Loshem
Oud Lover
Posts: 22
Registered: 6-13-2008
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Mood: No Mood
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quality
I am wanting to purchase my first oud and I want one that is a good quality. Could someone list some reliable luthiers because I found some online for
$100 and I know that in the market of handmade instruments you get what you pay for. I don't want to get duped by a seemingly good deal and end up
with a low-grade instrument because I know that a poor instrument can discourage a new player. I'm not looking for sales pitches just advice on what
to look for when researching ouds like what woods make the best sounds and what luthiers are reliable in their work. Thank you.
-Losh
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MatthewW
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1031
Registered: 11-5-2006
Location: right here
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Mood: Al Salam
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Hi Losh- You want to do some research first and ask around. Look at the FAQs section and you'll find a list of oud makers that many of us have bought
from and are reliable. Your budget of $500, does that include shipping? Where are you located? Do you play any other stringed instruments? As far as
woods used and sound, your budget may limit you from finding an oud made with certain types of wood or combinations of woods, but don't be
discouraged. As far as what woods make 'the best sound' in an oud, this can be very subjective, one player may prefer a particular wood and another
prefer that wood or combination of woods. No two ouds sound exactly alike either, even if made with the same woods. The there is the inner bracing of
the oud which effects sound. Look at the various oudmakers websites in the FAQs section, ask questions, listen to sound samples, and check the
buy/sell section regulary for used ouds in your budget. Once you get as much info as possible together, I'm sure you'll soon find yourself a good oud
that will sound fine and play well.  Best of luck, MW
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Loshem
Oud Lover
Posts: 22
Registered: 6-13-2008
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Mood: No Mood
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Hey Matthew, thank for the reply. The $500 is my max budget for the oud only, though if the shipping exceed $100 then the budget of how much I can
spend on the out will decrease. I am located in Florida and I play guitar (a little bit from every camp: electric, acoustic, classical). I guess what
I am looking for is obviously a good tone but also good craftsmanship because since these are handmade instruments I consider it an investment and I
don't want to throw money into something that is low grade because I didn't seek out the advise from other experienced oud players. I can read the
decriptions that oud builders write for their instruments but I trust the consumer more because they have nothing to lose or gain from their critic.
I will continue to look around and do research and ask questions. Thank you for responding.
-Losh 
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MatthewW
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1031
Registered: 11-5-2006
Location: right here
Member Is Offline
Mood: Al Salam
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Hi Losh- I think there are a few oud players who live in and near Florida, it would be useful to make contact with any of them and if they are not
too far from you go have a look at their ouds and ask questions. You may find that many ouds made by the oudmakers listed in this forums FAQs section
to be beyond your budget; these guys make some of the best ouds around and the price reflects this. However keep on asking questions and you'll find
out what is good for you and also learn some useful things along the way. Be careful about ouds on ebay, if you see something there ask about it in
the forum and get some feedback before you buy something that you might later regret!
Like the guitar, you want an oud with low action but with minimum string buzz. You might want to ask about some of the specs, like the width of the
fingerboard at the nut. Ouds can have very narrow fingerboards at the nut, 33mm-34mm, but also wider like 39mm, 40mm, 42mm. Depending on your size
fingers and what feels comfortable you might prefer a narrower or wider nut. From what I have seen, 1 1/2" at the nut seems to be OK for a lot of
players, though I personally like it at 40mm for a 6 course oud. Then there is the string scale; ouds like guitars can have shorter or longer string
length scales, the distance from the nut to the bridge.
These are some of the things you want to look into on your journey into the world of oud! 
Maurice Shehata in Cairo makes ouds to suit various budgets, but they would be more than $500.00. His English is not very good but Mike, the man
behind this website can help you out if you are interested in a Shehata. Mike is one super helpful guy and will answer your email/U2U.
Another oud maker who many players have gotten started with is Haluk Erayadin; based in Turkey . He makes good professional ouds but also good quality
student and semi-pro ouds for just under $400 and over $500 (without shipping). Do a search on him ( he has a website) and also see what others are
saying about him in the forum. He also has a Canadian distributor. He is also the friendliest guy to deal with and will answer all your questions.
However do take your time looking around, talking with other makers and players, and you'll find something just right for you. Best wishes, Matthew
Added June 27 2008:
As of this time Haluk seems to have dissapeared somewhere and members can't seem to reach him. One member says he has shut up shop, and that a recent
oud he purchased from Haluk was very poor quality. This is all very unusual and odd, many of us had good experiencs with Haluk and I hope we find out
what happened to him.
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Christian1095
Oud Junkie
Posts: 454
Registered: 4-29-2008
Location: North Carolina, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Hey Losh,
I wasted about $250 buying an oud from Amazon (same as Lark in the Morning) and quickly ended up buying a much better one that was actually playable
from a member of this forum.
If you post that you're looking for an Oud on the "Buy and Sell" section of the site, someone might have a good student oud they'd be willing to sell.
But I would be REALLY cautious about buying a cheap oud from the Internet... Also, once you have a source, look them up in the seach portion of the
site to see if there is any feedback on them.... There are a couple of sellers out there who have gotten a bad rep on this board, so I'd avoid
them...
Chris Walters
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Loshem
Oud Lover
Posts: 22
Registered: 6-13-2008
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Thanks Christian I'll do that. Everyone seems to be very helpful when it comes to newbys so I have no doubt that I will find what I am looking for.
-Losh
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Loshem
Oud Lover
Posts: 22
Registered: 6-13-2008
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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has anybody been here?
http://www.instrumentalsavings.com/Oud_s/235.htm?referral=adwords&a...
They seem to be the same type of ouds that are sold on ebay, amazon, and other retail instrument stores.
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Christian1095
Oud Junkie
Posts: 454
Registered: 4-29-2008
Location: North Carolina, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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For instruments you find in the US - most from online music stores seem to all come from the same manufacturer. I made the mistake of buying an oud
from Mid-East manufacturing before I found this forum...
As a quick rule of thumb, I would want to know who the maker is first, then run a search on the forum to see any info about the maker or the
seller.
Happy hunting....
Chris Walters
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spyros mesogeia
Oud Junkie
Posts: 896
Registered: 9-10-2003
Location: WASHINGTON DC
Member Is Offline
Mood: play my ouds
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there are many luthiers here in this forum....Contact them my friend
Best Regards
Spyros
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katakofka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 811
Registered: 1-24-2008
Location: Cleveland
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gypsy
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Loshem: I got that Oud from instrument saving.I was desparate and I needed a oud rapidly
http://www.instrumentalsavings.com/Egyptian-Unadorned-Oud-12-String...
Honestly, it was not so bad. I had if for 1 year almost playing it daily, used labella strings not the 2 sets delivered with the oud (really terrible
sets). The problem with these kind of Oud is that you don't know the outcome. These Oud are assembled, put together and sold, no quality control. So
if you got lucky you can get a not bad one from instrumentsaving.com. So you have the choice of gambling with 350$ or getting a good Oud from a good
maker but you need to pay more that 1000$. Similar to instrumentsaving is Gawaher el fan, GEF.
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