• From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Topic: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

This is a question that fascinates me already since I saw Jimi HENDRIX playing.
What I mean is, you buy a SYMMETRICAL guitar like the Gibson SG.
You start to put your strings on the guitar, but the thick E, changed by the small E string, you put your strings different than people who are RIGHT HANDED.
The ONLY THING you will see, are the volume and tone knobs, and probably a switch.
BUT is a guitar like this easy to play for left handed people, because the only thing that's different now are the knobs and switches?

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

  • From: PA, USA
  • Registered: 2007-08-06
  • Posts: 42

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

I talked to a lead guitarist in my friend's rock group, and he says that you need to have a luthier(?) reverse the nut the strings go over and then you can put your strings on in reverse. It never occurred to me about the knobs and all, but I guess one would get used to them being in a different spot.

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kath628's Website

  • From: PA, USA
  • Registered: 2007-08-06
  • Posts: 42

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

So Jimmy Hendrix was a LEFTY???   Cool!!!

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kath628's Website

  • Registered: 2006-10-24
  • Posts: 1

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

Most of us leftys have, at an early age, just learned to play right handed.  All media caters to the right handed.  Leftys think it all through and adjust their brain to accomodate the twisted information.  Handedness has nothing to do with final outcome.  If one has the burn, he/she will find a method and develop.  The gift will force it's way out and the added result will be a natural bent to think outside the box.  An asset for creative people.

  • From: PA, USA
  • Registered: 2007-08-06
  • Posts: 42

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

Very interesting...you are probably correct.

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kath628's Website

  • From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

Yes sweetie, because of a temporary "without women" period, I had to hug my guitar.
I even sleep with the guitar, and our siblings, are a human head with 3 ears on both sides, to tune my strings, the body is 100% guitar, and the legs are shorter and smaller, but are human.
Difficult to play, that's for sure.
So dear kath, you wrote that a luthier has to work on it.
The old "chordians" will probably remember the fact that, writing with your left hand was an act of the devil (no joke), I am right handed, but I remember me, at school, speaking of the early and mid sixties, that some teachers strapped and tied your left hand with 1 purpose: you have to use your right hand. A lot of artists, like Paul McCartney, are able to play with both hands. Sir Paul is the owner of the absolutely not affordable GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD 1959, and that model he owns is "righthanded". Before we talk about luthiers, I just wanted to know, talking about a guitar with 3 tu,ers on one side and 3 tuners on the other side, so I don't see the need to change all this, you just put your strings, but you start with the thin E-string, meaning: your guitar is tuned but the strings are in reverse. If you start playing, being left handed, head, neck, strings are OK. The only things that will be different are: the pick guard who is at the other side, and the switch and volume and tone regulators.
When you are a lefty, having this guitar (there are still top brands, who just have guitars for right handed players) will it be difficult to play? This also reminds me the GIBSON Everly Brothers, with the pick guard entirely around the soundhole, adding the strings from small E string up to the big E string, I don't thi,k we'll see a difference.

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

  • From: PA, USA
  • Registered: 2007-08-06
  • Posts: 42

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

The reason I brought up the whole left-handed thing is because of my son, who is very lefty...he does EVERYTHING lefty, as opposed to some ppl who are somewhat ambidextrous and do different things with different hands.  Yes, I remember the days even in the 70s when I went thru elementary school, the teachers telling the leftys over and over again to use their right instead. I disagree with the practice and refuse to force a handedness on my child. For this reason I want to accomodate him so he feels most natural when learning to play. His and my electrics have all 6 tuners on one side. Thenut should be reversed because the grooves that hold the strings are sized for the strings. While he is so little I may string it up w/o worrying about the nut for now, but when he gets a bigger better guitar it will be done. By then I should have a good idea of whether or not he will continue to play lefty or will try to play righty.
On a last note...I hug my guitar every night(but have not attempted reproduction)At 44 I'm done giving birth, and that would be a difficult one. LOL! I have a hubby who is not music oriented at all and not very supportive of our guitar playing and love of writing and music. I dont know how that happened but it did, and so yes, my guitar is probably what you could say is my "main squeeze"

