Interesting bits about peg paste, fret tuning by cent difference, and pegs going oblong. That's a very well-done instructional video. Thank you, Mr Shepherd.
Thank you! Great tutorial on setting up a lute! My 14-string theorbo has one of its pegs slipping, probably because the thin end of the peg is too thick and slightly oval, too. I understand that the shiny part is in fact the prominent part of the oval cross section to be scraped off. However, I don't know how to check the tightness of the thin and the thick ends independently.
When I have my own lute I plan to add decorations to the peg handles. They'll be very minor, especially to anyone seeing them while I play. But I'll know they're decorated, and I think it'll make me love my lute just a little more.
Well there are lots of string suppliers all over the world, but it's not as straightforward as it is for the guitar, where typically you buy a "set" of strings. With the lute there are lots of choices concerning materials and tensions, and of course lutes come in different sizes and some of them use different tunings. Please feel free to ask any questions - if you tell me what type of lute, the tuning and the string length, I can suggest some possible solutions.
@@luteshop Thanks for the reply! So my 7 course lute was easy to find strings for because I could buy a pack from Roosebeck much like purchasing guitar strings. However, my new lute is a 10 course lute mesuring 24" from the bridge to the nut, I imagine I'd be tuning it in G. That seems to be the standard tuning.
Hello Sir., I've just bought a 8 course Renaissance lute, and the first string (g) has broken, i think just because the ex owner didn't change it for a long time. I want to change them with pyramid strings from the site Thomann, but it says that the string dimensions is 0.52 for g' if length between the bridge and the nut is 60 cm, like in my case. Do you think it's all okay? There will be no problems? Thank you!
I think there may be some misunderstanding somewhere. Normally the top string for a 60cm lute would be about .45mm nylon. If the lute is heavy, a slightly larger diameter might be suitable, but not as large as .52mm.
@@luteshop I've just noticed that it doesn't say for 60 cm lute, but 57.3 cm lute, which is strange cause they sell 60 cm lute. But anyway, these are the strings dimensions: 0,50 0,93 / 0,44 0,78 / 0,72 0,72 / 0,58 0,58 / 0,48 0,48 / 0,75 0,75 / 0,55 0,55 / 0,50 mm. I cannot understand, 0.50 g' it's okay for a 57.3 lute but not for a 60cm lute? Or anyway 0.50 does not make sense? Thank you a lot, really, it is so difficult to speak with experts!
@@francescocentonze5798 I can't make any sense of these numbers. I would suggest 1st course .45, 2nd course .50, third course .62, then you have some decisions to make about type of string. I would suggest .76 nylgut for 4th course, 1010 Pyramid for 5th course, 1016 Pyramid for 6th course (+ .68 nylgut octave), 1020 Pyramid for 7th course (+ .73 nylgut octave), 1026 8th course (+.85 nylgut octave). I'm sorry this is so complicated, because nylon is less dense than gut and doesn't really work at large diameters, nylgut is only a little less dense than gut and so is useful for the intermediate strings, and for the bass strings there are many possible solutions and it's hard to be specific about what will work for you. Personally I prefer to use gut strings as far as possible but even then there are problems with what kind of string to use. Perhaps for a beginner the combination of nylon and nylgut, and wound-on-nylon basses, is a good place to start.
Dear Martin, I wonder what sort of peg paste will you recommend for bedding in black-stained pearwood pegs (bearing in mind your advice that the "Hill compound" would not really suit this wood?) Thanks very much, Luciano.
Hill's peg paste is dark brown, so suitable for all pegs except those which are very pale in colour - boxwood, holly, etc. It's fine with brown woods like plum or pear, though I like to be careful if the pegbox is a light colour as well. For pale pegs you can use a mixture of dry soap and talcum powder.
@@luteshop Thank you very much for your prompt and thorough reaction, it is much appreciated! The pegs are as mentioned in pearwood (black-stained) and to complement my question, the pegbox is in sycamore yew. I understand from your advice that this combination also takes the "Hill" nicely. Best regards, Luciano.
