What can be said about the "Kadamani brothers"?

Once upon a time in Syria, (circa the turn of the century), three brothers were born in Syria. Salim the elder, Tawfiq, and Iskander. The younger brothers migrated to Istanbul (the capitol of the Ottoman world at that time). There they opened up a shop making ouds and printing Ottoman music manuscripts. Salim also made ouds and furniture in Damascus where he stayed behind. 

I've restored Kadamani ouds before. One for Ara Dinkjian, and one for a friend. They made instruments that rivaled the Nahat dynasty in terms of sound and ornamentations. Very high quality builds, intricate inlay work, complex geometry on their bowls, more so than Nahat. For example, this bowl has a curve where the forearm turns in making it comfortable on the right arm.  Like Nahat ouds, they had some modest designs, but also highly ornate "Amiri" instruments. (adorned for "princes"). 

This oud maintains most original parts with the exception of the bridge which was replaced because it broke immediately after installing strings. and the rosette, which was absent upon acquisition.  The sound is nothing short of phenomenal. Full, resonant, punchy, warm, and generous. 

​The Puerto Rican cuatro,  (not to be confused with the Venezuelan cuatro) is a unique stringed instrument hailing from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico in the caribbean sea. It is officially the national instrument of the island and deeply linked to it's Jibaro people and rich culture. The Jibaro are the proud self-sustaining farmers from the countryside in the mountains of the island. Without getting into too much history about the evolution of the cuatro, it is likely to have descended from the Spanish vihuela which was a common instrument during Spain's reign over the world when they were colonizing many of their territories in the 15th and 16th century and beyond. The name "cuatro", is simply the number four in Spanish. But anyone who has taken a gander at the cuatro will quickly notice there are five double strings on the instrument. This is because originally there were 4 double strings, and later a 5th was introduced to add more range and bass capability to the instrument, however we decided not to call it a cinco! (the number five in Spanish). Although 4 double string cuatros are still in existence, they are not sought after as the modern player much prefers the modified version which is fairly standard nowadays. 

The cuatro is a shorter string scale length and body size than a guitar, about 25% smaller. It is set up to be a melody machine, capable also of chords, arpeggios and also very virtuosic performance. The island and diaspora has at least 25 or more top notch virtuosos who will dazzle you with their technique, rich improvisations, and exciting/interesting embellishments. The Jibaro music itself consists of many genres which was absorbed into the repertoire over several decades. The Jibaro musicians are considered to be troubadours. Groups of musicians gather in homes during Christmas time, (parrandas) and perform Christmas music, as the Jibaro genre cannot be separated from this high holiday on the island. 

My grandfather was born in Jibaro country, in the town of Caguas, and was the first to tell me about the cuatro and Jibaro music when I was young. He sang and played the Puerto Rican percussion instrument known as guiro in church and in small groups throughout his life in Puerto Rico and when he moved to New York. He had a postcard on the wall with the cuatro, and this is how I came to know it by it's distinct shape, having tight C bouts on the body like a violin. I heard recordings of Jibaro music come from his room, so that's where I first heard the sound of the cuatro and it's music. But it wouldn't play a big part of my life coming up in the Bronx as a kid and being estranged from the culture like many Nuyoricans  (term used for Puerto Ricans from New York). I started my musical journey at the age of 14 when my mother bought me my first guitar. The action was about a mile high from the fretboard, and it was very difficult to play. I knew nothing else, but I was so excited to have a musical instrument. There was something truly interesting and enchanting about having a real musical instrument available there. I practiced all my scales, and chords while learning all my favorite heavy metal and rock music on that guitar. 

My grandfather came to know that I was suddenly entrenched in music, and was very excited about this discovery, even though I wasn't playing cuatro.... yet! There was a time I recall being in the car with him as he was taking me to school and I turned on the radio to my favorite band at the time, Nirvana. I kept the volume low so as to not disturb the old man.. to my surprise, he increased the volume! As the years progressed, so did I with my music. I became interested in Classical music, Flamenco, the oud and more. I even became interested in other kinds of Latin American music on guitar such as Venezuelan harp music transcribed to guitar. I brought my guitar to my late grandfather's house and played him a beautiful Venezuelan pasaje called, "Los Caujaritos". I was happy I could get through this piece without error in front of the old man's watchful eye, and when I was done, he praised me and said it was so beautiful. He asked where it was from. I said, "Venezuela". Suddenly and justly enraged he shouted at me in Spanish, " iPor qué no tocas la música puertorriqueña!, mijo?" ("Why you don't play the Puerto Rican music!, my son?!").  I lacked a sufficient answer, but the true answer was.. because I was an asshole. (Arguably still am). 

