Ideal for: Middle Eastern music players, fretless instrument enthusiasts, and anyone studying maqam-based traditions
The classic teardrop oud, the heart of Arabic music.
The oud is the central melodic instrument of Arabic music and one of the oldest stringed instruments still in widespread use. This Roosebeck Arabic Oud features a classic teardrop bowl built from rosewood staves with white pinstripe inlays between each, a spruce soundboard with three carved soundholes, and a fretless rosewood neck that lets you slide effortlessly between maqam intervals. Eleven strings in six courses give you the full Arabic range across more than three octaves.
Deep, Resonant Arabic Voice
Eleven strings, seven nylon-wound and four rectified nylon, produce the deep, resonant voice the Arabic oud is known for. The spruce soundboard responds beautifully to risha (pick) attack, and the three soundholes give the instrument its characteristic open, breathy projection. Range covers more than three full octaves.
About the wound strings: Silverplated copper-wound nylon bass strings give the lower courses warmth and body. The unwound nylon trebles cut cleanly without sounding harsh.
Rosewood Bowl with White Pinstripe Inlays
The teardrop bowl is constructed from rosewood staves with thin white pinstripe inlays between each stave, a classic decorative tradition. The neck and tuning pegs are rosewood. The fixed bridge sits on a rosewood pickguard that protects the spruce top from risha strokes during energetic playing.
The soundboard features one large central soundhole and two smaller ones below on the sides, an arrangement specific to the Arabic tradition.
Why three soundholes: The Arabic oud's three-soundhole pattern gives it more open projection and a slightly different tonal balance than the single-hole Turkish oud.
Fretless and Tuned for Maqam
The recommended tuning is the standard Arabic method: D G A D G C, low to high. The fretless rosewood neck is essential to oud playing, without frets, you can play the microtonal intervals (quarter tones) that define Arabic maqam-based music.
New to fretless playing? A fretless neck rewards practice with intonation. Most players spend their first weeks with a tuner nearby until their ear and fingers learn the positions. The bone nut at 1.625" is wide enough to make finger placement intuitive.
