Mine was more of a joke and I knew this wasnt going to be a political video. However, this is a really busy time in politics with impeachment proceedings and the 2020 election coming up.
I figured it was a joke since you did something similar with the college kids video. Granted you're not necessarily shy about it (you've made some hints here and there) but you don't go over board with it. You're someone who's somewhat open about your beliefs, but that's not what you want to talk about. It's a good balance. It feels more genuine.
Same man. I spent 3 hours in the city trying to find a lefty bass guitar, the last shop sent me out to the suburb for one of their smaller shops had one. Arrived, not a single lefty bass in sight, gave up and told em to give me a beginner righty bass and went home.
My “favorite” thing about being a left handed guitarist is how there’s such a variety of colors to choose from when it comes to Ibanez...yah know black and then there’s....black...and oh yeah black.
When you enter in a guitar store and finally find a lefty hanging on a wall, then you realize it’s a reversed Hendrix signature... Left handed player’s signature made right handed, what a joke
Mighty Pigeon I’m outraged fender didn’t make a reversed Hendrix signature for us lefties. Then again, they probably elected not to since we’ve been doing it ourselves for decades haha.
BRO, I fucking respect you, dude. Being a left-handed guitarist myself, I was shocked as to how many of the things you mentioned were actual issues I have on a daily basis. Playing guitar is underrated and the people who does should be respected just as much as the ones that don't
Dude I rock with the leftys and I had so many tell me to learn right...I told them it felt wrong. I also had to get a guy who works on guitars to convert all the ones I liked that were right handed. He is so awesome and understanding
I hated that shit. The teacher always wanted to know why I spaced farther to the right than normal. BECAUSE MY FUCKING HAND WONT FIT OVER THESE STUPID SPIRALS! " you can't use a pen, use a pencil instead..... why is your work always so smudged?"
@@tlarison88 Heck yeah I was born 1980 so I probably was using spiral right handed notebooks up until maybe 7th or 8th grade I finally discovered perforated paper notebooks and was finally able turn a clean paper. I never realized how dirty the cuffs were on my sweater and shirts all due to years of dragging my hand all over the paper. Man in those days writing neat was a big thing.
I’m lefty but play right handed. Totally by accident. When I first picked up guitar I didn’t think of left or right handed instruments, I just played. Now I’m thinking it was the right accidental choice
You did the right thing. I'm left handed aswell and have played right handed bass and guitar all my life because it didn't even occur to me that "normal" guitars were actually right handed. To me, instruments are instruments which is why there's no left handed piano. I must admit i look down on lefties that grew up spoiled enough to demand left handed everything. I'm a leftie and i write with my right hand and my hand writing is likely better than most right handers. You can teach your non dominant hand to do anything just as good as your dominant, you just don't want to.
"Being surrounded by water but dying of thirst" I believe you mean, "Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink"
A friend of mine is righty and plays lefty and he's pretty good, There's something in having your dominant hand on the fretboard, Shawn Lane, Gary Moore, Steve Morse, Mark Knopfler, Duane Allman, I could go on but I think there's someone for everyone there
Same here. It’s called cross dominance, when you do most actions with your dominant hand but choose some actions to do with your weaker hand. Quite common actually but not for guitarists. No matter how much I tried to play right handed, my mind and body go “Nope!! Put it back!” And I gotta go back to lefty
So basically you're saying that the dominant hand should be the one that's picking, since it could be just faster and more comfortable than the non dominant hand?
I was jamming with a lefty bassist recently, and I found it easier to visualize what he was playing, so I could follow along, because it was like looking in a mirror. I could match his hand position much easier, than when I observe my righty friends. When they're playing something, I have to mentally flip around the image of their hand on the neck which is just an extra step.
I'm left handed and I play left handed too. I own a Lefty Ibanez GIO a chinese knock off of a jackson guitar and I recently purchased a genuine Jackson Dinky js32L. Annoyances: 1.- Buying instruments is a pain in the ass, prices and colors are limited, very few options. 2.- As you mentioned the logistic part of being lefty can be troublesome and in my experience is hard for most people and other musicians to realize you're lefty, so you have to explain it to them. 3.- Whammy Bars, hard to come by, so don't lose yours. 4.- Volume knobs: 10=off, 1= loud. 5.- Not being able to please the ladies with a few songs at parties or reunions because the only guitar around is right handed. Advantages: 1.- No one can borrow your guitar 2.- As you mentioned, lefty guitars are custom made and special to a certain extent. 3.- You are forced to learn songs by ear because guitar tabs make no sense... or is it just me?? hahaha XD In general I don't find any advantages of being lefty, at the end of the day you're just like any other guitar player.
Call the manufacturer and tell them you want to talk to the engineer about a left hand set up. The engineer will either supply you the correct pots or give you the part numbers. They will also send you a left-hand wiring diagram for the model you have.
Just discovered your channel and I have to say, thank you. as a fellow lefty, you covered every major talking problem I ever faced and I too went through the same struggles with right handed gear. Hell my first guitar is a right handed acoustic, which I flipped and have kept for the 13yrs that I've had it.
