Braces · Attaching the soundboard · Fingerboard · Finishing · Gallery of the completed oud
SOUND
CLIPS
Doulab
Kurd
Al
Maseeh Qam
Samai
Bayati
Taqsim
Thykryati
Tin
oraiotita
In building the oud, I have come to appreciate the craftsmanship required to create a musical instrument. I have always been fascinated by this type of work and the discipline required to perform it. I had to learn many new techniques to build the oud. Individually, the parts of an oud are very thin and fragile, but once assembled they become part of a stronger structure. Learning to manipulate and shape these workpieces without damaging them was a challenging part of the project. Making something without the prior knowledge of the precision level required was the most frustrating aspect. Following instructions is one thing, but to know that one is performing the tasks properly is another. In the end, I am very satisfied with the outcome of the project. Based on that, I would likely build another one. I have only heard a handful of different ouds, and only one Nahat, so I am by no means an authority on the subject, but I am satisfied with the sound. I would hope that others more knowledgeable than me who listen to the recordings would offer a critique of their own. Please bear in mind that the recordings are performed by me, a beginning player.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank the following individuals for their support and advice.
This project would have been much more difficult, if not impossible, were it not
for their help:
Richard Hankey
Nazih Ghadban
Mike Malek
Wael
Kakish
Gary Bunce
Faruk Turunz
Najib Shaheen
Issa Boulos
Members
of the Musical Instrument Maker's Forum
And all the unmentioned individuals who took the time to drop me an e-mail in
support of the project. Your words were encouraging.
Technical Specs for this page:
The
recordings.
I used a Tascam 788 Digital Portastudio to record the oud and Cool Edit 2000
to encode the files. The mics are two Rode NT-1 condenser mics. The stereo recordings
are made without any added effects or equalization. I offer them as MP3 files
for easier downloading, without much loss in quality.
The photos.
The photos were taken with Norman Studio Lights and backdrop. We
used a Sony Dsc-S85 Digital Camera with Carl Zeiss lens.
