thing I'd change would be to put Celtic crosses on their. The next oud I order from Haluk Eraydon will have that decoration on it. Neet!

William F. Sparks
One more thing about my dream oud specs. I would have a sidca spruce tope and mahogany or ceter bowl.

William F. Sparks

sydney - 3-9-2004 at 06:15 PM

William F. Sparks :wavey:

TruePharaoh21 - 3-9-2004 at 06:37 PM

Epi prosevki stathite.

I love the Coptic crosses on it, John. I want to hear how it sounds. Post up a sound file, or pass it by me first if you like... lakerguy_ca@yahoo.com . The e-mail that you usually e-mail me at doesn't have much space, but the one above does.

I love the oud, man. I also love how this post has so much of our liturgy in it.

Eshlil, guys. We all need it.

John, I'm looking forward to hearing it.

TP21

Mike - 3-9-2004 at 10:10 PM

Congrats on the new oud John. Roy, look what you have started man! :applause:

john (beloved) habib - 3-10-2004 at 07:55 AM

To WILLIAM: thanks a lot. It's an Arabic Oud. when you said "you have my dream oud" ... that was EXACTLY the same thing I said when I saw a pic of the SAME oud (with just regular decorative rosettes) posted by Roy Patterson... That's why I got it... Celtic Crosses... cool..

To TRUE PHARAOH21: thanks man... ya, the liturgical dialogue is kinda neat...

Epouro Enteti He Rini...

When I get the chance I'll try to get a sound file posted... probably a coptic hymn, or maybe "ahwak" from Abdel Halim Hafiz... or some other Egyptian song...

To MIKE: thanks. Roy has started a revolution, although actually... the oud face looks just like the ouds John Allison was trying to sell, so... hmm.

I got the Coptic Crosses because ... I noticed that when I'm watching someone play the Oud my eye is often gazing at the sound hole decoration (if not directly, peripherally)... so I decided, since I play a lot of coptic hymns and spiritual songs and stuff in front of people, I want their thoughts to gaze on the Cross.... And even when I'm playing just a nice Arabic song, I just wanted to represent! hehe...
:airguitar:

spyros mesogeia - 3-10-2004 at 10:46 AM

Dear friend,
I put a Byzantine symbol on my oud too,only that it was made in to a more discret position....
heheheh
Regards:wavey:

john (beloved) habib - 3-10-2004 at 11:21 AM

you know what... I actually noticed that a long time ago... I didn't actually see that cross, but I thought the symbol was christian... Actually, i was originally going to ask for a small coptic cross to be put on the fingerboard or on the bottom of the Oud (or just somewhere a little more discrete)...

That symbol you have looks very cool! Do you knoe more about that symbol? It seems it probably has a bit of history to it...

kuharido - 3-10-2004 at 11:25 AM

Awesome Oud , very nice looking , cant wait to hear , how much did it cost ? (i couldnt understand the turkish reply =>;) , and can i please have Mr.Yehia's contact info ? Thanks !

spyros mesogeia - 3-10-2004 at 12:06 PM

Dear friend John,
This symbol is for more than 8-10 centuries on the Greek Orthodox Curch,and you will see it to every churh here in Greece,also this Symbol was the Symbol on the Byzantine empire.....It is a double head eagle.
I asked Dimitris's to put it on my oud...It represents the power of the Church...
Regards
Spyros:wavey:

Watch out guys

sydney - 3-10-2004 at 12:43 PM

too much of religion talk may offend others. and it also may not be what Mike wants on his web site.

back to OUD talking please

Peace

Emad

john (beloved) habib - 3-10-2004 at 01:01 PM

Welcom kuharido.

The following is Yehia's Ebay store:
http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=79210110

To contact him, go to nileshop@menanet.net

I agreed to keep prices confidential.

He's an awesome guy and will not disappoint--very professional...Tell him John Habib referred you :) Take care.

john (beloved) habib - 3-10-2004 at 01:11 PM

Hey Emad,
I understand your concern and I will keep it mind, but that doesn't mean I'll stop mentioning religion when I speak all together

:D

john (beloved) habib - 3-10-2004 at 01:13 PM

oh, and thanks for the clarification on that symbol Spyros.. VERY INTERESTING!

Jameel - 3-10-2004 at 01:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jameel
John,

How much did you spend total on your Shehata?


