To Nazih Ghadbhan 18 September, 2008

Hello,



(Je peut ecrire en francais si vous voulez)



In January I bought your oud 953 (2002) from a third party, and I am
 very, very pleased with it. However recently some buzzing has started,
 particularly at the second finger position, where there is some groove wear.
 This was there when I bought it but seems to be getting worse (although I do 
need new strings).



I don't want to send it back for repair, but wondered if you had replacement
 finger boards? 'Special fibre' I believe. There is a very good luthier near
 my home who could fit this.



Also I thought a temporarily filling the grooves with superglue and then
 smoothing down (I have done this successfully with worn violin finger
boards). This isn't pretty but does no harm to the oud.



I wonder what your thoughts are?



Thanks,



Bernie Stocks


20 September 2008



Dear Bernie


thanks for your email,


my congratulations for the oud #953 it is an excellent oud,


Regarding the fingerboard I suggest you to remove the old one of special
fiber and let the luthier at your region puts one fingerboard of ebony or
 of any hard wood.


I think the old fingerboard is glued with hide glue so it is easy to take it
off.



Best regards



Nazih Ghadban

To A Friend 22 September 2008

Nazih got back to me and just said to find a new fingerboard, but I'm going
to try superglue anyway.

To A Friend 25 September 2008

It worked fine - and you wouldn't even notice unless you knew

To Nazih Ghadbhan 24 October, 2008

Hello Nazih,

Thank you for your advice about the fingerboard (Oud 953 - Nisreen). I have
filled the grooves for the moment and will fit a new fingerboard as soon as
possible.

I would also like to replace the wooden nut with a bone one. The wound
strings stick a bit when tuning, even after using graphite or soap to
lubricate the grooves. This can be a problem when recording with other
instruments as you need to be tuned exactly for this (i.e. A=440).

I have made and replaced a nut successfully on an (cheap!) oud before, but I was wondering if you could send me a replacement made by yourself? I will of course pay for materials, time and postage. If this is not convenient I understand.

Also, whether I make the nut or you send me one, I need to know the
following. Is the nut glued on with hide glue? There is a slot in the neck
behind the nut (see picture). Is this there to make the removal of the nut
easier? I notice you can see through this slot.











Finally just to say I play your oud every day - it is wonderful!

Regards,

Bernie Stocks

25 October 2008

Good day Bernie


I hope everything is doing well with you,


Regarding a nut of bone,usually I make the nut when I have the oud
 To fit it accurately,for me it is hard to make a nut without trying it
On the oud,really I am sorry
 Some oud makers put a small drop of glue at the middle of the nut, others
 let it mobile,a nut stable or mobile is the same .

Enjoy your oud Bernie ! I remember #oud #953 had a lovely deep and rich 
arabic sound .


I attach you some pics of your oud taken during the work.



Have happy time



Sincerely yours


Nazih















To A Friend 10 January 2009

After lots of deliberation and contact with my Lebanese Luthier I
replaced the nut on that oud with a bone one. In the end it took a
couple of hours and was easy peasy. The old one cracked off no problem, I left the new one unglued and it now tunes a treat.

Result!