Most of my life up until that point I had studied and played various kinds of music, on various kinds of instruments, even travelling and living in Lebanon to study the oud. It would be some more years later until I would actually get to that point. But it took my grandfather's death to get there. About a week after he left this earth behind him, a cuatro  came to my shop for repair. I remember looking down at it on my bench in the silence of my workshop and I began to cry. I overheard a story that he was telling my grandmother that I was doing this and that with music, but eventually I would return to my own roots and would be involved with the cuatro. And even some years later, it turns out he was right. I began listening to many videos on YouTube of Jibaro musicians, living and dead. I started to seek out the active musicians to build a report with them, and learn as much as I can. I began to see the depth and richness of this music and it's forms. I became mind boggled at the level of musicianship and diversity the genre had to offer. I still didn't start playing any cuatro, but was just listening and absorbing while I was working. 

Finally in 2019 I was able to clear some time to actually start making my first cuatro. Building cuatro obviously wasn't my intention as a luthier either. It really started out with wanting to make guitars, then violins, then ouds and more. But now I was totally compelled to make a cuatro for myself during my off time as I dedicated my regular working hours to orders and repairs. It took me about a year to complete my first cuatro, and was really enchanted by its existence once it was finally conceived on my workbench. During the outbreak of Covid19, life took a  sudden change of pace. I decided to start taking the cuatro more seriously building up repertoire and improving upon playing technique. I began a project with a vetern of Salsa music and luthier, Tony Velez where we are recording many Jibaro songs, and trying to gather enough material to hit the stages once Covid19 begins to dwindle. 

The cuatro featured in this story is slightly unique in that it's standard shape on the body differs now from the common violin-like shape cuatro with the 2 C-bouts. I found a photo of cuatro legend, Yomo Toro featuring a cuatro with this kind of shape. I also noticed some other photos circulating online depicting early cuatros utilizing the same shape. Maybe some purists would reject this as a "traditional" cuatro, I don't know. However if they did some research, they might come to realize that this is a historically legitimate shape. Otherwise the scale length remains the same along with the other critical dimensions on the neck. This cuatro features a spruce top, mahogany sides, back, and neck. Ovenghol head plate, a highly figured burly maple rosette and my favorite feature about this cuatro would be the pale moon ebony fingerboard. 

A few months back oud maker Najib Shaheen approached me with a beautiful Hanna Nahat oud deserving of restoration. He said "Johnny habibi, look how well preserved this Nahat oud is!". The only issue, there was no soundboard attached to the rest of the instrument. Haram! It seems that someone refaced it at some point, and that failed. By the time Najib received it, the second soundboard was already removed. 

and original Nahat tuning pegs which I had to perform some trickery on to work in a good way. I already had many of the mosaics I made on hand, 

​copied from previous Nahat ouds. So it was now a matter of some basic logistics/layout, pickguard, general scheme, extended fingerboard, which is imperative for Simon's virtuosic and progressive playing. Some might say that this is not an "original" feature of Nahat, and while there is truth to that, this is Simon we're speaking of here, so this instrument is good as is, especially after he graces us with it on stage. 

​In the end we were all very happy how the instrument turned out, sound, action, and of course aesthetics. I choose the best wood I have for the soundboard (a hard spruce I've gotten all my greatest sounds from). I'm grateful I was able to do this as Simon is a musical hero of mine, and hope this instrument will serve the mastro well for many years to come. ..     

Abdo George Nahat was originally known for his partnership with his brother (Roufan) under the "Ikhwan" label. Later he began making instruments using his own label. 

His work displayed a great variety of diversity. Some of his ouds were very simple yet elegant, while others radically virtuosic demonstrating a level of mastery and imagination that has never been seen since. One such exemplary instrument Abdo made in 1910 was made famous by player Hamza Al Din and demonstrates remarkable workmanship and artistry. Very delicate inlays, mosaics, one of the most intricately carved rosettes that we know of not to mention one of the most incredible sounds we ever heard. This oud really had it all.  

