Electric Leftyland

[jdogric12]

Hey lefties, how about sharing your experiences in music, particularly guitars, and the difficulties most of us will never fully understand?

Levett? Simmons? Bengster? Bueller?

[tennis_nick]

Hey lefties, how about sharing your experiences in music, particularly guitars, and the difficulties most of us will never fully understand?

Levett? Simmons? Bengster? Bueller?

I learned on a right handed guitar.... Dodged a bullet there! it belong to my father (another lefty)... odd.

[cjj]

I don't know, it's not that odd. I'm a lefty (well, probably more ambidextrous, but I usually write left handed), but play right handed. I've always thought the standard "Right Handed" guitar or bass was really designed for leftys. Except for playing with fancy finger picking styles such as flamenco, etc., the hand that does the most intricate work requiring the most dexterity is the hand doing the fingerings on the fretboard, which on a "righty" guitar is the left hand...

[leftybass]

Well, I am a true ambidexterous person in that I do many things with both hands, including playing guitar.

But, it isn't that simple. I started out left-handed due to the only guitars in the family at the time belonged to my cousin, who is a true southpaw at everything.....he had a righty Telecaster Deluxe that he strung left handed, plus a lefty Ovation Legend acoustic......to me, that's just the way guitars were....so that is what set my mind to do it. I write with my right hand, but lots of other day-to-day stuff is lefty.

All of my basses are left-handed.....can't play right-handed bass to save myself. When I was growing up people thought it was cool because I had a Hofner Bass and I liked The Beatles...naturally it's an image that is hard for a lefty to shy away from but oh well.....I was more freaked about Geddy Lee and Chris Squire, which is what led me to buy a 4001.

I learned to chord and finger-pick right-handed guitar over time, for most all of my friends were righty players and their guitars were what I had to fart around with. But lately I have started getting proper left-handed guitars to try to do it all the 'proper' way...I now have a lefty 000 Martin, an Esquire and of course my '67 360/12.

And being a lefty has it's benefits, I have achieved nirvana.

[wmthor]

It was Christmas Day, '65, when I received my first guitar, a very inexpensive right-handed acoustic. Right off, I started trying to play left-handed as shown the the picture below. I had taught myself to play the chords upside down. It's what I know now, playing left strung right. In fact RIC offers the RH option for the folks who still play that way. However, the guitar was stolen in the summer of 1966 and I never got another one until 30 plus years later. My garage band days in high school ('65 thru '69) was spent being a vocalist (I was in the school's choir) and keyboard player.

Fast forward to Christmas, 1996 when I received my second guitar and first electric. Based upon the advice of several folks that I know, including my brother-in-law, I got myself a right-handed Mexican made Stratocaster. I signed up for lessons, but soon became very frustrated because my timing was all screwed up. I found that I'm a lot more relaxed and sound better with the pick in my left hand. I took the guitar back to the shop (McCabe's in LA) and them set it up as a lefty, ala Hendrix. After that every guitar that I bought has been a lefty.

During the period '96 & '97, my BIL was looking for a RIC 12 string. He had asked me to check out what was available in LA. It was visiting all of the LA area shops on behalf of my BIL that I had come to appreciate the quality and sound of a RIC. Therefore, I decided that my next guitar and first lefty was going to be a RIC. I ordered a 360 LH MG in Apr, '98 through Norm's in LA and it was delivered in Sept '98 (gee, at the time, I thought that was a long wait).

All in all, I been able to find whatever I've wanted. Of the fifteen guitars that I've owed, I've been able to play eight of them before buying it. Three were ordered from though a dealer, three (2 used, 1 new) were bought sight unseen through the internet, and of course, my 730S which was ordered from and built by our own Jingle Jangle.

Of the three that were ordered though a dealer, I had tried out right-handed versions of the guitars before placing my order. I have not been disappointed with any of those purchases. Two of the in store purchases and one of internet purchases have been sold, as I never fully bonded with the guitar.

[wmthor]

I was thinking that the worse problem that I've had being a lefty was about a year and a half ago. I looking at some amps during a visit to Dave's Guitar in LaCrosse, WI. There I was, in the store without a guitar and wanting to see how various amps sounded with a RIC. I tried playing their right-handed 360, but became very frustrated with my playing. Finally, I asked the salesman to play various songs with the RIC, while I adjusted the knobs on the amps. A Victoria Victoriette was purchased as a result of that visit.

My first guitar (12/25/65):


My latest acquisition (12/25/08):

[jimk]

I don't know, it's not that odd. I'm a lefty (well, probably more ambidextrous, but I usually write left handed), but play right handed. I've always thought the standard "Right Handed" guitar or bass was really designed for leftys. Except for playing with fancy finger picking styles such as flamenco, etc., the hand that does the most intricate work requiring the most dexterity is the hand doing the fingerings on the fretboard, which on a "righty" guitar is the left hand...

Same here. I'm also left handed and always thought right handed people were handicapping themselves by doing all that work on the fretboard with their non-dominant hand.

JimK

[jingle_jangle]

I don't know, it's not that odd. I'm a lefty (well, probably more ambidextrous, but I usually write left handed), but play right handed. I've always thought the standard "Right Handed" guitar or bass was really designed for leftys. Except for playing with fancy finger picking styles such as flamenco, etc., the hand that does the most intricate work requiring the most dexterity is the hand doing the fingerings on the fretboard, which on a "righty" guitar is the left hand...

Same here. I'm also left handed and always thought right handed people were handicapping themselves by doing all that work on the fretboard with their non-dominant hand.

JimK

Ditto here...I'm a lefty in everything but guitar, playing righty. Just seems more natchrel. Also, when I play keyboards, my right hand dominates. My left sub-mitts.

[kiramdear]

My left sub-mitts.

Paul, you should be severely pun-ished for that.

[wmthor]

... when I play keyboards, my right hand dominates. My left sub-mitts.

I'm just the opposite; my left hand dominates whenever I'm playing the keyboards. However, I do play golf right-handed and shoot a rifle or bow right-handed (use the left hand for the pistol). Whenever I'm playing baseball/softball, I can bat from either side.

[cjj]

... when I play keyboards, my right hand dominates. My left sub-mitts.

I'm just the opposite; my left hand dominates whenever I'm playing the keyboards. However, I do play golf right-handed and shoot a rifle or bow right-handed (use the left hand for the pistol). Whenever I'm playing baseball/softball, I can bat from either side.

I'm really mixed up, I guess. With a lot of things, I can pretty much use either hand, even writing (actually, I'm a bit faster with my left, but both are just as illegible... ). Keyboards, I don't think either hand is really dominant. Now, throwing a ball, I've NEVER been able to do that left handed. My parents got me a lefty baseball glove when I was a kid, I'd catch OK with it, but took it off the throw with my right hand. Rifles I shoot lefty, pistols, either hand, a bow, hmm, I'm probably equally lousy with either...