End of Oud

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
#42
yes Oudamber, i was one of them very unOuducated also but still remember as a total newbie getting some thai oil from ebay you should see my face:eek: when smelled it was most likely coming from one of this Thai plantations with lots of bottles stuck off the trees:(. as i can remember in the description was mention it that the seller is working with local distillers and plantation owners.;)
I have a few bottles that after smelling the stick, I never swiped.
 

m.arif

Active Member
#43
Да, i just don't get why people do this? where is the market for something like that, oud distilled from this type trees smells really bad.
You haven't smelled the cheap, pretty smelling ouds cut with cendana found in Malaysia then (made from doing that to trees) :confused:

Oud users get fooled about the dilution. what more the general public. to differentiate between inoculated resin and natural? it takes conscious effort and lots of side by side comparison...
 

bhanny

Well-Known Member
#47
I think a big element of the initial dialogue here, what Peter and Ensar were discussing, relates to the differences and the ability to perceive the differences in oils distilled from different grades of the same type wood, even at times from the same tree!

I have no desire to bring specific oils or vendors in here, everyone has had enough. And honestly each oil has its place. But as an example:

Oil A from Vendor B - A beautiful Virginian that has all the typical notes, characteristics, and smells super nice. It performs well and appears to be a shining star is the new Virginia oud craze. Clearly high quality from Vendor B.

Oil C from Vendor D - Wow. This one smells almost exactly like A! Same lovely characteristics. They could be twins. Probably the same tree. I must do a side-by-side!

A on left, C on right. First few seconds very similar. Then it clears up. The notes in C are more crisp, yet more smooth overall. A is still nice, it sits there humming a gentle little tune on my left. While C morphs to Cobain belting "Teen Spirit" and smashing his guitar my right.

Overall, for me, they are 85-90% equal. But dang, that 10-15%, which I firmly believe represents the use of higher quality, more highly resinated wood, is what makes it all worthwhile. To me. My personal opinion.
 
#48
I think a big element of the initial dialogue here, what Peter and Ensar were discussing, relates to the differences and the ability to perceive the differences in oils distilled from different grades of the same type wood, even at times from the same tree!

I have no desire to bring specific oils or vendors in here, everyone has had enough. And honestly each oil has its place. But as an example:

Oil A from Vendor B - A beautiful Virginian that has all the typical notes, characteristics, and smells super nice. It performs well and appears to be a shining star is the new Virginia oud craze. Clearly high quality from Vendor B.

Oil C from Vendor D - Wow. This one smells almost exactly like A! Same lovely characteristics. They could be twins. Probably the same tree. I must do a side-by-side!

A on left, C on right. First few seconds very similar. Then it clears up. The notes in C are more crisp, yet more smooth overall. A is still nice, it sits there humming a gentle little tune on my left. While C morphs to Cobain belting "Teen Spirit" and smashing his guitar my right.

Overall, for me, they are 85-90% equal. But dang, that 10-15%, which I firmly believe represents the use of higher quality, more highly resinated wood, is what makes it all worthwhile. To me. My personal opinion.
i got your point, I am so glad to have one of those "unrefined" noses and cannot recognized this 10-15% so i have a 60$ oil smelling identical to a 790$ oil for me.
they smell different when smelling close from the wrist and this way is obvious the higher complexity of the more expensive oil , but i don't like to wear my ouds on my hand and sniffing it every minute.
i only wear ouds with a generous swipe or two under my chin, and wearing it this way from both oils i am getting 100% identical aura around me.
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#49
i got your point, I am so glad to have one of those "unrefined" noses and cannot recognized this 10-15% so i have a 60$ oil smelling identical to a 790$ oil for me.
they smell different when smelling close from the wrist and this way is obvious the higher complexity of the more expensive oil , but i don't like to wear my ouds on my hand and sniffing it every minute.
i only wear ouds with a generous swipe or two under my chin, and wearing it this way from both oils i am getting 100% identical aura around me.
Aww... shucks! I guess I came to Brunei for nothing then... :rolleyes:
 
#50
Aww... shucks! I guess I came to Brunei for nothing then... :rolleyes:
Hi Ensar, have you ever distill or try anything from Bangka (stupid question most likely yes)? How are the profiles compare to Brunei | New Guinea for you? Any similarities or totally different? My nose is probably way off compare to yours anyway.
Will be really interesting to me to hear your opinion.
Thanks.
 

