While these days everywhere CNC and laser machines rule, Hossein Karimian still build and cut every little millimeters of his instruments by hand & hand-tools, and this gives his instruments a magical touch of luthiery that you can hear when you play them. This is nothing but the love and passion for what he does.
Absolutely Amazing and mindblowing workmanship from the Karimian's workshop. Everytime that i get his instruments in the shop, i wonder how good his instruments are. The eye for detail is at its highest possible grade as the sound of his instruments. And this oud is nothing less than that.
Let's take a look at this cadillac of Ouds, the 2019 Karimian made oud. This Oud appointments shine in pristine glory: delicately-colored African blackwood trim surrounds the body and rings the soundhole.
If this oud were any prettier, i'd rent it out for beauty pagents rather than sell it outright--but that would be a dishonor to the voice that lurks beneath the flawless surface. One strum of the strings reveals that the Torrefied Adirondack top and African blackwood bowl have been consistently matched and sound magnificently. An anomaly, we know, not really what you expect, but where there's a will there's a Hossein Karimian. Given that he's an absurdly talented Luthier, he was probably thinking of how to make this oud sound the best.
Once plucked, you'd better hold on for the ride: the voice is ferocious, with a well-defined low-end and treble notes to put a songbird to shame. I practically guarantee that whatever tune you decide to play on this Oud, you'll never want to hear it from another Oud, again.
This oud is flawless, and the voice makes me want to throw away all my ouds and snag this one for myself. The African blackwood is top notch, and what a Soundboard! Hossein Karimian voiced it with the magic touch for responsiveness and projection.
The sound of this instrument is everything you would expect from an instrument of this class, amazing volume and headroom, responsive, nice rich balanced overtones, powerful projection and an amazing dynamic range.
About torrefied wood:
It takes years for a new spruce to break in, to develop its tone and realize its full potential. As tonewood ages, its cell structure goes through changes, becoming much more resonant and responsive. After a few years, you get the payoff: you begin to hear the sound of a vintage Oud.
With the introduction of torrefied woods, professional builders are giving their instruments a head start on tone. The wood is heat-treated in an oxygen-free kiln, making it highly resonant and extremely stable. It's as if the wood is pre-aged. It looks and sounds like wood that's been broken in for many years!
Soundsample: https://youtu.be/BzEh_6XGUsw
Specs:
Bowl: Top grade African Blackwood
Soundboard: Torrefied Adirondack 5A grade
Bracewood: Torrefied Adirondack
Fingerboard: Ebony
Neck & pegbox: Arican Blackwood
Pegs: Wittner
Shams: Walnut/Maple
Binding: African Blackwood with handmade patterned purfling!
Scale: 58.5cm, 6 course
Finish: French polish
Top finish: French polish
Pickguard: Transparent
Strings: Oriental instruments custom set
Comes with hardcase which on its own is a beauty! Also hand made by H. Karimian
More info: