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Hey, so the story is that I recently purchased an oud off Amazon for about 270$-280$, it was expected to come in a month later... one morning I wake up and find it at my doorstep and I notice a hole in the package, the box itself emitted a scare that made me pray that nothing is wrong in the inside. So I opened it, the instrument was damaged with a cracked neck, and the body was punctured in numerous areas, along with a missing tuning peg and I immediately returned it, the shipping costs were outrageously 80$. Then after that traumatizing moment I vowed to never buy things from a long distance, this item came from Israel.
So now I'm wondering, does anyone know any oud-selling websites/oriental instrument stores in the US?
Sould you be in / considering Canada, we recently had a member served by an Iranian luthier there who seems to know his stuff pretty well. He delivered a good flamenco guitar though specialized on oriental bits, so you may expect a fine handcrafted oud yet for small budget there.
Posts: 3491
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Oud sellers in the US? (in reply to machopicasso)
quote:
Try the Guitar Gallery in DC
Sad to say the Guitar Gallery closed a couple of years ago. Paco de Malaga opened and operated it for years. He then sold it to Guillermo Juan Christie (who owns and operates "Flamenco Connection") about eight years ago. Apparently Guillermo could not make a go of it (perhaps a fallout from the financial crisis), and it finally closed.
Bill
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And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
RE: Oud sellers in the US? (in reply to BarkellWH)
That's too bad about the Guitar Gallery. The last time I was there I saw Guillermo stringing an oud. Perhaps the OP can order one from Flamenco Connection.
I believe fellow member and proprietor, Tom Nunez of LaFalseta.com, used to sell lutes and ouds. So I'm sure if you contact him, he would be able to provide you with a few leads.
Try "Lark in the Morning" - last I checked they have shops in a couple places in CA and even a store in Seattle, and they've been doing mail order for decades.
Lark in the Morning is not that great, nick name Shark in the Morning.
They sell mostly low end goods via mail order. The ouds they sell are nto terrific. I used to live near the brick and mortar store in SF and I often went there to snoop around on my lunch hour.
Try asking at Mikes Oud Forum, they have a used uds for sale section and a billion guys on that foro will talk oud for days. And days, and days....
Most Ouds you buy off of Amazon are not really playable and the tonality is totally messed up unless you are extremely lucky. You are better off ordering from a luthier in the middle east however it will cost you more than the price you paid there. If you are interested then I can recommend a few names some in Qatar and some in Iraq and they make some really fine Ouds. they also ship worldwide. I own one that's made by the father of the luthier in Iraq, his name is Fouad Jihad which is the Oud in my profile picture.. I believe he passed away but his son is just as good. The sensitivity of their Ouds is great to say the least.
I bought an amazing hand made oud on ebay. Thing is, it's left handed so there was little market for it. If you know what you're looking for, it might be another place to check.