Oud 7 courses ? What's that ?

From the traditional oud which has 6 rows, , we add a row in the low or in the high range to obtain a “7 courses” oud. The result is 7 notes from low to high in open strings.

For Arabic ouds, the 7 courses means an extra low C or high F. The tuning from low to high is often as follows: C F A D G C F. By the way, low strings are specific to musical styles. One can also imagine a 7 course D G La D G Do F or C G La D G Do F … There are many variations.

For Turkish ouds, it also exists. the tunings are just one tone higher than the Arabic tunings. For example CFADGCF becomes : DGBEADG

Electric oud moon hollow arabic music najarian deeb egypt turkish - lune~1

Why an Oud 7 courses ?

Najarian ウード Electric oud Elektro Ud silent hollow arabic luthiery music 7 courses - bottom

This allows musicians to play a wider repertoire because the sound possibilities are more extensive. Depending on the cultural or musical region, the tunings of the oud can be for example CFADGC or FADGCF… A 7 courses CFADGCF allows to play all the pieces composed on these 2 systems.

It is also easier to play because there are fewer transverse movements to play the same notes.

Oud 8 courses - oud 9 courses ... Possible ?

Technically it is possible. But it has its limits! The difficulties add up quickly. As soon as the instrument is enlarged, this means :
   – Larger pieces of wood originally, and therefore more expensive. The neck, the fingerboard, the bridge, nuts …
   – More effort, more tension, in the instrument. So more reinforcements! All my instruments are reinforced with carbon bars. More bars = more money.
      – A very special microphone setup. The ouds are amplified by ultra wide piezo pickups. For more than one 7-stroke oud, several mics have to be assembled. This setup is very technical and the balance of all rows of strings is delicate…
     – Special strings. Especially in the low register, very low G strings are expensive per unit. To be expected.
     – No more clutter. A pegbox for an 8-stroke oud is automatically longer and therefore more fragile in its environment.
      – More compact string spacing on the bridge. If you keep the traditional spacing of a 6-row oud, you can end up with an ultra-wide bridge. This is compensated for by reducing the spacing between the rows to a certain extent. This means that the playing sensation requires more precision in the rhythmic hand (bridge side).

Can I order every electric ouds SBD with 7 or 8 or 9 ... courses ?

In reality, an oud with 7 or 8 rows does not automatically mean 14 or 16 pairs of strings.

Below you can see the different ways of making them, with the example of ouds tuned in Arabic style. The same variations are possible for the tuning of Turkish ouds.

7 courses: C F AA DD gg cc ff (12 strings in total) – This option costs 150 euros.

As a general rule, in order to reduce the production costs of the 7-stroke oud, I propose this setup. There are here 2 simple basses C and F to avoid a compact stack of strings at the bridge.
No enlargement is necessary. This setup is possible on all my electric ouds. Sylent-oud, Oud moon, Oud EZ, Cumbus … 

7 courses : C FF AA DD gg cc ff (13 strings in total) – This option costs 200 euros.
Can be fitted to all my electric ouds
Requires larger elements : neck / fingerboard / bridge / a double piezo pickup / an additional carbon reinforcement … neck / fingerboard / bridge extension / double piezo pickup / additional carbon reinforcement / longer head part  …

courses  : CC FF AA DD gg cc ff (14 strings in total) – This option costs 220 euros.
Can be mounted on all my electric ouds
Requires larger elements : neck / fingerboard / bridge / a double piezo pickup / an additional carbon reinforcement … neck / fingerboard / bridge extension / double piezo pickup / additional carbon reinforcement / longer head part  …

courses : G C F A D g c f (8 strings in total)  – This option costs 100 euros.
Can be mounted on all my electric ouds.
No enlargement is necessary. 

courses : G C FF AA DD gg cc ff (14 strings in total) – This option costs 250 euros.
Can be mounted on all my electric ouds
Requires a neck / fingerboard / bridge extension / double piezo pickup / additional carbon reinforcement / …

courses  : G CC FF AA DD gg cc ff (15 strings in total) – the Maximum  – This option costs 300 euros.
Can be mounted on Oud moon with pegbox / Oud EZ with pegbox
Requires a neck / fingerboard / bridge extension / double piezo pickup / additional carbon reinforcement …

A 9 courses is not possible for me !

 

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