Which Qanun should I buy Turkish or Arabic? and what is the difference between them?

[@RandomScreenName]

Hi Maya, one quick question, you say they used to have 8 lever qanuns... did those levers each move the pitch up/down an 1/8 of a tone instead of the 1/4 tone you get on 4 lever qanuns? Or was it still 1/4 tone but you had an extended range of +/- 2 semitones? I am also curious how long ago these 8 lever qanuns were common... thank you :)

[@MayaYoussefMusic]

Hey Mike, I have never seen an 8 lever Arabic Qanun so can’t give an accurate description of the change in pitch. I would imagine that it would control the pitch 1/8th of tone higher or lower but can’t confirm it.

[@MayaYoussefMusic]

I will actually ask someone about this and come back and let you know 🙏🏼🙂

[@RandomScreenName]

Thank you Maya - since writing this I did locate someone with some older qanuns and he said "So yea my understanding is that this 4-lever design is the norm for Arabic qanuns being made today, which is a drag. Im not sure how far back this started, but any qanunist playing with Um Kulthum had more than that. My Syrian one I think is from the 30s or 40s. The levers are not uniform (of course), so you it has only a sharp and one half-sharp for your Cs, but it has 5 half-flats on most of the Es. (when I say 5 half flats I mean 5 notes between flat and natural). On modern Turkish qanuns there are lots of levers and they are much more uniformly laid out. So you might have 5 C half flats, 5 B half flats, 5 A half flats, etc. Also worth mentioning, a lot players I see these days, even Arabs playing Arabic music, end up playing Turkish qanuns a lot of the time. The lever system is a huge reason for that." ^^ So basically he's saying that the original Arabic qanuns were a subset of the Turkish ones, I think. So it wouldn't be 1/8 of a tone but rather closer to 1/12 (i.e. 1/6 of a semitone), and not all strings had all levers. Of course you folks are the experts, I am just trying to learn and am sharing what others have said! Hopefully the above is correct and thank you for the response :)

[@emoizluv]

So for the Arabic qanun, only the base strings are metal and the rest are plastic correct?

[@monkeyrater]

Lets say I contact an arabic oud maker and we agree on a price, what is the best way of sending money so that I am assured of receiving a product? Like could he just take my money and not send the qanun so that I have no legal recourse?

[@MayaYoussefMusic]

That will differ from a person to a person I suppose. Please never send money unless you have written proof. All Qanun makers which I suggest In my makers blackbook are well known names and would not want to or risk their reputation. I hope that helps

[@garoarabian3017]

I'd avoid purchasing Turkish products in general.

[@MayaYoussefMusic]

Hey garo, it is a matter of personal preference. My intention is to provide clarity as I get this question very often.

[@sourweed9818]

Classic biased hateful Armenian. Its a musical instrument not a shirt or a pan.