Re: Electric Ouds

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Regarding the wonderful clip of David Lyndley playing
his electric oud on youtube:

Does his version have actual frets or just fret markings?

If it has frets,    it's not technically an oud.

This is not to say that it's illegitimate but
the way the original Oud is played and the ultimate
sound of the instrument have everything to do
with it's being fretless.

Of course, of the 44 basic Arabic Maqams,  over half of them
use quarter tones and quarter tone embellishements which
can only be played in the fretless mode.

I'm no expert on Ouds,  but I play one on T.V.

Rick

ps  by the way,  I don't know if people have mentioned it about this 
amazing
instrument, but it is the UR instrument that eventually became
the Lute, the Guitar, the Balalaika,  the Pipa and the Biwa.

For simple deep and heartfelt playing,  please check out my
first  teacher, Hamza El Din's record on Nonesuch,  Escalay, the Water 
Wheel