Description
The Cedar Top Professional Oud is the advanced-tier instrument in the Tapadum Sultan Collection, built for players who have outgrown a beginner instrument and want a genuinely professional voice without commissioning a one-off from an individual luthier. Where the Collection’s entry-level Turkish Oud Smyrna opens the line for first-time players, this model is voiced and finished for advancing and working musicians who need reliable intonation, sustain, and projection night after night.
The soundboard is solid Canadian cedar, prized among oud makers for a soft, immediate attack and a warm fundamental that opens up quickly under the hand — cedar tops tend to sound “played-in” sooner than spruce, which matters for a working instrument. Beneath it, the bowl is built from walnut staves, finished to a deep natural gloss that shows the wood’s own grain rather than a tinted lacquer. Walnut brings a rounded, resonant low end and a controlled decay that supports both rhythmic accompaniment and long, sustained taqsim improvisation.
The fingerboard and pegs are ebony, giving the neck a smooth, fast surface for the fretless slides and quarter-tones central to maqam playing, while the ebony pegs hold their friction fit reliably as the wood settles in over the first weeks of use. The soundboard is decorated with a traditional triple mother-of-pearl rosette set into hand-carved geometric latticework, trimmed in turquoise inlay — a handcrafted ornamental detail rather than a printed or stamped pattern. The instrument ships strung with Kürschner Professional strings, a set trusted by working oud players for balanced tension and clean articulation across all eleven strings.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Top (Soundboard) | Canadian Cedar |
| Bowl | Walnut |
| Fingerboard | Ebony |
| Pegs | Ebony — precise tuning capability |
| Rosettes | Mother-of-Pearl — handcrafted ornamental design |
| Finish | Natural gloss |
| Strings | Kürschner Professional Strings |
| Body Length | 48.5 cm (19.3″) |
| Neck Length | 19.5 cm (7.7″) |
| String Length | 58.5 cm (23″) |
| Depth | 19 cm (7.5″) |
| Width (Handle) | 3.8 – 5.6 cm (1.5 – 2.20″) |
| String Height | 0.18 cm (0.07″) |
This is an advanced-level instrument. It suits players who already have solid right-hand risha technique and left-hand fretless intonation, and who are looking to move up from a student or intermediate oud into a professional-grade voice for stage, recording, or serious daily practice. Its balanced scale and moderate bowl depth make it comfortable across both Turkish and Arabic repertoire, so it works equally well for the brighter, fast-ornamented lines of Ottoman fasıl practice and the deeper, sustained phrasing of Arabic maqam.
To keep the Cedar Top Professional Oud performing at its best, store it in a padded case away from direct heat, sunlight, and humidity swings, which can affect both the cedar top and the walnut bowl over time. Wipe the strings and soundboard down after each session to remove oils and sweat, and check the ebony pegs periodically, retensioning gently if they begin to slip as the wood acclimatizes to your playing environment. With reasonable care, a well-built cedar-and-walnut oud like this one will only continue to open up tonally over years of regular playing.
Learn more about the instrument’s history and construction on the Wikipedia oud overview. Worldwide shipping & 15-day return.
