rojaros - 2-15-2009 at 01:39 AM
Hello everybody, hope all is well!
I was a bit curious how that would feel to have a seven courses Oud and came up with an idea to add a seventh course to my Fathi Amin Oud in a simple
manner - just made the nut wider and had an aditional hole drilled in the bridge!
The tuning is from top down: f c g d A E D, or as in the following recording,
f c g d A F C
see http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&Vi...
In that recording I use a fresh (1 day old) Daniel Mari set plus Aquila high f strings - the integrate very well together soundwise, though the Mari
set tends to be on the soft side). I quite like these strings.
See also the pictures below for the construction.
My first experience with this makes me feel that I'd really like to have seven regular courses on the oud as it seems to expand the possibilities of
tunings quite a bit.
If you're not quite sure just check it out - it costs almost nothing.
Best wishes
Robert
The nut:
rojaros - 2-15-2009 at 01:46 AM
The bridge:
rojaros - 2-15-2009 at 01:51 AM
The Oud:
charlie oud - 2-15-2009 at 08:34 AM
Nicely done Robert. Thanks for sharing. Im very interested in Fathi Amin's ouds.
rojaros - 2-15-2009 at 02:33 PM
Hello Charlie, did you listen to the link given up here? It's an mp4 video so the sound quality is according to that, but it'll give you a rough
impression of how (this) Fathi Amin Oud sounds.
As to the Oud:
It's certainly not perfect. The soundboard construction is a bit too stiff, so it's lacking a bit the depth in its resonances, it tends to be on the
woody, dry side, though it's quite loud. That's why I'm experimenting with the high ff string course - though high f might not be my pair of shoes on
the long run.
But this oud definitely has its own character or sound signature...
The overall construction is fairly decent, though not consistent; the bridge is a bit clumsy, and the accoustic advantages this type of bridge
certainly has could have been realized more elegantly.
The main rosette is done nicely.
The neck is a bit to crowded for my big fingers.
The body or bowl seems to be too heavy - another factor contributing to this a little inflexible or stiff sound.
The playability is quite good indeed. The pegs were Ok, but I exchanged them for viola rose wood pegs of western provenience.
Of course all attributes I've used come from a comparison with my 'deam' oud like an old Nahat or so - I think this oud is fairly decent for what it
is.
Best wishes
Robert
PS I reworked this comment as I realized there are few spelling mistakes as well as some unnecessary exagerations
best regards
rojaros - 2-15-2009 at 02:36 PM
BTW the provisional nut you can see in the picture is made from white ebony from Laos. It's a nice wood, quite light and hard at the same time.
Of course it has all the disadvantages of a wooden nut, but it's easy to experiment with, that's why I used it in the first go.
best wishes
Robert