PEARL

Well-Known Member
#51
Minutiae. It's what makes Hellman's mayonnaise better than all others; the 31 jewel calibre 3135 with parachrom hairspring inside of a Submariner better than the calibre 2500D or 8500 in the Planet Ocean; AC Schnitzer springs better for the F10 535i than Racing Dynamics or Eibach for the street but if you're going to track than KW V2 coilovers are better than Bilstein PSS10. It's that 10-15% and sometimes smaller thin line between satisfaction and fulfillment from an oil and not, for me anyway. To use my consigliere Bhanny Gambino's example, A is a good oil it's just not C, and once I personally compare A and C it's difficult to go back to A; it doesn't sing the same head banging tune.

@peter4ptv IMO it doesn't have much to do with the "refinement" of your nose but rather you choose the oil that suffices YOUR needs and how you use oud, I respect that.

For me it's the difference between the what and the what and how. The what is what does it smell like, does it emit an odor that is sufficient. The how is how does it emit that odor, is it flat and lifeless or does it have complexity, depth, is it alive, does it have a pulse. For many what it smells like suffices. I want oils that smell good and are alive, deep and have a pulse and when an oil has that it beats even faster than the 28,800bph of that calibre 3135. Anything less doesn't work FOR ME and what I need from an oil; I've tried. I've gotten several of those "what" oils, in fact they are the most expensive oils in my collection. Expensive as in, regardless what I paid for them, a dime or a dollar, they aren't a bargain they're a waste of money because at the end of the day I can't wear them, simply because I see, smell and feel the difference.

@Ensar, Brunei, you're such a tease and I think you get a kick out of it, You're playing with my emoji's:rolleyes:
 

bhanny

Well-Known Member
#53
i got your point, I am so glad to have one of those "unrefined" noses and cannot recognized this 10-15% so i have a 60$ oil smelling identical to a 790$ oil for me.
they smell different when smelling close from the wrist and this way is obvious the higher complexity of the more expensive oil , but i don't like to wear my ouds on my hand and sniffing it every minute.
i only wear ouds with a generous swipe or two under my chin, and wearing it this way from both oils i am getting 100% identical aura around me.
I never said that at all Peter. My point was very general. And you make a good point, you DO detect the difference (even if subtle), but to you those differences aren't worth the extra cost. And that is okay. I get that and will never attempt to belittle you for that. You don't have to justify that to me or anyone. I actually like and wear oils from ALL price points. But why is it not okay for me to enjoy those oils with that 10-15%?

Peter, this is not directed toward you, but I continue to struggle with this need to provoke and put others down. I'm personally happy when anyone finds joy in an oil. Any oil. $60 or $6000. I'm happy when someone finds joy in an oil I enjoy, I'm also happy when someone finds joy in an oil I personally don't like.

Anyways. Peter. Sorry if you felt I was directing any hostility towards you. I was just sharing my experience and my beliefs.
 

saint458

Well-Known Member
#55
I never said that at all Peter. My point was very general. And you make a good point, you DO detect the difference (even if subtle), but to you those differences aren't worth the extra cost. And that is okay. I get that and will never attempt to belittle you for that. You don't have to justify that to me or anyone. I actually like and wear oils from ALL price points. But why is it not okay for me to enjoy those oils with that 10-15%?

Peter, this is not directed toward you, but I continue to struggle with this need to provoke and put others down. I'm personally happy when anyone finds joy in an oil. Any oil. $60 or $6000. I'm happy when someone finds joy in an oil I enjoy, I'm also happy when someone finds joy in an oil I personally don't like.

Anyways. Peter. Sorry if you felt I was directing any hostility towards you. I was just sharing my experience and my beliefs.
Me too ! I enjoy even $40 oils with all of it's own attributes. In my region $20 genuine oud bottles are also available & they are very good at that price point.

I also never regret buying any of $4500 or $2500 or $1500 or $790 bottles. I don't regret for buying any single bottle of my collection because I always believed & believe till now that _ the pleasure/spirituality/divine feeling comes from OUD at such levels _ it's 'impossible to attach a dollar figure' besides it actually. They are priceless. Thanks to Almighty to make it available for us to 'GET it or BUY it' till yet. At least we can buy oud at a price till yet. If I had have Millions of $$$ I would probably have invested the maximum portion of that amount with no hesitation at all. Oud is the MOST beautiful spiritual substance on earth. Every single drop of genuine oud I have in my collection is PRICELESS to me _ I mean that PRECIOUS !

