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Home Forums Guitar Discussion Guitar Can you string a right hand guitar for left hand playing?

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  • #23734
    makita7000
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    I am wondering. If anyone knows, I would appreciate a reply.

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    • #66056
      1bassleft
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      Speaking as a lefty who’s done it on guitar and bass, Makita – you certainly can. But, unless the guitar is given to you for free, I wouldn’t recommend it. Decent lefty guitars are so cheap now, it’s not worth the effort of converting a righty. In the US, Rondo Music do lefty versions of their SX guitars that are excellent starters for peanut money. In Europe, brands like Shine are equally worth a look. On the 2nd hand market, something like an Encore will cost you very little. Just in case you’ve found a righty in the attic, here’s what you need to do.

      First, some body styles are better than others. The SG type is OK, but the Strat and (worse) Tele and Les Paul really hamper access to the upper frets. With any righty, you’ll have the input jack in your way, the controls in an awkward spot, the neck side-markers will be invisible and any tremelo arm (unless you’re Stevie Ray Vaughan) will be so bothersome you’ll want to take it off. The strap button will need to be moved to the (usually shorter) other horn and this will affect balance.

      Going ahead, you’ll either have to widen the channels in the nut (because you’ll have thick strings going where thin strings were expected), or if it’s a standard guitar, buying a new nut for lefties is less hassle. Secondly, you’ll have to adjust the string saddles for intonation. What this means is that you’ll want a G fretted at the 3rd fret to still sound like a G when you fret it at the 15th. Strings and frets are non-ideal so saddles are normally nearer the tail for the bass strings and nearer the neck for the treble strings. Because you’re turning the guitar upside-down, you’ll have to reverse how the saddles have been located.

      On an acoustic guitar, you’ll need to replace the nut (can be trickier unless the model is well known) and reverse the angle that the simple, rosewood bridge is tilted at.

      Like I said, a designed-for-lefty guitar is a lot simpler if you’re buying one anyway.

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