Making the switch

roadrunners · Post by **roadrunners** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 3:07 am

Has anyone on this site ever tried to play opposite handed (like switching right to left in order to play mccartney?) Im starting to try too, but its sooooo hard! any tips?

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 3:21 am

To me, it is worse than what I remember being a beginner was like. A friend of mine is a lefty and I often try to play his basses. Some people can make that switch but it does not come naturally to me.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 6:19 am

Unless you are naturally ambidextrous I'd forget it.

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 7:34 am

why switch?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 8:35 am

stand in front of a mirror or reverse the negative ...

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 8:39 am

I was in Lima at an oldies concert and saw two left handed bass players get up in a row and both play right handed basses upside down with the strings strung for a righty, I couldn't believe it. Maybe one of them gave the other lessons.

edski · Post by **edski** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 8:45 am

Saw some old lady YEARS ago (I might have been 10 or so) play an acoustic guitar like that (left handed, but strung for righty). She was mainly a folksy/bluegrass style, but also played some Bach and Vivaldi pieces.

Her explanation was she just picked it up like that, never knew any better. She was from the Deep Woods...Deliverance territory IIRC. But she SMOKED on that guitar.

I occasionally try to play that way when I'm in the mode for a nice case of vertigo.

Or have had far too much to drink!

wints · Post by **wints** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:32 am

It is commendable to be versatile, a jack of all trades. I still think it's better to be a master of one...

jps · Post by **jps** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 4:05 pm

Jimmy Haslip plays leftyupsidedown!

maccaguy · Post by **maccaguy** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:24 pm

I think it's all in how you learn at the beginning. I've heard of people learning the other way after playing for x-number of years, and with some of them, it really bothered them (arm/hand/wrist problems, etc.) I play lefty, because I couldn't play righty. I tried for years when I was young to play the guitars my father and brother had, but until I actually restrung an old acoustic to play left hadnded, I couldn't play at all!
It's even stranger because I'm ambidextrous at almost everything else I do, but playing guitar was something I -had- to do lefty.

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 2:09 am

Jimi Hendrix could play both ways. His bass tracks were played with Noel's bass - flipped over but still strung for righty. The Martin acoustic guitar he kept in his bedroom in London, he wrote music with that guitar, was strung righty, he never changed that.

Albert King played a lefty guitar strung righty.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:12 am

You mean like this?

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:22 am

Striking Ronn. Did you do the work?

edski · Post by **edski** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:34 am

You play like that Ronn?

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:57 am

Yep, I'm a lefty that plays with the big string on the bottom.
And yes I did the paintjob. I substituted teal for silver/grey just 'cause I prefered it. Here's a shot of almost everything, all strung righty.