joklany
Oud Maniac
Posts: 74
Registered: 2-9-2009
Location: Dubai
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Ostrich feather as a pick!
Hello All
I was wondering if one could use an ostrich feather as a pick and if so what does one need to do to it before it can be used.
I got a couple yesterday from the zoo keeper when I took the kids to the zoo.
I played with one last night without any modifications save for little sanding but it was too hard and I found it difficult to do the up strok.
Season's greeting to you all
Jaafar
|
|
|
Aymara
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1162
Registered: 10-14-2009
Location: Germany / Ruhr Region
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Hi Jaafar,
I tried playing with a Turkey flight feather. The first tries were horrible ... I found it to be too hard ... no chance to get tremolo working.
But because it sounded good I sanded the quill's top and practiced further ... now I'm satisfied. If the quill's top is sanded perfectly round and the
angle to the strings is low enough, even a fast tremolo works fine.
But as I said before ... it needs a lot of practice ... several days.
I don't know, if an ostrich feather is a better or a worse choice ... maybe the quill is too thick?
Greetings from Germany
Chris
|
|
|
joklany
Oud Maniac
Posts: 74
Registered: 2-9-2009
Location: Dubai
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Thanks Chris. Yes the quill is too thick. I will have a go at sanding it to see if it improves.
Best regards
Jaafar
|
|
|
Aymara
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1162
Registered: 10-14-2009
Location: Germany / Ruhr Region
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Important is, that the quill's top is perfectly rounded and the angle between quill and string is not more than 30° ... this way I was able to
improve my technique and tremolo worked.
If you don't succeed, try a Turkey or goose feather for comparison.
BTW ... here's a photo of my feather, which I posted in another thread already ... maybe that helps.
[file]12952[/file]
The scale below is in centimeter.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
|
|
|
Aymara
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1162
Registered: 10-14-2009
Location: Germany / Ruhr Region
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Hi again,
you also might be interested in THIS and THAT thread, where feathers were discussed too.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbprobrown/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