​Yet another astounding oud made by Toufik Nahat in 1928 recently received an extensive restoration here at my workshop. Exhibiting some of the classic motifs and ornamentation we'd expect to see on a classic Nahat. (Please read my previous blog post to learn more about Nahat ouds) Hand carved bone rosettes, mother of pearl for the fingerboard, beautiful mosaic/marquetry pattern on the soundboard, bowl and neck, and of course that  famed sound of an old Damascene oud. 

This was a very extensive restoration project as many difficult challenges arose and dragged out extensively over the period of a few months. To repair the many cracks on the soundboard, it needed to be removed which is a very risky and invasive operation since the instrument is 90 years of age and the soundboard in some places is only one millimeter thick! I would also correct the loose neck and really high action in this stage. A brace inside was also replaced, along with repairing some loose braces; a very critical necessary task for the instrument's structural integrity.

The mosaic binding was copied to the 10th of a millimeter and replaced when the soundboard was reinstalled to keep everything as original as possible. Unfortunately this treasure was repaired previously by an ameteur, causing some damage to the soundboard and to the rosettes. 

After installing the soundboard back there was a very obnoxious buzzing sound coming from the rosette once I put the strings on it and tested it extensively. This is often the problem with these older instruments with Bone rosettes. The main rosette and the small one were "repaired" previously using white plastic pieces, and white out, and weren't contacting the soundboard. A lot of the mosaic pieces around the soundhole needed to be replaced as well. The original small bone asfour (bird) rosettes was replaced altogether with a new hand carved one due to damage and the precious bad repair.

All in all I'd have to say that this particular instrument is quite remarkable in that apart from the damage to the rosettes over time, unprofessional repair work and some other issues, it is incredibly well preserved. For example, the finish on the bowl and neck still appears vivacious as if Toufik himself just applied the final coats of finish last week. 

Damascus, Syria. Arguably the epicenter of the oud. The most significant makers hail from this important city of the Arab world. Nahat isn't a single maker, but a family dynasty starting with Abdo Nahat in the 1830's and ending with Elias Nahat as late as the 1980's in Brazil. Nahat ouds are regarded as the best and are highly sought after. The craftsmanship and rarity play a part in this. The Nahats are important because they established what would be defined as a classic Damascene oud. The dimensions, shapes, patterns, motif/marquetry designs, and of course the "true Arabic sound". The very word "Nahat" means carpentry or wood worker in Arabic, which most likely implies a family trade that could span a number of generations. We know they made furniture as a primary occupation. Their oud labels read "atelier de menuiserie" in French, or "carpentry shop" in English followed by "quality furniture at discount prices." Some of their ouds are lovingly embellished with mosaic inlays similar to the ones in their furniture. The geometries used to shape the bowl and soundboard demonstrate an advanced understanding of mathematics and it's role in optimizing acoustic output. The use of ratios and combinations of angles and mastery of craftsmanship is difficult for us to reproduce even in modernity, with all the technology that has been bequeathed to us.

A common problem I've had in the past with repair and restoration work in general is that the client doesn't want to pay for authentic restoration work. Typically they only want to render the instrument into a functioning state. This can sometimes mean alienating certain aspects of the instrument's originality. The work sometimes can be so lengthy and difficult at times more than one can possibly fathom. In the case of this particular oud, a 1927 Toufik Nahat which belonged to the clients father, I was given permission to do whatever necessary to bring it to a respectable state shortly after finding out the soundboard was already replaced. According to a small rectangular handwritten label next to the maker's label it says, "Toufiq Ajhar, soundboard replaced. 95 Court St. Brooklyn " with no date. Upon further inspection the binding tiles did not match the fingerboard's binding. Usually the tiles should be all the same, around the soundboard and neck, sometimes around the outer edges of the pegbox walls. The main reasons my client brought his Nahat to me is the bad warping on the soundboard, the soundboard coming loose from the bowl, and the horrendous action. I considered repairing the warped soundboard, perhaps by removing it, rendering it more freely without the restraints of working with my hand through the narrow soundhole. I planned on routing off all the unoriginal binding tiles from around the soundboard to remove it with more ease, execute the soundboard repair, then copy the pattern of binding tiles from around the fingerboard (which are original) and so I would have made the oud slightly more authentic. Upon removing the soundboard I can see why it failed and was collapsing in on itself. First off the board was thicknessed too thin, being 9mm in some areas, not even a full millimeter and roughly half the thicknesses under spec. Additionally the unoriginal soundboard was lacking the necessary 2x vertical braces adjacent to the soundhole where it was also ultra thin. At that point it was obvious to me that it would be foolish spending time and money repairing this soundboard and that it should be replaced. I called my client to share some photos and talk about the idea of not only replacing the soundboard (which his father put many miles on) but do an authentic Nahat style soundboard, complete with motifs copied from the bowl and in a style very much known from original Nahat soundboards that have survived. My client was surprised the soundboard was replaced and said it would have had to been done long before his memory could serve him, and quickly agreed to having the soundboard replaced to Nahat parameters.

