Re: oud simulator?

[mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 7:26 PM +0200 6/22/06, Torstein H. Rem wrote:
>I`m quite convinced no pedal will do the job. Maybe if you go midi 
>guitar you might
>find something, don`t know about the Roland VG88 either.

There's at least one guy over on the VG list who's using one of the 
Godin fretless nylon-string Multiacs ( 
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinmultnylonfretlessp.htm ) with one of 
the Roland VG units.  He just raves about its sound and response.

I'm betting you could probably get a pretty passable Oud sound from 
using a fretless with either a VG-8 or a VG-88, with the added bonus 
that the VG series -- especially the VG-8 -- has really extensive 
re-tuning abilitlies.  So, you could go from standard guitar tuning 
to Oud tuning (or even switch between different Oud tunings -- 
Arabian DGADGC to Iraqi FADGCF, for instance, without breaking a 
string) at merely the press of a footswitch.

For my latest Frankenproject, in fact, I've been planning on taking 
the course Bill originally suggested and having the frets pulled on 
my old Vox 12-string, then tuning it for 11-string Arabian and having 
a GK-3 retrofitted.  I'm looking at keeping it as a steel string, 
though (I'm currently trying to match up the proper string gauges to 
that tuning since I want to avoid using any wound strings, with the 
possible exception of the "bam" which might end up as a flatwound).

However, I'm not really trying to perfect an Oud sound, despite what 
it may seem.  I just think the Arabian tuning would work well on such 
an instrument, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what it will 
do with the VG.

        --m.
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