spacelooper
Oud Lover
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Registered: 9-28-2004
Location: Nashville
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Mood: inspired
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Risha / Plectrum
I was wondering if anyone has a good source for quality risha/plectrum/picks?
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samzayed
Oud Junkie
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try contacting Najarian for some ready made picks http://www.oud.net
Or if you want to make your own, do a search for Tor-tis on this forum, and try those.
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spacelooper
Oud Lover
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Thanks Samzayed for the advice...
I'll check them out...
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Walidk
Oud Maniac
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Rishas
Spacelooper,
you can also check the Buy/Sell forum. Member Elie Riachi was offering some nice picks he made himself.
I bought some and they were excellent.
Walid.
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
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Thanks Walid. I am very glad that you like them, unfortunately I ran out and I am too busy to offer more. The pearloid required a lot of work.
Which type works for you the best?
Regards,
Elie Riachi
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samzayed
Oud Junkie
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I am willing to part with my rishas from Elie. No offense Elie, they just weren't for me. I'd rather have someone else enjoy them 
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
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| Quote: | Originally posted by samzayed
I am willing to part with my rishas from Elie. No offense Elie, they just weren't for me. I'd rather have someone else enjoy them |
Hi Sam,
None taken... Different strokes for different folks... (pun intended) 
On a serious note, could you elaborate why they didn't work for you, because I have gotten very positive feedback so far regarding the heavy and
kinda uncertain regarding the XHeavy ones.
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samzayed
Oud Junkie
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Elie,
The "heavy" were ok. They reminded me of the Tor-tis in some ways, but not as flexible and warm sounding. The "extra-heavy" were
way too stiff for me, and way to "clicky" sounding. I found it hard to get a nice tremelo. Also, I really didn't like was the width
of the picks were way too narrow, I like them a little wider.
Also, when I tried to file and sand the tips down, there was a really bad chemical smell. Is that normal/safe?
(These are just why they didn't work for me at this time. I find that my tastes evolve with time, like everything else)
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Walidk
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Elie,
The Richas were great..better than any commercially available stuff you can buy at a store.
As you mentioned before, this is very personal and subjective preference.
In my case, I liked the colored ones (more flexible). I could not play with the stiff ones at all because of the same reasons as Sam mentioned.
I love the width and length otherwise. I also got rid of the rounded ends. I like them square (go figure!!).
Again, excellent work Elie..
Walid.
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
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Thanks for the feedback guys.
Sam, it is not normal to have the smell unless you are using high speed power sander (not recommended) then you should stop before it smokes. I have
sanded and filed them with no problems. Could it be that there is somthing on the sand paper?
Walid, the XHeavy ones sound loud to me. It may help with tremelo if you grasp the rishi farther back from the tip.
In general the more they are used the cleaner they will sound as the tips get smoother, I think.
Regards,
Elie Riachi
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
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Sam,
I debated on wether to make these rishis narrow or wide... then I wondered since traditionaly, rishis (as the name translates) are made from
eagle's quill. The quill being narrow, I made a rishi narrower than the commercially available ones. Once I tried it, it sounded very good and
had a strong and clear sound to my ears. So I kept alternating between wide and narrow and comparing untill I decided that I like the crisper sound
of the narrow over the flatter sound of the wide. You will notice that the round tip will give a slightly flatter sound than the elliptical one. To
my ears, the wider rishis dampen some of the edginess of the sound. I was watching a Tunisian film on FTA sat and one of the scenes had some
background oud solo with a strong, edgy and clear sound -- I was able to produce that sound on my oud using the narrow rishi, none of the other wider
rishis come close. In the end it is just a matter of mood and taste and I agree with you wider produces flatter sound.
Regards,
Elie Riachi
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revaldo29
Oud Junkie
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Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Elie,
You were right about the extra heavy, it sounds great with my syrian oud. The only problem is that I don't have the strength for it yet  . I think using a heavy Risha is a great way to build up chops so I will accustom to it
over time. The maroon ones sounded great with my turkish oud. The only complaint I had was that I like them a little wider as well.
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Elie Riachi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 582
Registered: 4-9-2004
Location: Kansas
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Mood: Gebran Tueni Lives For Ever, 12-12-05.
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Hi Revaldo,
What width would you prefer?
Regards,
Elie
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revaldo29
Oud Junkie
Posts: 418
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Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Hey Elie,
The plastic risha that I play with is 1 cm wide. After reinspecting my risha that I used to play with, I found that the actuall area coming in
contact with the strings is the same width as the rounded side of your risha . Like I said, they sound great. I think that I'm just not
accustomed to holding a narrow risha in my hand but I'm actually beginning to like it after having played with it for an hour or so. I'm
still having trouble controlling the extra heavy but it's worth spending time on. It makes my oud resonate really well. Also, I noticed that
since the risha's are narrower, I get that really cool scratchy sound around the strings common of turkish music, especially with the extra
heavy. I'm happy with the rishas and I think it's good to have a variety. I haven't been playing too long but I found that different
kinds of rishas are more compatible with the type of music you are trying to play. Maybe i'm wrong, but it's working for me so I have no
complaints. Good job Elie
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