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estebanana -> RE: Oud wihtout sound hole (Mar. 24 2016 7:42:45)
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I tried to brace and oud with fan braces behind the bridge and regular lateral bars above the bridge. It seemed like a good idea,but not sure if it made the oud louder. I've retopped a few ouds and did those with traditional braces. Did not seem to make much difference with volume.
Sound ports don't automatically mean more volume. if it were me and I were trying to make a loud oud I would talk to John Shelton about his double shell bodied guitars and think about that route. Ask John about it.
Ouds and guitars are significantly different, but maybe the double shell idea might be adapted to the oud. It is worth a try.
The Munir Basheer style oud with the trapeze bridge changes the oud sound a lot. I expect that fan braces will change the sound also and probably not in a good way. The oud bridge works differently from guitar bridge and you can cancel out how it moves with the wrong braces. The main problem with fan braces is that they might not be strong enough to take the tension which pulls the oud top into a depression in front of the bridge. You know what I mean? The fans might have to be deep and thin to take the tension and that might cancel out some sound. Low guitar fanbraces tend to follow the top if it depresses due to tension. The lateral brace under the soundhole has to take the tension also. The other idea you have to solve with fan braces is how the braces engage the outer rim of the oud, the traditional oud braces work because they are precision fitted to the rim. How would you make the top rim connection? That would be my question and will the fans be light weight enough, but still be strong. maybe carbon fibre fan braces?
Two other guitar bracing systems I would investigate before fan braces are lattice braced tops, balsa sticks with carbon fibre reinforcement, and cross over brace system like Greg Byers has used. Diamond shaped lattice with parabolic shaped fan braces. I'm pretty sure someone has already experimented with the lattice brace balsa /carbon fibre because this works very well with paper thin tops. Oud tops are generally between 1.5 mm to 2.2 or .3 mm- Older building styles have had them very thin. Thin and stiff generally means loud, but on a guitar if the top it too thin is can sound how we say in English "tinny" like hitting a tin can. But the oud is different and designed to work with a very thin top.
If you ask at Mikes Oud Forum see if any one has built ouds with lattice pattern balsa ans carbon fibre, I bet there is someone. You can also find Richard Handkey on Mikes Ouds, he goes by the name Dr. Oud. He knows a lot. Good guy.
One more thing, that fingerboard extension all the way to the bridge? I doubt that is helping at all. Probably making it sound not as good as it should. Non essential baggage encumbering the top. Try a small sound hole on the top, maybe like 60mm wide and open a 30mm wide sound port near the neck block.
I see other potential problems now too. Mostly that the oud is over built and over finished. Those things detract from sound quality and volume.
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