Ostrich quill Rishas
Since Eagle quill rishas are forbidden in north America, I investigated for an alternative and looked for Ostrich feathers.
I learned how to cut and shape properly the Ostrich feathers and made quite a few rishas and found out that Ostrich feathers are an excellent material
for rishas, with a powerful yet sweet tone.
They are flexible, even with a certain rounded thickness at the tip to avoid the slapping sound on the string, resistant, and the sound is very
interesting. Excellent in fact!
The Eagle quill has a black side (the outer side) which is very hard, and a soft white side. Half of the strokes on the strings are with the "hard"
black side.
The Ostrich quill is more homogeneous, with solid white material throughout, which is a bit harder than Eagles's white and softer than Eagle's
black.
(The difference is to be expected since Eagle and Ostrich feathers have very different functional requirements during the life of the bird).
Finally, after a lot of comparative playing, on my Riza Usta, on my Leon Stambouli and my Gamil George ouds, I find that after all, Ostrich feather
rishas could very well turn out to be best material ever for rishas, at least for ouds strung traditionally with natural gut, like mine.
Has anybody else tried to make Ostrich feather rishas before?
I invite oud players in Paris to come visit my atelier and try my Ostrich rishas.
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