Saudi musician, Abadi Al-Johar, is known as the ‘King of Oud’ Oud in this case is not referring to incense but rather the musical instrument. It’s name, oud, is derived from the Arabic meaning a thin piece of wood. The oud makes a unique sound due to its short neck which has no frets.
The most common string combination is five pairs of strings tuned in unison and a single bass string, although up to thirteen strings may be found. Strings are generally made of nylon or gut, and are plucked with a plectrum known as a risha (Arabic for feather). Modern strings are made of steel wound over nylon. The instrument has a warm timbre, low tessatura, and is often intricately decorated.
The sound of an oud is similar to me of a steel guitar. Here’s a short clip of Abadi Al-Johar playing the oud at a concert in Dubai:
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