Arabic Oud Black Walnut

I bought an Oud for my husband for Christmas. He never played one before and he loves this gift. The Oud was well packaged and there were no defects when we unwrapped it. It arrived within the time allotment we were given. We really love this instrument, and I hope to buy my husband another one in future if he wants one. Thank you to you all for your prompt and courteous service. All the best!

Took a while to get delivered but it was worth it. It does need to be polished so it looks like the photos but it plays great and my family has been very impressed!

Hello , I just bought this oud on the 20th of March ,for 502,74$ and finally today I got it in the morning , delivered to canada wich is not bad for the price I paid for dhl shipping . I liked how the oud is well crafted and protected , so the shipment was safe. the rishas was softer than I think , I didn't appreciate much . *the edge of the fingerboard on the soundboard dosen't rich the sound hole ( look to the pic) wich make it no good-looking . Also the fingerboard on the neck is smooth and comfortable to play . The pegs are well maded wich make it easy to tune the instrument. -I wish that the strings were 1 or 2 mm farther from the fingerboard , beacause they are too close and disable me to do some technical things like playing a tune with only finger. The sound is clear and warm , I appreciate that a lot . The bowl is made with 20 segments wich is not bad . In general , I am satisfied with the instrument especially I had 7 years I didn't touch a OUD so it's a good restart .

I've had this oud for about 2 weeks, played it pretty much every day since I've got it, and it's been serving me well so far. For context, I have a guitar & bass background (fretted & fretless), so I have some idea of what I'm looking for in a stringed instrument. And for the $400 USD (or in my case $490 CAD) that I paid, I don't have much to complain about as a beginner. I bought this on the recommendation of Navid from Oud for Guitarists. He's spoken highly of ouds from Turkish factories in the past for their consistency and value, and he was doing a one-off special with Ethnic Musical at the time (I didn't get to take advantage of it unfortunately). I ordered on January 2nd and reached me in Vancouver, Canada on the 25th. Not bad considering the Christmas backlog the post was dealing with (and well within Ethnic Musical's delivery estimate). It was well-packaged in a sturdy box, braced with foam tubes, wrapped in 3-4 of bubble wrap, with the rest of the box filled in with packing paper. You'd have a hard time breaking it in transport unless you somehow folded the thing in half. In the box, the oud came in a carrying bag; basically just a nylon sleeve with straps and a pocket. It'll help you backpack it, but definitely won't protect it from any accidental blows (for a free bag with a $400 instrument, I'm not complaining). In the pocket was the 3 rishas, a business card, and a 10% off coupon. Only other thing worth noting was the strings were loose out of the box, which makes sense. So you'll have to tune it up, which Ethnic Musical and Oud for Guitarists have resources on how to do. Looking over the instrument itself, it's clear where costs were saved to keep the price down, but also that attention was spent on what really matters: comfort and playability. The edge of the fingerboard on the soundboard is rough, but the fingerboard of the neck itself is smooth and comfortable. Same with the edge of the bowl itself. The nut looks a little scuffed up from tool marks, but it's cut properly and at a comfortable height (I think the F strings might be a touch too close together, though. No big deal so far). The pegs aren't the cleanest-looking (and one has a small chunk missing), but they're made of proper wood, shaped properly, and hold tune fairly reliably. And the body is overall not terribly extravagant with some minor dings and glue showing (and a small crack on the pick guard), but it's all set up well, it's comfortable, and most importantly, doesn't fight with me as a beginning player. No complaints about the sound either. It's mellowed out a bit as I've broken it in, but nothing's been sounding dead or dull so far, and the punch from the higher strings is super satisfying. *It's also worth noting that the soundboard is uncoated, which affects the sound, in case you're concerned about that. * Overall, I've been happy with my experience. Care was taken with the delivery of the instrument, and the instrument itself is everything I wanted as a beginner, especially for the price. So if you're wanting to give the oud a try, but want to get comfortable with the instrument and develop your skills before going all-in for a pricey luthier-made oud, this one is great buy.

I waited to buy my Oud for a long time because I was worried it might not be like it was promised. I was very surprised at how finely made it was. The instrument is beautifully carved and the notes are very fine to hear. I recommend this Oud very highly, it is worth every cent.

This instrument, quite frankly, plays as gorgeously as it looks. While the instrument felt a bit clumsy initially to me, as well as to my experience with these items, I found myself getting comfortable and having a great deal of fun before long.  I find myself playing it for at least a few minutes every day.

I loved the look of this oud on the website and certainly wasn’t disappointed when it arrived. It’s a beautifully finished product. Shipping was on time and the seller was helpful in answering my queries.