Readers,   If you have gut or nylon strings on your lautenwerk then it is
definately worth fussing with leather.
         And if you have a real peau de buffle choir, even real quill won't
do. Indian water buffalo hide however
       can be a bit difficult to obtain evan as antique military belts in
the shops of Paris. A year ago I tryed unsucessfully to import some moose
hide to use for buff pads from Alberta. The moose hide business was
suffering along with the economy. I wound up gluing some really soft brown
leather (perhaps dear) to the wonderful neoprene wet suit material I
normally use for buff pads. I would like to hear your leather related
stories.      Jack Peters
-----Original Message-----
From: Harpsichords and Related Topics
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ray Lurie
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 6:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: voicing leather plectra


Quoting Jack Peters <[log in to unmask]>:

>    I think leather plectra died out because you can get delrin to
> work
> without working so hard. Getting the old leather out without breaking
> the
> tongue can be a challenge.  Findind hard enough leather (Neupert
> still has
> it) is another chore.

The Instrument Workshop (http://www.fortepiano.com/plectra.htm#leather)
also sells leather plectra (100 for $25) and notes, "If you send us the
dimensions of your mortises, we will adjust the thickness and shape of
the plectra to fit your needs."

They also sell a leaflet, "Converting from Leather to Delrin Plectra"
for $1.50 (http://www.fortepiano.com/plectra.htm#lit).

Ray