How to Replace the Skin of a Riq? Replacement Riq Head

The roots of the instruments, which are fixed on a pulley and stretched and striking the sound of the skin, extend to the Sumerians. The riq, which is one of these instruments, comes to the fore today as an instrument used both in Sufi music and modern music. The skin of riqs may need to be changed against deformations occurring over time. However, this skin change process should be done carefully.

When replacement the riq skin, the riq is placed on a flat surface and firstly unscrewed with the help of an allen wrench. With the removal of the screws, the connection between the pulley and the riq skin is broken. However, opening the screws is not enough to remove the riq skin. The main pulley of the riq and the pulley to which the riq skin is fixed are separable. After separating these two parts, help can be obtained from the screwdriver to separate the skin from the pulley where the leather is located. The screwdriver, which is inserted under the riq skin, is stretched up and the riq head is separated from the pulley. The leather separated from the hoop is put aside and a new leather is replaced. Care is taken to ensure that the new leather placed coincides with the screw locations. Later, the leather pulley and main body pulley are reassembled and fixed with the help of a wrench.

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What happens if the riq skin does not fit the hoop properly?

When making the riq skin replacement, the newly inserted leather should be fully seated on the hoop. If the skin does not fit snugly, it may stretch over time, distorting the sound. Tightening with the allen key should not be done at once after the new leather is placed on the hoop. That is, it should not be tightened to the root of a screw and then switch to a new screw. Instead, the screws should be tightened little by little and in turn, and the riq skin should be ensured to fit slowly in the pulley at each stage. Small riqs usually have 4 or 5 screws. This number may change for larger rigs. After the first screw is tightened a few turns, the second screw should be started and after the last screw is tightened a few turns, the first screw should be returned. Failure of the skin to fit properly on the riq causes not only sound distortion but also bad appearance. Therefore, caution should be exercised when replacement riq head and, if possible, support should be obtained from those who are experienced in this field.

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Hides used for riq

Stretched leather products are generally used in instruments such as drums and riqs. The skins, which have been thinned and flattened enough, provide high-quality sound when used in these instruments. The quality and structure of the skins used in riq also determine the riq prices. This is also important when changing riq skin. PVC leather is the most used leather type in tambourines with the advantages of low cost, easy processing, and easy replacement. These artificial leathers produced using PVC material have a durable structure. They are also very easy to tune.

In addition to PVC leathers, it is very common to use real animal leathers in riqs. Among these animals, sheep and goats have the biggest share. However, due to the difficult processing of animal skin and the high cost, animal tambourine used is quite expensive. However, animal skin riqs are quality products that can be used for a lifetime once taken. Although their tuning is somewhat difficult than PVC leather, animal skins come to the fore in terms of aesthetics. Configure other animals used in instruments such as the gazelle although not very common in Turkey riq and drums. By processing the skin of this animal, quite beautiful instrument instruments can be obtained.

Tuning of riq

The tuning of the riq is easier when compared with string instruments. It is enough to have only an allen key to make tunings in riqs. With this key, tuning can be adjusted by loosening the screws removed during the change of riq skin or by making them tighter according to the situation. Too tightly tightening the screws results in a tougher and slender sound. The tightened screws cause the skin to become tighter. On the contrary, when the screws are loosened, the leather becomes loose and the sound obtained becomes thicker. This adjustment can be made easily by the users according to the purpose of use and the desired tone of the sound.

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