In the arabic world the oud has the same popularity as the guitar enjoys in the western world, so whether you wish to play maqam-based arabic music or just want to explore the musical identity of your ud , here you can find quality ouds at affordable prices.
For solo work you can choose from one of the ornate arabic/egyptian ouds or for a more mellow sound the smaller turkish oud is perfect. If you are a musician on the move then the lightweight traveling oud is the ideal instruments.
If you wish to incorporate the oud sound in your band, and want to be heard, one of the electric ouds is your choice.
Get your kids familiar with the instrument, buy them the children oud, or if you are a confident player, the professional oud will reward your hours of practice.
How is the Oud different from the other stringed instruments?
The main distinguishing feature is the fact that is does not have any frets (metals bars under the strings to trap the strings so it vibrates at precise note positions. like the guitar). Being fretless means any sound outside the western musical scale is possible with the Oud.
How many Strings has the Oud
Ouds are normally made with 11 strings of which 10 are double strung (meaning there are 2 strings in each of the five courses) and one of them is on its own., Ouds can also have 10,12 or 13 strings. It is always advisable to change strings just after purchasing an oud, to make sure that the sound quality is not affected by old and oxidised strings, also for ease of tuning and long lasting playing.
The body of the Oud
The body has a bowl like body made of staves of solid wood, this shape is much stronger than a flat body, which means it can be made of thinner wood, in turns it means that this instrument can be much lighter giving it a strong but delicate feel at the same time.
Materials used to make the Oud
The staves of the body can be made from rosewood, ebony, sap wood, teak,walnut. The bowl and neck stave is often constructed with alternating dark and light hard woods. The soundboard is usually solid spruce, the finger board can be made of ebony. The peg-box is often made of mahogany and the best pegs are ebony.
Looking after your Oud
When storing the oud, slacken the tension off the strings to keep the stress off the structure of the oud. To avoid dust collecting in the peg-box and other surfaces of the oud try and store it in a soft or a hard case. Like all wood instruments do not subject the Oud to large variations of temperature or humidity, it is also important the Oud does not reach extreme temperatures and extreme humidity conditions, by extreme we mean anything that is uncomfortable for the human body
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