Mike's Oud Forums

Beginning Soundboard Crack HELP!!

Marcus - 3-8-2009 at 06:51 AM

Hi oudies:wavey:

yesterday I changed the strings of my turkish oud.
While taking a closer look at "her" soundboard I find a small beginnig crack there. I post a few pictures, even if there is not much to see on them.

So,what can I do to prevent the crack getting bigger??

Thanks in advance,

Marcus

nayoud - 3-8-2009 at 06:56 AM

Marcus
I guess you have to humidify your oud as soon as possible ...
.. i don't know if your oud has a rosette or not but any humidifier would do, even if its an in case humidifier. Look here for some pertinent info ...good luck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB8tELj43RE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWcGdWFiv4M

Cheers

Pic2

Marcus - 3-8-2009 at 06:56 AM

Marcus - 3-8-2009 at 07:02 AM

Hi Hisham:wavey:
as you can see in the second pictures the oud has rosettes.
I do not have a hardcase, just a good gigbag.

Do you have any ideas?

Regards

Marcus

nayoud - 3-8-2009 at 07:11 AM

Hi Marcus,
You need something more than an in case humidifier at this point. I would increase humidity in the room where the oud is by unorthodox means, given the situation.

I usually use a cool mist room humidifier, but sometimes when its too dry and i mean below 40 % relative humidity (even when I'm using the room humidifier) I just open the hot shower for a while until RH reaches 58% in the adjacent room. l would leave the oud there - and at that RH level - for a while then put it back in the gig bag with an in case humidifier before sending it to a luthier to be fixed.
I hope this helps
Cheers

Marcus - 3-10-2009 at 01:32 AM

Hi Hisham :wavey:
yesterday i bought a RH measure-thing.The RH was just 35,5%.
So I humidify it(the oud. not the room:D) by putting a damp sponge in the gigbag.
There is no luthier in my area, but I find a violin-maker and let him take a look and fix it if possible.

Thanks a lot for your help,

All the best,

Marcus

nayoud - 3-10-2009 at 02:58 AM

Good Luck Marcus
cheers

francis - 3-10-2009 at 06:37 AM

Marcus,
A fiddle maker won't have any problem to fix the soundboard; the hide glue is the same to make violins....
It's a good thing to add humidity in the gig bag, but I agree entirely with Nayoud: the room must not being under 40% humidity during a long time, for ouds and for everything else.
When you take your oud to play, it comes from a 60 or 65% humidity area to a 30% one.....not good at all. It could be like a jump from bass to high temperatures.....
This humidity default generally stops with the end of winter : it's caused by heating.
Good luck for the repair.
Cheers.
Francis