joklany
Oud Maniac
Posts: 74
Registered: 2-9-2009
Location: Dubai
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What gives an oud its unique sound?
Dear all
I was wondering what are the elements that determine each oud individual unique sound in the order of influence.
The answer may be abvious but not to me!
Best regards
Jaafar
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Aymara
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1162
Registered: 10-14-2009
Location: Germany / Ruhr Region
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Hi Jafaar!
It's not that obvious, because there are many factors involved.
First the strings ... the brand, the length, the diameter, the material (nylon versus PVF, silver versus bronze).
But also the oud itself, it's design. The size of the bowl ... not only Turkish versus Arabic, but there are also differences between several Arabic
ouds. Then the used type of wood ... the bowl and soundboard are most important, but also the braces below the soundboard, which are a secret of each
luthier. Here also the thickness of the wood plays a role, especially on the soundboard.
Then the soundhole concept ... oval versus circular ... three or only one soundhole ... with or without rosettes.
This was only a try to make a long story short ... I bet experienced luthiers are able to write several pages about this topic 
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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joklany
Oud Maniac
Posts: 74
Registered: 2-9-2009
Location: Dubai
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Hi Chris
Thank you for the reply. It is certainly more complicated than I thought!
With everything else being equal, any idea of the nature of the sound with each type of wood used for the bowl and soundboard or is it just a matter
of trial?
Best regards
Jaafar
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Aymara
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1162
Registered: 10-14-2009
Location: Germany / Ruhr Region
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Hi again!
Yes, you could make a science out of it ... HERE's an example.
I find it very interesting, what Master Faruk found out with the help of this CAD software.
| Quote: | | ... or is it just a matter of trial? |
Yes and no ... depends on the wood ... for many woods experiences are already well known, a rosewood bowl for example gives a warmer bass than a
wallnut bowl. But I think for ouds these experiences aren't well documented. For accoustic guitars on the other hand you'll find descriptions of wood
sound characteristics online ... sorry, no link available ... I found some with the help of google, but didn't save them.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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