Hi I'm from Utah, I'm a musician with an old lute, And there is no one here that teaches this so thank you. These have been very helpful. I'm sure you get a lot of people asking for help, but I wonder if there is a way I could ask some questions? I'm struggling with the pegs that are far too tight to tune. And Finding the right tuning set
You can ask here and I will try to answer. The tightness of pegs does change a bit with the weather. If you can't turn a peg at all you can try to reduce the humidity (by shining a lamp on the pegbox, for example). Once you get the peg out, you can look to see if it's oval, or too tight at the thin end. Peg paste will help to keep it running smoothly. If a peg fits well it doesn't need to be jammed in super tight.
@@luteshop This is a true worry; I'm still pondering a 6-course - as few strings as possible - but this your communication worries me - pegs that won't cooperate! Wasn't this, i.e. the tuning worry - with increasingly more courses - why it all turned into vihuelas and subsequently our modern guitar - lutes fell out out time? But the lute sound...so lovely innit, not much can match it. It's not weak, but it's heard at a distance. We all need that today 2024.
@@HakanNilsson-y7n As I say, if pegs are fitted properly they work fine, and continue to do so - I have a lute which I made 42 years ago which has never needed any maintenance. Vihuelas and guitars existed from the 15th century onwards. The decline of the lute has nothing to do with technology, more to do with changing musical tastes and the development of larger ensembles in larger venues.
@@luteshop Oki, sorry sir, I'm talking too much - at that against better knowledge 😁. The sound of a lute is heaven, and I've not really given up the thought of a 6-7 course instrument, despite my old age. All the best to you! /Hakan
@@luteshop And while I'm at it: how often do you change strings on your lute? For the guitar they say every other month or similar, but I'd never followed that poor advice - not with three instruments, and me not performing.
Martin Shepherd, Thank you for your tips, I've been watching them for over a year, but today I picked up a used 7 course lute in G. I think I need to buy new strings because the previous owner seems to have wound the entire length of the strings onto the pegs right up to the edge making it impossible for the pegs to "hold" the strings in place. I don't know how long it has been since the lute was restrung, but I suspect the strings would not take kindly to being unwound and then re-wound again. Harp strings don't (I'm familiar with harp). Have you suggestions of where I might find "peg paste"? Is it something other instruments also use? I have subscribed to your channel.
Hi Susanne, for attaching strings to pegs see my video th-cam.com/video/nPJC0tGICMA/w-d-xo.html It sounds as though all you have to do is unwind the string, cut a bit off the end and reattach it. Peg paste is sold in a kind of lipstick container by Hills of London - you can buy it from violin shops/suppliers. Let me know if you have any further problems.
Thank you Martin Shepherd! I did some of that (unwinding, removing, cutting, rewinding...) then found the pegs wouldn't stay in place almost popping out and moving them to tighten the strings so they'd be in tune bruised my fingers (yes). So I asked my local orchestra, and the "strings" recommended a luthier who I've woked with in the past. Which bois down to the lute being with him for the time being as I wait for the new strings to arrive. He has worked with lutes before although most of his business is with the violin to double bass range. However he did note that the strings were pinched in the nut and will adjust that. With your kind permission I will contact you after the lute "comes home again and hope to arrange a few basic lessons.
I have a pretty old lute that was originally from a guy that is already dead a swiss lute player i think he played concerts my grandparents then got his lute and im trying to paly it and its not in bad shape tho apparantly he took the fretts out now i have a frettless lute but i just remember thats a tenor lute i think it has 9 double strings and 1singular string Youre videos are helping because it was pretty hard to retune the lute after it wasnt tuned for such a long time but i dont know if the strings are still good I saw in the lute that its from 1960 and i still have the replacemdnt strings (1961)
Sounds interesting! I wonder who the Swiss lute player was? Lutes (apart from modern Arabic lutes) always have/had frets, so you will need to replace them. My video shows how to tie frets but you may need more guidance in terms of where they should be placed - feel free to contact me if you need more help (contact details on my website at www.luteshop.co.uk).
Hello! Recently my family obtained an instrument which possibly could be a lute, but we aren’t very sure. I was wondering if you know of anywhere to go to ask about it or send it maybe? All the best! Thank you!
This is wonderful! I wonder, could anyone help me find where to purchase strings? I have a 12 sting, or 6 chorus lute I would think, though I know very little about them. Any bit of research I do seems to point me to an OUD, however this particular instrument has frets. Thanks for any help and thank you for a terrific, informative video.
It depends what your lute is like - can you give us some idea of where it came from, and how much it weighs? The stringing requirements of an oud are very different from a lute.
