Customer Reviews

Oud Pick, Cow Horn, 6 Pack

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These are not "plectra". Just like the plastic ones from MidEast, they are blanks. They are meant to be shaped, in between conversations about the oud or the plectra. That's how a "conversation piece" works. Much like a piece o' pie. They are also, unlike pie, soaked in oil, which makes them as strong and flexible as the best Acetal, but not good to eat because the oil maybe is of mineral origen. To make a short story long, they are primo blanks of primo material. Sure, they cost more. There's a proverb, how does it go? You will need sandpaper, two grades, a coarse and a fine. Or a little grinder/sander. And a quiet spot to work in, free from distracting conversations that tend to go like this: "Hey, Fernie, watcha burning there? Whatsat smell, whatsat sound? got a cat in that vise again, doin' the old pet-trepanation?", well, because there is a slight organic smell to grinding bone, or horn. But, as you grind, or sand, within reason, you will find the perfect shape, sooner or later. To give you a start, it can be relatively pointed, like a gothic arch, at both ends, with the edges beveled like a knife. But some like them blunt and strange. One of the longer blanks can in addition make two rishas or mizrabs. So you get about 10 rishas (or mizrabs) per package, as long as you don't get carried away with trimmin' 'em down, know what I mean?

The photo is misleading, makes the stuff look very "earthy". Well, it's not. It's more like they took some cow horn and sliced it into thin and surgically regular slices about 0.030" thick, maybe the rest of the skull and brain too. Then they soaked it in vegetable or mineral oil and after a while a guy took out the leftovers and put 6 of the slices into a little cellophane bag and thare ya go! Some baggies have nicer slices than others. At the wholesale price of cows it's not cheap, but at the price of picks it's just fine, they are strong and they last a long long time. They really sound good. Very different from Acetal or Nylon or Polyethylene. Nothing wrong with Acetal (Delrin(R)), Delrin is swell! or even with having a Nylon risha or two if you own a floating bridge Iraqi oud that's just waaay too bright. But the horn risha is organic, that's a cheap argument, but it's TRUE, it sounds less ticky plicky and more thwaaaacghh and ghzzoooookgh, but my brain is running down now, sorry, I have to go play the oud.

A final word of warning for this harsh and uncaring world. Don't listen to well-meaning people who tell you you can play the oud just as well with guitar picks or chicken heads, well, it just will NOT work, not well anyway. Get these cow horn blanks and make some rishas (or mizrab) and you will NOT regret it. Promise. A++++ As to shipping, I think it all comes from the same warehouse; I don't want to upset anyone, but I think that's where they kept the cow before they sliced it.

The picks I ordered arrived within a reasonable timeframe and were exactly what had been promised. I found that I needed to sand the picks on the edges a little to get them to have the right contour for my comfort, but this was personal preference and other players may feel that they are fine straight away. They are much more attractive than the regular white plastic picks that I had been using and also make for an interesting conversation piece, as does the oud itself.

I have used one of these they are the best; they don't have that plasticy sound. They need to be sanded to desired softness.

But why do none of these sellers ship to Canada ??

The cow horn picks are so badly cut and planed that two of the six had deep gouges in them and were practically in two pieces. The manufacturer and distributor should inspect these picks more closely.