Mike's Oud Forums

What rishas do the pros use?

luan - 1-14-2018 at 11:41 AM

I was wondering what rishas do the best players use.
Does anybody has any information about this?
I'm interested specially in turkish players.

Thanks!

al-Halabi - 1-14-2018 at 01:40 PM

In Turkey professional players, including those in the top tier, use plectrums made of plastic, which has become the standard material. Their dimensions, shape, level of stiffness, precise ways they are held in the hand and modes of attack vary according to personal preferences. The understanding is that these are the key factors that shape the quality of the sound. I have not seen in Turkey resort to materials that were used in earlier times, such as eagle feathers, horn and wood.

luan - 1-14-2018 at 07:24 PM

Thanks for your reply! What kind of plastic? There is a lot materials i've tried, and I believe I still haven't found the best one for me yet.

John Erlich - 1-15-2018 at 11:13 PM

Every oud/ud player has his or her favorite type of risha/mizrap and favorite material. In my experience, most Turkish store-bought mizraps are relatively narrow, thick, and of a very soft white or black plastic. It's hard to understand what there feel like from a photo, but here is one sample: https://image5.sahibinden.com/photos/68/09/20/x5_379680920lvz.jpg By contrast, most store-bought Arabic rishas are wider, thinner, and made of a harder, "springier" type of plastic. Here is an image of a fairly typical Arabic oud risha: https://schneidermusik.de/shop1/images/images_big/p_py_p655.jpg

Oud players who make their own mizrap/risha may use nylon cable ties, specialized materials sold on oud web sites, or anything else they find works for them. Here is a tutorial video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCtAWZGncvk Here is one web site which sells materials specifically for making your own mizrap/risha: http://www.oudstrings.com/index.php?route=product/category&path...

I myself used to use nylon cable ties. However, I found a wanted a harder, "springier" materials, and one which didn't take hours to sand into the right thickness and shape. Nowadays, I use pallet strapping. This photo shows pallet strapping (light green) which looks about like the type I use: https://www.northerntool.com/images/product/2000x2000/343/34375_2000...

You will really just need to experiment and figure out what works best for you.

Good luck!

luan - 1-16-2018 at 08:34 AM

Thank you John for your reply!

Do you have an idea of where I can get online the plastic rishas you mention turkish players use?

John Erlich - 1-16-2018 at 06:48 PM

Quote: Originally posted by luan  
Thank you John for your reply!

Do you have an idea of where I can get online the plastic rishas you mention turkish players use?


I thought maybe Tulumba.com, but didn't see it in their on-line catalogue, so I sent them an email (form) inquiry. (They are in the USA.)

Will let you know the result.

Best,
"Udi" John

luan - 1-17-2018 at 07:49 AM

I didn't knew that website! Thanks for the tip :)

Matthias - 1-17-2018 at 09:32 AM

Hello,

all the rischas I offer are listed in my shop here:

https://music-strings.de/rischa_1

I sorted them following the thickness and not the color. Getting them from the production they have only 4 categories ( 655, P655, P656, P657 ) but as they have always different thicknesses I made much more categories as you can see. But this also means, you cannot get them in a special color.

Best regards

Matthias

John Erlich - 1-17-2018 at 02:00 PM

Here is the reply from Tulumba:
--------------------
Thank you for your inquiry.

Currently we do not carry this product. We have informed our purchasing department that you are interested in this product. If we receive it in stock we will contact you.
-------------------
Maybe they would carry them if there were more interest and inquiries?

Peace out,
"Udi" John

luan - 1-17-2018 at 08:58 PM

Thank you a lot Matthis and John!
I'll be checking both websites.

Take care!