@@luteshop I bought it used from a music school, no information about its origins. It has 12 tuning pegs that resemble a violins in that they are wood and just held in by friction. Also it has 9 frets. it looks a lot like the one from this video with an additional string option. Sorry if that isn't helpful and I thank you for any help you can offer. Very grateful to get a reply!
I have no idea if you ever got a response, but if you are looking to get strings for lutes, I would recommend contacting Aquila who specializes in strings for older instruments. For example, in the USA, you can visit them at: www.aquilausa.com/luteguitar.html
The peg is most probably stuck because an increase in humidity has caused the wood to swell up. So one way to tackle it is to reduce the humidity, which you can do by shining a desk lamp on it to warm it gently. If that doesn't work, you can try tapping on the thin end of the peg using a small dowel to make contact with the end of the peg and hitting it (gently!) with a small hammer.
The standard tuning for the "renaissance" lute for most of the 16th century was in fourths with a third in the middle. For a lute in G, this means (starting with the highest pitched string) g' d' a f c G for the top six courses. The 7th course was usually tuned either a fourth (D) or a second (F) below the 6th. Of course lutes were always made in different sizes which had to be tuned to different absolute pitches but the pattern stays the same.
When you first get a lute it takes a while to get used to friction pegs. The pegs have to be pushed in tight enough that they hold, but not so tight that they're difficult to turn. When you turn a peg to tune, you may have to push it in a bit at the same time. The really important thing, though, is to have pegs which fit really well (tighter at the thick end) and which are really well bedded in with peg paste.
Some people do, but they are expensive and heavy, and don't necessarily solve the main problem which is the nut - if the strings are sticking on the nut, geared pegs will not help you.
For a 6-course lute, the note names are (highest pitched string first) g' d' a f c G. Any extra bass courses are tuned to a diatonic scale going down from the bottom G. Two important things to note - the actual pitch can be just about anything, depending on the size of the lute; and from about 1630 onwards different tunings started to be used, ultimately settling on what we call "D minor tuning" (for an 11-course lute f' d' a f d A G F E D C).
Martin Shepard ! Super presentation! I play piedmont blues of McTell and he amazing as early 20th C. Blues and ragtime gospel musician he used baroque low G with two fourths on top(!) @ Barbara Salisbury 262 vids @ TH-cam.com THANK You! Once saw Paul Odette perform Dowland and pilgrams solace with tenor!Chris Young and Barb Salisbury
Friction pegs work extremely well if they're properly set up - in fact more tuning problems come down to the nut. If you like the idea of using machines, you can buy pegs which look like ordinary pegs but have gears inside. They are heavier than wooden pegs, and have other disadvantages - the length of time it takes to wind a string, eventual mechanical failure, etc. But the most important disadvantage is that they do not allow the string to be moved quickly by a large amount or adjust the tension either side of the nut (by feel), as is done by a skilled user of friction pegs.
Yes, and this factor, called the T/R ratio, is different for different species. For a proper explanation, have a look at www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/
funny think is lute is dead so long time.lutes 150 year ago roundly turn out 2 indisturment at west mandolin and guitar. other hand which inspire lute is oud still alive and kicking turkish and arabic music at.middle easterner use it. italian sicilian look like mandolin if u look up kind a small model lot similarty with ouds. in really like volin oud is frentless but like lute can be use old days guy frets then use nylon frets but generally ouds are fretless becouse of eastern music is diffrent. tones
I am really liking your videos. They're extremely useful and informative. They're a huge help as I'm trying to find a Lute of my own in the U.S.A.
Interesting bits about peg paste, fret tuning by cent difference, and pegs going oblong.
That's a very well-done instructional video. Thank you, Mr Shepherd.
love your videos. always learning new things about the lute watching them.
Cheers, Martin, thank you very much for your tips. I enjoy all your videos, and look forward to anything else you'll share. Very motivating.
Thank you! Great tutorial on setting up a lute! My 14-string theorbo has one of its pegs slipping, probably because the thin end of the peg is too thick and slightly oval, too. I understand that the shiny part is in fact the prominent part of the oval cross section to be scraped off. However, I don't know how to check the tightness of the thin and the thick ends independently.
