Ararat66
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1025
Registered: 11-14-2005
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow yellow
|
|
Rishas and mizraps
Could forum members please tell me of the sort of rishas/mizraps they use - what materials you prefer and wether they are hard, soft, flexible, rigid,
rounded end or sharp etc. Also why you like your preferred choice.
It would be really interesting to know
Cheers
Leon
|
|
|
will_oud
Oud Maniac
Posts: 75
Registered: 6-4-2006
Location: San Antonio Texas USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Good
|
|
I typically use a stiff plastic risha with a somewhat sharp edge to it.
William F. Sparks
|
|
|
jazzchiss
Oud Junkie
Posts: 217
Registered: 12-20-2004
Location: Madrid
Member Is Offline
Mood: Improvising
|
|
I use one of hard plastic.
I use to play with one of New Tortis for almost one year, but one day it broke while I was playing. I like the power that is obtained by Jameel's
rishas, but I think that the material is too fragile and the price is excessive.
|
|
|
Jason
Oud Junkie
Posts: 733
Registered: 9-17-2005
Location: Louisville, KY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Loving my oud
|
|
I use the Pyramid "professional" pick. It's available on Jameel's site and also through a German store on ebay... which may work better for you in
the UK
|
|
|
revaldo29
Oud Junkie
Posts: 418
Registered: 6-24-2004
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: inspired
|
|
The Pyramid professional rishas offered by Jameel are excelent. I thought the cheaper ones were way too thin. Also, if you order from Jameel, I would
recommend ordering more than one at a time. Jameel, correct me if I'm wrong, but the shipping is the same if you get 1 or 5 rishas. I don't know about
you guys, but I've misplaced some of my rishas in the past.
|
|
|
LeeVaris
Oud Junkie
Posts: 379
Registered: 12-16-2003
Location: Los Angeles
Member Is Offline
Mood: oud lover
|
|
Rishas, rishas and more rishas
I've used just about every conceivable type of risha and I'm still exploring. Right now I use about 4 different types of materials and I keep trading
off . One day I'll use one thing and the next I'll switch... its really crazy but I think I get better every time I switch and rapidly adapt to
something new. My risha technique is still evolving and each different risha enables me to emphasize something different in my technique. I really
think that you could use almost anything with the appropriate technique so... at this point, I've stopped trying to find the ultimate risha and just
enjoy using different ones for different things.
I use Jameel's new tortis rishas but I've thinned them down considerably so they are extremely flexible – this makes them very fragile however so I
have to be very careful with them. I also use Delrin plastic strips – these are a material prepared for use in Harpsichord plectrum. Almost a
nylon-like material they are virtually indestructible. Flexible but slightly soft and I use them a bit thicker. They have a rounder tone with less
"click" but require a harder attack to produce sharp articulation between notes. I also use fairly stiff horn rishas from Ronny Andersson – these
are not like the usual horn rishas, they are thicker, a light creme color with a kind of punch to the tone that feels more "old school" to me. They
are also a bit more difficult to use with rapid tremolos. I've also managed to make a few feather rishas out of turkey quills, prepared acording to
the instructions on Ronny's web site (I'm not sure they are still there). These are perhaps the most difficult to use properly and they produce the
sharpest tone, in fact the chief difficulty is in gettting a softer sound out if them. I must admit though that turkey risha are not like eagle risha
and are quite a bit stiffer – they are also fairly fragile and wear down a bit after extended use. They were such a pain to make that I am trying to
preserve them as much as possible so I don't use them too often.I'll wait until my technique is a bit more refined before I strart using them a
lot.
In the end, though the risha does contribute a lot to the tone, I think almost anything can be used effectively. I've gradually been using more and
more flexible risha – refining the right hand technique to control the angle and depth of attack, modulating the amount of exposed tip in the grip,
etc... I'm attempting to gain control over a variety of sounds and aim for the ability to seamlessly blend these sound while playing. I believe
that experimenting with different risha has helped me to develop a better, more varied risha technique.
|
|
|
excentrik
Oud Junkie
Posts: 291
Registered: 5-19-2004
Location: Refugee Status...
Member Is Offline
Mood: Now Here, Nowhere...
|
|
I agree with you lee- I like to switch it up alot- I use three different types; a plastic stiff one that Nazih sent me, an eagle risheh and a hawk
risheh. the hawk is my favorite these days- it's nice and stiff, but it gives when you need it- really durable too- I found the hawk feather in
griffith park (LA) when I was walking my dog!
tarik-
p.s. thanks rami, I'll hit you habibi-
|
|
|
Ararat66
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1025
Registered: 11-14-2005
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow yellow
|
|
Can of worms
I thought this question would open a can of worms - I've been experimenting a lot myself from very flexible and thin (plastic from bottles etc) to
hard stiffer rishas from sanded down formica - and everything inbetween - I've tried seagull feathers but they are not so good.
It's really interesting to hear of different sensitivities.
Leon
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbprobrown/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