After clearing some outstanding tasks from my work bench, I began plotting my path with the Nahat project. I became obsessed thinking about the details and how it would turn out in the end. I began by choosing some aged turkish Spruce a friend had given me, from a board I had good luck with the sound in the past. The wood's appearance would be commonly seen on an original Nahat oud; medium to wide grain, wavy grain pattern. I would have to copy the binding around the fingerboard to complete the soundboard and I would copy one of the diamond S pattern from the back of the bowl to inlay into the soundboard. The pattern around the fingerboard consists of various sandwiched strips of veneers varying in color to produce the pattern. The same was done with the motif on the bowl. The veneers are thicknessed to the correct dimensions then glued together and left to sit for two days to dry. Once dry, the edges can be cleaned up of glue squeeze out, cut along its edge into strips which are fit into a custom made mitre box which the various angles are built in for a fine saw to cut the strip into pieces that forms edge binding or inlay mosaics. The soundboard was joined and the braces thicknessed, located and shape to previous Nahat specifications; a critical measure for an authentic Nahat sound. One of the small bone rosettes were completely missing so I had to reproduce a matching replica. The other rosettes were removed, cleaned up and performed minor repairs on them. Four diamond S shaped inlays were made and inlaid into the soundboard around the soundhole on top of a black purfling which encircles the main soundhole. The pickguard was fashioned from black veneer using a classic Nahat pattern. Binding tiles were also inlaid around all 3 of the soundholes from the copied pattern on the fingerboard. The neck needed serious reworking as the action was another serious issue. It was reset with the soundboard off, and 2x additional 3/8ths hardwood dowels were installed through the neck block into the neck to add additional strength to the neck. The soundboard was installed, pickguard glued on, and 3 additional Nahat style inlays would be added. I made a new bridge because the bridge on the soundboard was not in the Nahat style. The bridge was fashioned from walnut, dyed black and a decorative mosaic cap joined to the top. The rosettes installed, along with the binding. The action came down significantly however I wasn't entirely please and performed a second reset from the top of the soundboard and landed a very comfortable low action which should be very future proof considering 2 dowels were added from the inside prior to the installation of the soundboard. After installing the strings I was very satisfied with the rich sweet Arabic tone we all search for. The use of quality wood and an aged bowl should be the main reasons for this.

​In general I wish most of my clients would be more understanding about the amount of work it takes to do a proper restoration. Many can't afford it as well which is a part of the reason you see many antique instruments butchered and stripped of their authenticity. I recently took the stance of doing restoration work as original as possible. Some say it wouldn't matter, but to me, it does. 

​Many people have issues on the oud with "buzzing". I hope this video sheds light and demystifies issues with buzzing on the oud.

This Hanna Nahat oud was made in 1910, Damascus Syria. It belonged to my clients grandfather, and comes from a family of musicians.. so this oud had a lot of playing on it. Coincidentally it had a lot of bad repairs. As a luthier, one of the most challenging thing about doing a restoration is going over bad previous repairs. The soundboard not being original, it was replaced after realizing the braces were notched behind the fragile bone rosettes. There was no strong emotional attachment to the soundboard which also had long cracks in various places. The oud was restored to "Nahat" parameters.  The rosette had some pieces missing, and so not much able to be done about that. Scroll through the slide show to see the work being done in chronological order.