Finally I caught the best way to improve the the lute tuning !!! Thanks a lot Maestro
When I have my own lute I plan to add decorations to the peg handles. They'll be very minor, especially to anyone seeing them while I play. But I'll know they're decorated, and I think it'll make me love my lute just a little more.
thanks martin i have a 7 course descant and an oud your videos are great am beginning but so far i have made some progress
Great video! It seems the hardest part of playing the lute is trying to figure out where on earth to get strings from...
Well there are lots of string suppliers all over the world, but it's not as straightforward as it is for the guitar, where typically you buy a "set" of strings. With the lute there are lots of choices concerning materials and tensions, and of course lutes come in different sizes and some of them use different tunings. Please feel free to ask any questions - if you tell me what type of lute, the tuning and the string length, I can suggest some possible solutions.
@@luteshop Thanks for the reply! So my 7 course lute was easy to find strings for because I could buy a pack from Roosebeck much like purchasing guitar strings. However, my new lute is a 10 course lute mesuring 24" from the bridge to the nut, I imagine I'd be tuning it in G. That seems to be the standard tuning.
Thank you so much for this advice.
Hello Sir., I've just bought a 8 course Renaissance lute, and the first string (g) has broken, i think just because the ex owner didn't change it for a long time. I want to change them with pyramid strings from the site Thomann, but it says that the string dimensions is 0.52 for g' if length between the bridge and the nut is 60 cm, like in my case. Do you think it's all okay? There will be no problems? Thank you!
I think there may be some misunderstanding somewhere. Normally the top string for a 60cm lute would be about .45mm nylon. If the lute is heavy, a slightly larger diameter might be suitable, but not as large as .52mm.
@@luteshop I've just noticed that it doesn't say for 60 cm lute, but 57.3 cm lute, which is strange cause they sell 60 cm lute. But anyway, these are the strings dimensions: 0,50 0,93 / 0,44 0,78 / 0,72 0,72 / 0,58 0,58 / 0,48 0,48 / 0,75 0,75 / 0,55 0,55 / 0,50 mm. I cannot understand, 0.50 g' it's okay for a 57.3 lute but not for a 60cm lute? Or anyway 0.50 does not make sense?
Thank you a lot, really, it is so difficult to speak with experts!
@@francescocentonze5798 I can't make any sense of these numbers. I would suggest 1st course .45, 2nd course .50, third course .62, then you have some decisions to make about type of string. I would suggest .76 nylgut for 4th course, 1010 Pyramid for 5th course, 1016 Pyramid for 6th course (+ .68 nylgut octave), 1020 Pyramid for 7th course (+ .73 nylgut octave), 1026 8th course (+.85 nylgut octave). I'm sorry this is so complicated, because nylon is less dense than gut and doesn't really work at large diameters, nylgut is only a little less dense than gut and so is useful for the intermediate strings, and for the bass strings there are many possible solutions and it's hard to be specific about what will work for you. Personally I prefer to use gut strings as far as possible but even then there are problems with what kind of string to use. Perhaps for a beginner the combination of nylon and nylgut, and wound-on-nylon basses, is a good place to start.
@@luteshop thank you a lot!! I really appreciate your patience and your channel!
Dear Martin, I wonder what sort of peg paste will you recommend for bedding in black-stained pearwood pegs (bearing in mind your advice that the "Hill compound" would not really suit this wood?) Thanks very much, Luciano.
Hill's peg paste is dark brown, so suitable for all pegs except those which are very pale in colour - boxwood, holly, etc. It's fine with brown woods like plum or pear, though I like to be careful if the pegbox is a light colour as well. For pale pegs you can use a mixture of dry soap and talcum powder.
@@luteshop Thank you very much for your prompt and thorough reaction, it is much appreciated! The pegs are as mentioned in pearwood (black-stained) and to complement my question, the pegbox is in sycamore yew. I understand from your advice that this combination also takes the "Hill" nicely. Best regards, Luciano.
So much information, thank you!
Hi I'm from Utah, I'm a musician with an old lute, And there is no one here that teaches this so thank you. These have been very helpful. I'm sure you get a lot of people asking for help, but I wonder if there is a way I could ask some questions? I'm struggling with the pegs that are far too tight to tune. And Finding the right tuning set
You can ask here and I will try to answer. The tightness of pegs does change a bit with the weather. If you can't turn a peg at all you can try to reduce the humidity (by shining a lamp on the pegbox, for example). Once you get the peg out, you can look to see if it's oval, or too tight at the thin end. Peg paste will help to keep it running smoothly. If a peg fits well it doesn't need to be jammed in super tight.