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kath628's Website

  • From: Frederick, MD
  • Registered: 2006-12-28
  • Posts: 851

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

kath628 wrote:

On a last note...I hug my guitar every night(but have not attempted reproduction)At 44 I'm done giving birth, and that would be a difficult one. LOL! I have a hubby who is not music oriented at all and not very supportive of our guitar playing and love of writing and music. I dont know how that happened but it did, and so yes, my guitar is probably what you could say is my "main squeeze"

I feel your pain. I have a wife that absolutely despises my guitar playing and hates my silverburst lp with almost passion as my love for it. It makes things VERY difficult. Hmmm...I think I'll start a topic about this particular issue.


=]
Dm

"Talent instantly recognizes genius,
but mediocrity knows nothing more than itself."

-Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle

Detman101's Website

  • From: PA, USA
  • Registered: 2007-08-06
  • Posts: 42

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

Yea Detman...it does make things difficult. He knew I played when we met, but I kinda put it on the back burner for years. Now that I've picked it up he doesnt understand and is jelouse and so on. Its actually creating quite a riff between us. If I had it to do all over again(not regretting my kids and all of course) I wouldve picked a guy to marry that eat, sleep and breathed music. I am soooo not really very happy anymore, and like your siggy line says...therapy is being locked up all day with my guitar too.

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kath628's Website

  • Registered: 2008-09-23
  • Posts: 2

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

i hate to be a bore but handedness isnt a word...the actual term is dexterity i believe!!!  however i feel us lefties deserve to be able to choose from all the guitars that the "righties" can.  to say there is no demand is obviously evidence of poor market research on the behalf of the guitar manufacturers. 

in a 21st century world of equal opportunities...why are we still discriminated against..

ok, rant over

i thank you

  • Registered: 2008-10-08
  • Posts: 15

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

Sorry to hear that kath628, bummer! ^^  sad

I can tell you that playing lefty sucks, only cause no stores carry a nice variety of leftys! You can usually find 1 or 2 leftys, the basic models, that sound like poo. I am actually right handed but I play left handed. Reason being is that I broke my left arm in an ATV accident years ago and the arm just cannot twist all the way to manhandle a fretboard. When buying my gtr for the first time, the salesman reallllly pushed the righty to me, but it just did not feel right to play, so I went with my lefthander. 

For beginners, use what feels good to you. In my case, it was my left hand and i think its pretty cool. So there! Plus my mom is a lefty and she likes that i play lefty. smile

Back on topic.. I have tried flipping guitars upside down for lefty use but to me, the knobs and such get in the way. Also, doing pinky volume swells is tough!!!

My 2 pennies worth..

-melon

  • Registered: 2008-08-06
  • Posts: 3

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

hey guys! I'm a lefty, and i just play with a right handed guitar like a lefty, and it's not a problem! smile the thin E is the highest big_smile


- David

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 2,662

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

arkalumedk wrote:

hey guys! I'm a lefty, and i just play with a right handed guitar like a lefty, and it's not a problem! smile the thin E is the highest big_smile


- David

WooHooo!!!!!!!! Like Seal, Air Supply guy/gal(?), Albert King, Doyle Brahmall, and many more. Welcome to chordie, looking foward to your helpful contributions for  those in need.........

Peace and Guitars,
SouthPaw41L

Give everything but up.
  • From: Almancil, Algarve, Portugal
  • Registered: 2006-09-02
  • Posts: 6,205

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

SouthPaw41L wrote:

WooHooo!!!!!!!! Like Seal, Air Supply guy/gal(?), Albert King, Doyle Brahmall, and many more.

Air Supply guy!!. Graham Russell, guitarist and vocalist originally from Sherwood, an area of Nottingham. A great guitarist and it is fascinating to watch his style of playing.