I think my question may have been overlooked. would you mind sharing with us what you spent on your Shehata?

john (beloved) habib - 3-10-2004 at 01:58 PM

i agreed with Yehia, the person who sold me Mourice's Oud, that I wouldn't discuss price ... so in respect of this agreement, I just can't say. I hope you understand.

I can give you my qualitative price quote: it was a good price in comparison to the Ouds I've seen with similar specs.., . . .

Again, I hope you understand . . .

journeyman - 3-10-2004 at 09:32 PM

I'm not sure I can take all the credit for all of the recent orders of the Shehata ouds. You have also promoted his ouds Mike. I feel good about endorsing his ouds because they are for sure very high quality and for the price (usually under $1000 US) depending on the wood etc. they are a great deal. A good instrument will only improve with time. I have learned that to spend $300 or so dollars plus shipping it is possible to get an average student oud or an inferior one. It is worth it to spend a few extra dollars and get something that is solid, sounds good and will probably increase in value at some point in the future. I recently bought two cheap ouds on e Bay so I could have one to take out on my bike, to the river etc. and not worry about damage. I thought I would keep the one I liked best and sell the other one. As it turns out, one is so bad that I don't think that I could in good conscience sell it, and the one I will keep might be OK with some new pegs and a set up, including lowering the nut. So, after shipping costs and what I got dinged by Canadian Customs for duty and taxes, I would have been better off spending a little more on a decent oud. I mention this experience so others who are tempted to waste their money might think twice. Mourice Shehata's ouds are a great deal and worth it, even for a beginner.

Your new Shihada oud.

wfspark - 3-17-2004 at 08:40 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by john (beloved) habib
i agreed with Yehia, the person who sold me Mourice's Oud, that I wouldn't discuss price ... so in respect of this agreement, I just can't say. I hope you understand.

I can give you my qualitative price quote: it was a good price in comparison to the Ouds I've seen with similar specs.., . . .

Again, I hope you understand . . .
Hello John. How's your new oud coming along. Do you have a sound sample ready? I may look at buying a Shihada in the future. I'm still waiting for my Eraydin oud, but when it get's here, everybody and his brother will know about it on on the forum! I don't have any sound recording or film equipment, so I won't be able to take pictures or post sound samples of the oud, but I'll be braging about it. I usually play the instrument for about two hours before giving a report on the instrument. I don't have any doubt that Mr. eraydin makes good ouds, but it's just instinct to play before I brag.

William F. Sparks

Zulkarnain - 3-17-2004 at 08:46 AM

Hi Guys

Shihada <-=== is he from Egypt too?


Oud Greatless:D

john (beloved) habib - 3-17-2004 at 01:47 PM

I'll post a sound file hopefully sometime soon. Maybe a video clip. Not that soon actually, but sometime near in the future...

kuharido - 3-17-2004 at 01:49 PM

John pleeease post somethign soon => , anything !

Ronny Andersson - 3-17-2004 at 01:52 PM

I wonder whether the Orthodox Christian eagle symbol and the use of eagle risha might have any connections...the stored the quill in olive oil used in religious ceremonies...

mavrothis - 3-17-2004 at 02:57 PM

That's an interesting concept. The double-headed eagle was actually more of a secular symbol of the Byzantine empire I think, and was then adopted by the Church since they were both considered one entity.

It would be cool if the risha is connected to that, though I'm sure it was also a practical choice.

mav

Orthodox Christian , DH-eagles and rishas

sydney - 3-17-2004 at 08:09 PM

I do not think they have anything in common or connected or even related.

:wavey:

Emad

Zulkarnain - 3-17-2004 at 10:05 PM

Hi

Anyone know if Mr Shehata accept oud for repair? Thanks in advance!


Regards

Ronny Andersson - 3-17-2004 at 11:23 PM

>It would be cool if the risha is connected >to that, though I'm sure it was also a >practical choice.

The Iraqi method to store the quill in oil is to make the risha strong and flexible.
A risha without the oil treatment is almost unplayable when shaped with in the Iraqi style.
I know the Turks uses a different method. But what I wonder why olive oil? It takes exactly 6 months for the oil to penetrate the risha and make it playable.

olive oil

jeanluc - 3-17-2004 at 11:58 PM

hi everybody,

isn'it because in these country, what grows mostly is olive tree ,
rather than colza:)) or peanuts:(,...true theycold also have thought of mustard oil......