@@luteshop This is a true worry; I'm still pondering a 6-course - as few strings as possible - but this your communication worries me - pegs that won't cooperate! Wasn't this, i.e. the tuning worry - with increasingly more courses - why it all turned into vihuelas and subsequently our modern guitar - lutes fell out out time? But the lute sound...so lovely innit, not much can match it. It's not weak, but it's heard at a distance. We all need that today 2024.
@@HakanNilsson-y7n As I say, if pegs are fitted properly they work fine, and continue to do so - I have a lute which I made 42 years ago which has never needed any maintenance. Vihuelas and guitars existed from the 15th century onwards. The decline of the lute has nothing to do with technology, more to do with changing musical tastes and the development of larger ensembles in larger venues.
@@luteshop Oki, sorry sir, I'm talking too much - at that against better knowledge 😁. The sound of a lute is heaven, and I've not really given up the thought of a 6-7 course instrument, despite my old age. All the best to you! /Hakan
@@luteshop And while I'm at it: how often do you change strings on your lute? For the guitar they say every other month or similar, but I'd never followed that poor advice - not with three instruments, and me not performing.
Martin Shepherd, Thank you for your tips, I've been watching them for over a year, but today I picked up a used 7 course lute in G. I think I need to buy new strings because the previous owner seems to have wound the entire length of the strings onto the pegs right up to the edge making it impossible for the pegs to "hold" the strings in place. I don't know how long it has been since the lute was restrung, but I suspect the strings would not take kindly to being unwound and then re-wound again. Harp strings don't (I'm familiar with harp). Have you suggestions of where I might find "peg paste"? Is it something other instruments also use? I have subscribed to your channel.
Hi Susanne, for attaching strings to pegs see my video th-cam.com/video/nPJC0tGICMA/w-d-xo.html It sounds as though all you have to do is unwind the string, cut a bit off the end and reattach it. Peg paste is sold in a kind of lipstick container by Hills of London - you can buy it from violin shops/suppliers. Let me know if you have any further problems.
Thank you Martin Shepherd! I did some of that (unwinding, removing, cutting, rewinding...) then found the pegs wouldn't stay in place almost popping out and moving them to tighten the strings so they'd be in tune bruised my fingers (yes). So I asked my local orchestra, and the "strings" recommended a luthier who I've woked with in the past. Which bois down to the lute being with him for the time being as I wait for the new strings to arrive. He has worked with lutes before although most of his business is with the violin to double bass range. However he did note that the strings were pinched in the nut and will adjust that. With your kind permission I will contact you after the lute "comes home again and hope to arrange a few basic lessons.
thank you lez. Congatulations on your Spanish acoustic guitar. I suspect we will both improve with patient practice. :-)
Great video !!!!
I have a pretty old lute that was originally from a guy that is already dead a swiss lute player i think he played concerts my grandparents then got his lute and im trying to paly it and its not in bad shape tho apparantly he took the fretts out now i have a frettless lute but i just remember thats a tenor lute i think it has 9 double strings and 1singular string
Youre videos are helping because it was pretty hard to retune the lute after it wasnt tuned for such a long time but i dont know if the strings are still good
I saw in the lute that its from 1960 and i still have the replacemdnt strings (1961)
Sounds interesting! I wonder who the Swiss lute player was? Lutes (apart from modern Arabic lutes) always have/had frets, so you will need to replace them. My video shows how to tie frets but you may need more guidance in terms of where they should be placed - feel free to contact me if you need more help (contact details on my website at www.luteshop.co.uk).
Hello! Recently my family obtained an instrument which possibly could be a lute, but we aren’t very sure. I was wondering if you know of anywhere to go to ask about it or send it maybe?
All the best! Thank you!
Can you send some photos? My contact details are on my site at www.luteshop.co.uk
This is wonderful! I wonder, could anyone help me find where to purchase strings? I have a 12 sting, or 6 chorus lute I would think, though I know very little about them. Any bit of research I do seems to point me to an OUD, however this particular instrument has frets. Thanks for any help and thank you for a terrific, informative video.
It depends what your lute is like - can you give us some idea of where it came from, and how much it weighs? The stringing requirements of an oud are very different from a lute.