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Roger Guppy's Website

  • From: Teesside
  • Registered: 2007-08-01
  • Posts: 94

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

I'm a lefty myself but play all right handed guitars in a right handed manner. When I was younger(alot) I had a left-handed guitar and I played left handed for the best part of 2 years. Scroll forward 13 years to last year,age 20, when I start playing guitar again - can't play a lefty for love nor money. Can play it right handed though!

Same applies for various things - Cricket, when I was younger, to bat, I batted left handed, now I bat right-handed - I play darts right handed, but I throw and catch predominantly with my left hand. I play Squash right handed but tennis and badminton left handed?! I'm weird, I know.

I don't think that many lefty's now bother with the whole buy a right handed guitar and swithcharoo as there are some pretty good lefty guitars on the market compared to what there used to be

Wibble's Website

  • Registered: 2007-12-24
  • Posts: 67

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

My 12 year-old son plays a left-handed strat copy, but school makes him play cello right handed. All of the bows must move in the same direction, they say, to avoid collisions.

  • From: Teesside
  • Registered: 2007-08-01
  • Posts: 94

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

Yeah, when I learned to play cello it was the same thing - "all bows must move in unison and in the same direction" - as we play bloody Beethoven over and over!

Best thing about it - cello has an awesome spike that retracts from underneath which is perfect for annoying your little sister with

Wibble's Website

  • From: Clarion PA
  • Registered: 2008-05-18
  • Posts: 328

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

my son is a a lefty and he has learned to play righthanded. To be able to reverse the strings  the nut should be changed and also the intonation should be adjusted. It is possible for some one to do this themselves but if you're not handy using small tools you should probably take it to a shop

Don't take life too seriously, you're not getting out alive anyway
  • From: Alabama Gulf Coast
  • Registered: 2008-06-24
  • Posts: 1,819

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

I'm a rightie and I was amazed to see a lady pick up my guitar, turn it over and play it left handed.
Most of her chords were limited to four stringers but she played (reggae only) rhythm quite well.                                                                                     Her voice was very hoarse from yelling at her kids.

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

tubatooter1940's Website

  • From: Sweden
  • Registered: 2008-02-11
  • Posts: 75

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

The Sg isnt SYMMETRICAL.... but its an cool idea anyway

  • From: Ipswich, UK
  • Registered: 2008-05-20
  • Posts: 101

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

I'm a lefty, but i find it actually helps when it comes to playing my 'standard' guitar!  My left hand is the ones that is 'used' to taking instructions... so when it comes to shaping chords, etc, i find it easy. Maybe, i'm just a natural guitar player, & it has nothing to do with being left-handed...?

The time to be happy, is NOW !

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  • From: Portsmouth, UK
  • Registered: 2008-07-29
  • Posts: 95

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

I saw the Rifles last night. The lead singer / Rhythm Guitarist was a lefty, and he played one or two right handed guitars (one was an acoustic)....

Decidedly average band though. It felt rather unspectacular throughout. Unlike Elbow who i went to see a week or so back, who were rather brilliant.

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  • From: NorCal USA
  • Registered: 2008-02-28
  • Posts: 4

Re: lefthanded people with right handed guitars.

burck188 wrote:

Most of us leftys have, at an early age, just learned to play right handed.  All media caters to the right handed.  Leftys think it all through and adjust their brain to accomodate the twisted information.  Handedness has nothing to do with final outcome.  If one has the burn, he/she will find a method and develop.  The gift will force it's way out and the added result will be a natural bent to think outside the box.  An asset for creative people.

I'm happy to say I'm one of those lefties who play right handed guitar. To me it makes more sense to play the standard setup as a lefty. I mean, my left has more dexterity than my right, so I play the fretboard with my left. Makes sense kinda... At least for basic rock rythym guitar.

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Actin' like a maniac-
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