... & the 10%-15% issue. I think that DOES matter to a very few people who can actually figure out what it exactly is. I was a Pc Gamer/Pc Enthusiast once upon a time & I can remember ONLY for 1% or 2% performance increase we could invest $1000+ as extra or even a couple of thousand $$$ more in a single pc setup without any hesitation ! For only 1%-2% was a VERY BIG deal to us ! Enthusiasm is a DIFFERENT thing to some people ...

$790 or $2500 or $5000 ouds are premium & not for using on regular basis. They are for some of your very own SPECIAL MOMENTS _ to make those moments even more PRECIOUS & to push to the extreme level which is PRICELESS.
 
Last edited:

kesiro

Well-Known Member
#57
You guys are all correct. As far as I am concerned, if the oil is unadulterated, I am likely to enjoy it, cheap, medium, high priced. Yes, there can be huge differences between some lower cost oils and the expensive ones, yet sometimes those differences are more subtle and it is up to our own personal judgement whether that 15% 'extra' is worth shelling out a lot more money for. To each his own. I own oils from both extremes of the cost scale and enjoy them all. I expect the high priced oils to have qualities to justify the cost and so far I have not been let down.
That said, I find a lot of pleasure in using oils which may be more basic in quality but represent a great value. So everyone enjoy what you want. No need to look down on those that have full satisfaction from oils of modest or low costs, and certainly no need to sneer at those that truly enjoy the more exclusive, high end stuff. I say, the best of both worlds has its virtues.
 

Kruger

Well-Known Member
#58
There’s this one oud that’s had me addicted and obsessed the last few days (and it probably still has Ensar in its grip). I keep craving a new swipe before the drydown ever hits the first. An oud that’s reached the point where oud is at its best; where the temperature, the timing, the scent progression, the wood, the distillation, the days and months that went into it… everything has come together to make the perfect masterwork.

A great Iranian calligrapher once said that in the arts, with determination, dedication and many years of repetition, a truly great artist can reach 95% mastery of his craft. Only a tiny handful will make it to 98%; these are the visionaries. But only the odd Mozartian genius will achieve 99%. No one ever gets to 100%.

Think of a master sushi chef, in whose hands the soaking, steeping, smoking, marination, slicing of nothing but the freshest, fittest fish is a matter of precision that’s beyond the grasp of most palettes perusing the menu. A sushi master insists that his fish be aged, wild, its muscles toned, caught and cured fresh, served not too soon, not too late. The rice matters. The temperature it gets served at matters. Aging the tuna that swam for decades for ten days instead of serving it fresh from the salt matters.

One such sushi dinner easily runs more than a bottle of this oil that’s got me so spellbound. Only, with oud the process is yet more intense, the journey far longer, and the stakes even higher. Many people, with some dedication and hard work can figure out how to set up distillation and fire up the burners… and they can come up with decent smelling oud. But achieving that 10–15% difference is basically where the ‘art’ comes into play; that’s where experience counts, dedication shows, and expertise is the result. (That’s also where sheer aptitude or talent gives you a head start, or lets you break past the 95% barrier.)

Like @saint458 said, 1-2% PC processing power can make or break the Counter Strike playoffs. In the obscure world of stock markets, having your fiber optics transfer data 0.00001 seconds faster means earning MILLIONS in less time than the blink of an eye. Or take any sport, like tennis. What sets the top 100 players, even top 1000, apart from one another is a matter of acute precision. Federer is able to time the angle of his shots only fractionally better than the 100th ranked player… but that makes ALL the difference. Nadal hits the ball only factionally harder than most, but in the end that’s what gets him to hold up the trophy.

In the oud world, some people cannot spot the fine blue line, or they don’t care to… or it just doesn’t personally matter as much as the price difference they will have to pay. We all agree, this ultimately comes down to personal infatuation and appreciation. But at least folks should realize and appreciate that to achieve this '10-15%' superiority in an oud oil means disproportionally more financial investment, effort and involvement than getting to or settling for 95% of perfection. And that’s also the point where for some 'oud' really begins……