Go to www.oud-ud.com
These are some of my OUDS also spelled UD and sometimes called the Middle Eastern LUTE or GUITAR and also AOUD.
The OUD is played and enjoyed throughout the Near and Middle East and North Africa and has gained a very large following in other parts of the world, including Europe, the USA, Canada, and yes the Far East. there are even enthusiasts in Japan too. . The OUD is fretless and has a deep beautiful mellow sound like no other instrument.
The OUD usually has from 10 to 12 strings deoending on the country of origin and builder and has various tunings depending on the type of OUD and style of playing. I usually tune my OUDS, starting from the top single string,C#F#BEAD or EABEAD. The only exception being my Arabic OUDS which I tune to DGADGC or BEADGC. Damage can result from over tuning. . Traditionally, the OUD was played with an eagle's feather but is now played with a long plastic plectrum and other material forms. My favorite way to play is with my thumb.
There are two basic styles, Arabic and Turkish, with another relatively unknown Iranian oud.. The Arabic OUD is usually heavier in weight and is artisticly embellished with various beautiful inlay, however this is not to say that this is a rule. The Turkish OUD is lighter in weight and is much simpler in appearance. Both, however, are beautiful instruments. Karibyan, Manol, and Nahat are a few of the master builders of the past whose instruments are still sought after today.
I was about 15, the early 1960's, when my father bought me my first oud, an Arabic oud made by Karabet Der Bedrosian from the Syrian grocery store on Shaumut Ave. Boston. I can still smell the olives and nuts and spices. I was priviledged to get some lessons from various oud players and got to see first hand many wonderful oud players at the many dances and concerts, I just watched and observed. I got to play in a band in the 1960's which gave me the experience of playing in front of people. It was in the 1970's when I started to have an interest in building my own oud. My interest just lingered for years, there were no books, no guides, nothing to help me. I took a course in classical guitar making where the teacher at least had seen ouds and related them to European lutes. He sold me a book on lute building by Cooper. It was there in class that I discovered that I could play the oud using my thumb nail as a pick so from that time on I practised using just my thumb nail. I still had not attempted to build because of the many questions that I had and no one to ask. Finally, I took the first step in building by first trying to cut wood for the backs, I destroyed enough mahogany to build at least 5 ouds. I took a class in wood working and carpentry at the famous North Bennett Street School in Boston. From the lute building book I was able to make a solid form for the back. From there I was able to figure out how to make the back and front and neck/peg box from the lute book and other sources. I completed my first oud in 1998. Wasn't the greatest but I did it without real guidance. I used machine tunners for my first oud but then after feeling how top heavy it was I used traditional wooden pegs thereafter.
I don't build to sell I only build as a hobby.
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