Ronny Andersson - 3-18-2004 at 12:05 AM

Here's a photo showing the side where the oil is penetrating the quill.

Eagle rishas.

wfspark - 3-18-2004 at 09:58 AM

Are eagle rishas still made? If so, where can I get them? Thanks

William F. Sparks

Ronny Andersson - 3-18-2004 at 11:52 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by wfspark
Are eagle rishas still made? If so, where can I get them? Thanks

William F. Sparks


William, There's no supplier of eagle risha.
I got my own from the same man that gave Munir Bashir his last ones. It's a possibility to find them at a taxidermist.
The eagle quill is the most difficult risha to master and really not necessary for most players to use it. The posture and toneproduction is very different horn and plastic.

Good on you Ronny

sydney - 3-18-2004 at 12:11 PM

Quote:
The eagle quill is the most difficult risha to master and really not necessary for most players to use it. The posture and toneproduction is very different horn and plastic.


I believe that any decent type of material that goes well with the strings and the player should do a good job.



Emad

Ronny Andersson - 3-18-2004 at 01:15 PM

Quote:
I believe that any decent type of material that goes well with the strings and the player should do a good job.
Emad


Emad, I did not say that other materials are inferior, only different. If you have played with eagle risha than you would know. Why else is it possible to study different risha technique and materials at Arabic universities?

Horn rishas.

wfspark - 3-18-2004 at 01:25 PM

Where can I get horn rishas. Are they more expensive than the plastic ones? I like the sound of the horn risha. What's the difference between a missrab and a risha? Thanks in advance Emad.

William F. Sparks

sydney - 3-18-2004 at 01:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by wfspark
Where can I get horn rishas. Are they more expensive than the plastic ones? I like the sound of the horn risha. What's the difference between a missrab and a risha? Thanks in advance Emad.

William F. Sparks


My friend, William

I think horn risha which is also called mizrab or missrab is more expensive than plastic. I do not know where to get them since I am in Sydney. As far as the difference in sound I am sure that many will disagree with me on that but I do believe that risha type is not a big issue as long as it is made out of the right material , gentle on your strings and comfortable to hold. I use plastic risha that I cut and served to suit my self.

I guess many can freely add to that.

Peace

Emad

horn rishas

mavrothis - 3-18-2004 at 02:02 PM

nile shop off of ebay has some nice horn risha. just talk to them (Mr. Yehia and Mr. Mustafa) and tell them what length and thickness you'd like (heavy vs. light).

take care,

mav

Ronny

sydney - 3-26-2004 at 11:55 AM

How are you mate?

Look I am sorry I did not mean to offend you in any way. I have used horn risha about 12 years ago , it is great with no doubt . Whatever is said about it is fine . yet some times you find a will made plastic rish sounds cool too.

Regards,

Emad

Ronny Andersson - 3-27-2004 at 08:53 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by sydney
How are you mate?

Look I am sorry I did not mean to offend you in any way. I have used horn risha about 12 years ago , it is great with no doubt . Whatever is said about it is fine . yet some times you find a will made plastic rish sounds cool too.

Regards,

Emad


I'm cool so no problem Emad.

Douglas - 3-27-2004 at 10:11 AM

Does this builder make turkish oud? How do I get in touch with him

No Turkish ouds.

wfspark - 3-27-2004 at 03:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Douglas
Does this builder make turkish oud? How do I get in touch with him
Hello Douglas. I don't think Mr. Shihada makes Turkish ouds. I maybe Wrong. John? Could you help us out please? Thanks.

William F. Sparks

john (beloved) habib - 3-28-2004 at 01:05 PM

I think that it's very possible Shehata can make a Turkish Oud, however, because there are very good turkish ouds made by traditionally Turkish Oud Makers, I recommend that if you want a Turkish oud you get one from a traditionally Turkish Oud Maker.

Mav or Mike will probably have more info on this subject.

david - 3-28-2004 at 08:18 PM

:bounce:Hey Douglas you can get more info on Shehata ouds from Yehia at the nile shop(email) sales@nileshop.net. Yehia is great to deal with. Good luck:buttrock:

Ronny Andersson - 4-4-2004 at 09:46 AM

Here an oud by Maurice's father Farouk.

The back

Ronny Andersson - 4-4-2004 at 09:47 AM