@@luteshop I bought it used from a music school, no information about its origins. It has 12 tuning pegs that resemble a violins in that they are wood and just held in by friction. Also it has 9 frets. it looks a lot like the one from this video with an additional string option. Sorry if that isn't helpful and I thank you for any help you can offer. Very grateful to get a reply!
I have no idea if you ever got a response, but if you are looking to get strings for lutes, I would recommend contacting Aquila who specializes in strings for older instruments. For example, in the USA, you can visit them at: www.aquilausa.com/luteguitar.html
Thanks a lot.
I have a stuck peg, how can I loosen it?
The peg is most probably stuck because an increase in humidity has caused the wood to swell up. So one way to tackle it is to reduce the humidity, which you can do by shining a desk lamp on it to warm it gently. If that doesn't work, you can try tapping on the thin end of the peg using a small dowel to make contact with the end of the peg and hitting it (gently!) with a small hammer.
Where do I go for the actual (7-course) tuning?
The standard tuning for the "renaissance" lute for most of the 16th century was in fourths with a third in the middle. For a lute in G, this means (starting with the highest pitched string) g' d' a f c G for the top six courses. The 7th course was usually tuned either a fourth (D) or a second (F) below the 6th. Of course lutes were always made in different sizes which had to be tuned to different absolute pitches but the pattern stays the same.
Bought a lute and it doesn’t hold its tune:( when you tune it the peg loosens and get defined >_>
When you first get a lute it takes a while to get used to friction pegs. The pegs have to be pushed in tight enough that they hold, but not so tight that they're difficult to turn. When you turn a peg to tune, you may have to push it in a bit at the same time. The really important thing, though, is to have pegs which fit really well (tighter at the thick end) and which are really well bedded in with peg paste.
@@luteshop I actually fixed it you gotta push In the pegs as you tighten and now it holds its tune :)
What is the music during the intro?
It's Francis Cutting's instrumental version of Dowland's song "Awake sweet love" from Dd.5.78 (Poulton 92)
Why not using geared pegs?
Some people do, but they are expensive and heavy, and don't necessarily solve the main problem which is the nut - if the strings are sticking on the nut, geared pegs will not help you.
I wanted to hear to what notes the strings are tuned, not what devices you can use to find A.
{:o:O:}
For a 6-course lute, the note names are (highest pitched string first) g' d' a f c G. Any extra bass courses are tuned to a diatonic scale going down from the bottom G. Two important things to note - the actual pitch can be just about anything, depending on the size of the lute; and from about 1630 onwards different tunings started to be used, ultimately settling on what we call "D minor tuning" (for an 11-course lute f' d' a f d A G F E D C).
@@luteshop
Cheers, thanks for that!
{:o:O:}
Martin Shepard ! Super presentation! I play piedmont blues of McTell and he amazing as early 20th C. Blues and ragtime gospel musician he used baroque low G with two fourths on top(!) @ Barbara Salisbury 262 vids @ TH-cam.com THANK You! Once saw Paul Odette perform Dowland and pilgrams solace with tenor!Chris Young and Barb Salisbury
why not dump the pegs altogether?
Friction pegs work extremely well if they're properly set up - in fact more tuning problems come down to the nut. If you like the idea of using machines, you can buy pegs which look like ordinary pegs but have gears inside. They are heavier than wooden pegs, and have other disadvantages - the length of time it takes to wind a string, eventual mechanical failure, etc. But the most important disadvantage is that they do not allow the string to be moved quickly by a large amount or adjust the tension either side of the nut (by feel), as is done by a skilled user of friction pegs.
Wood shrinks more on way than it does the other....... Right.
Yes, and this factor, called the T/R ratio, is different for different species. For a proper explanation, have a look at www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/
Could you pass me some original plan, of a manufacture
? from email.
انت شخص مبدع..ولكن تحتاج لي لتدريبك عالموسيقا الشرقية
funny think is lute is dead so long time.lutes 150 year ago roundly turn out 2 indisturment at west mandolin and guitar.
other hand which inspire lute is oud still alive and kicking turkish and arabic music at.middle easterner use it.
italian sicilian look like mandolin if u look up kind a small model lot similarty with ouds.
in really like volin oud is frentless but like lute can be use old days guy frets then use nylon frets but generally ouds are fretless becouse of eastern music is diffrent. tones