Description
A Solid Cedar Top Over a Mahogany Bowl
The Cedar Top Professional Oud Mahogany is the advanced-tier instrument in Tapadum’s Sultan Collection, built for players moving beyond a beginner instrument toward a genuinely professional voice. The soundboard is solid Canadian cedar, prized for the warm, immediate response that lets a Turkish oud’s fast melodic lines and ornamentation come through clearly, without the extra brightness a spruce top would add. Underneath, the bowl is built entirely from mahogany — a single-tonewood construction rather than an alternating-stave design — which gives the instrument a focused, even low end and a consistent tone across the full range of the fingerboard, from the open bass course up to the highest positions.
Ebony Fingerboard, Pegs, and Mother-of-Pearl Rosettes
The fingerboard and tuning pegs are both cut from ebony, a dense, tight-grained hardwood that holds its shape under string tension and gives the friction pegs the grip needed for precise, stable tuning — an important detail on a fretless instrument, where microtonal accuracy carries the melody. The soundhole is finished with three rosettes in a hand-cut mother-of-pearl inlay pattern, set into the cedar top around the central sound chamber, alongside a floral mother-of-pearl motif inlaid near the neck joint. A black pickguard shields the soundboard from pick contact during fast risha strumming, and the bowl carries a deep gloss finish that shows off the mahogany’s natural grain.
Specifications
| Soundboard | Solid Canadian Cedar |
| Bowl | Mahogany |
| Fingerboard | Ebony |
| Pegs | Ebony, friction-fit for precise tuning |
| Rosettes | Mother-of-Pearl, hand-cut ornamental design |
| Strings | Kürschner Professional Strings |
| Body Length | 48.5 cm (19.3″) |
| Neck Length | 19.5 cm (7.7″) |
| String (Scale) Length | 58.5 cm (23″) |
| Depth | 19 cm (7.5″) |
| Neck Width | 3.8 – 5.6 cm (1.5 – 2.2″) |
| String Height (Action) | 0.18 cm (0.07″) |
Who This Oud Suits
This model is built for advancing players who have outgrown a beginner instrument and want a genuinely professional voice without stepping up to a signature master-luthier price point. The all-mahogany bowl paired with the cedar top rewards a developed right-hand technique — projection and sustain continue to open up as playing hours accumulate, which makes it a natural next instrument after a first year or two of daily practice. It is equally at home as a dependable stage and studio companion for gigging musicians who need consistent tone and stable tuning night after night.
Turkish Maqam and Musical Fit
Voiced for the Turkish oud tradition, this instrument favors the brighter, more focused mid-range that Ottoman classical repertoire and fasıl ensemble playing depend on. The cedar top’s quick response supports fast ornamented passages and short melodic runs, while the fretless ebony fingerboard carries the quarter-tones central to Turkish maqam practice — taqsim improvisation, çeşni melodic coloring, and the rhythmic phrasing of usul across modal families such as Hicaz, Rast, and Hüseyni. Players moving between our Turkish Oud Smyrna and this Professional model will find a familiar playing feel with noticeably more headroom, sustain, and low-end focus.
Care and Maintenance
Store the oud in a hard case or padded gig bag, away from direct heat and sudden humidity swings, which protects the cedar top from cracking and keeps the mahogany bowl’s glue joints stable over the years. Wipe the soundboard and strings down after playing to keep rosin and hand oils from dulling the gloss finish, and bring the instrument in for a peg and setup check once a year, or sooner if the ebony pegs begin to slip under tension. A full range of cases, string sets, and risha picks for this instrument is available in our oud accessories collection, alongside the rest of our Turkish Oud range. See Wikipedia’s overview of the oud for the instrument’s broader history across Middle Eastern and Mediterranean musical traditions.
Worldwide shipping & 15-day return.