Really?? I was planning to buy a guitar but there's no left handed guitar in my town. I played uku left handedly and there's some problem with it because I can't do the other chords and I've had troubles learning other songs becuz of it. Now, I am kinda reluctant to buy electric guitar because I might have the same experience.
Preach, Brother! I’m a left handed player and you hit most of the bullet points. The only one I’d like to add is the salespeople who try to talk you into buying a right handed guitar using sideways logic. I get great joy out of unraveling their logic then walking away.
That was awesome that you gave a shout out to Southpaw Guitars. I'm a left handed guitarist (but a right handed drummer) and I live in Houston. Southpaw is amazing and if you ever find yourself in the Houston area I highly recommend stopping by.
As a lefty drummer, when I play along to music, mostly the mix is such that the music syncs with my playing. The snare on the right, the toms roll to the left...it actually helped me hear the music the way I was playing it. Small miracles.
Totally! I blew people's minds in a music store once when I played perfectly good chords upside down on a righty guitar and even on a 12 string righty acoustic
The notification on my phone read "Why it sucks being a lefty..." I thought you were going to go there and the algorithm was going to nail you. I'm a lefty but play righty guitar. I feel some techniques take longer to learn that depend on the other hand. Cheers!
Great video - I can't relate personally, but I can empathize. My wife is a lefty and taught herself a la Batio to do many things with her right hand simply because adapting was easier than trying to do what came naturally. I don't discourage people who take guitar lessons from me to *not* play left handed unless they're brand-new to the instrument (any new instrument you start, if you haven't played *at all* will feel just as awkward) in which case I lay out those valid points that you made concerning the disadvantages. I also have the anecdotal story of my grandfather, who was a lefty himself but learned right handed guitar.
It's not even about the awkwardness. If you are a fully left handed (not ambidextrous to some degree) Your overall potential will suffer. You won't be as good as you could be and you will end up noticing it. If the left hand is the one that's natural to you, you will be better even if you are able learn to use things right handed. There are things that lefties learn the wrong way and they are never as good. My dad was forced to learn to write with his right hand right from the start. He can now write with either hand with horrible handwriting. I learned to use the mouse with a right hand right from the start. My accuracy and speed is below average and I just know in my bones it would be better had I learned it the other way, but there's no going back anymore. If your students are fully left handed their picking technique will be gimped they will lose some dexterity even if they can learn to play great with the right handed way. Please even if your students are completely new to the guitar let them play the way that feels more natural to them.
@@ToveriJuri Like I said, I make them aware of the disadvantages, but the student and their parents make the final decision. I understand what you're saying, and I agree with it, but the reality of having trouble finding instruments is there, and make them aware of that challenge.
From what I've seen (interesting topic to me) it looks like some can get away with playing the other way but some just can't do it at all or struggle a lot despite practicing a ton and have to switch at the end. And the question is the ones that don't feel they're hindered by playing the other way - how good they are, how high goals they have? If one's happy with being just average, it's sure easier to get away with playing with what's "the wrong way" for them. I'm almost entirely fully left-handed and experienced being in a pretty big disadvantage when playing video games, the layout of the controller was for RHs, of course. It was just a game, so it's not a big deal but it made me aware that there's high chance I would hinder myself at some point if I chose to play a RH guitar. And that I would regret greatly. I'm gonna need the speed and preciseness in high speed later on - and that's where I failed in the game. I could do it with my left easily and couldn't with my right. Maybe you can train your weak hand enough (how long that might take and is it worth the effort to battle yourself?)- and maybe you can't. There are stories from people who tried to win this battle and lost and had to switch and relearn everything. I decided it's not worth the risk. I chose not to risk hindering my potential and rather sacrificed the selection of guitars (I'm an adult beginner so I found out pretty fast how the situation with lefty instruments is). Also, there are people who do feel it's natural for them to play the "wrong way" (a lefty playing a righty and a righty playing a lefty guitar) and that's totally ok. I think it's quite a complex topic at the end and I guess there's more variables than one would assume.
I have been playing 38 years. When I was young all we had was an old acoustic. I picked it up. Learned a minor penatonic, and I was off. I never thought I could get serious, but then I found Albert King, Dick Dale, Doyle Bramhal II, and the list goes on. I tended to play double cutaway guitars like SG's V's etc. Now I own 19 lefties, and one right handed Hammer LP Jr double cutaway. I take them to a tech that swaps the nut, and strings, and sets them up. My only real gripe is slanted bridges like on Gibson's. You cannot set the intonation correctly on the lower strings because there is not enough room. I would love nothing more than an SG, but if I just flip it over my arm tends to hit all the knobs. I could build one, but it wouldn't be the same. I have Carvin's. They will make them left strung right at no extra charge. Schecters, fenders, and some with trems. I block them, but they are easy to swap strings. A couple Fender lefty basses, and a few others. As long as it has a trem or a standard fix bridge I'm good, but the SG eludes me, or any stop bar bridge, but there are still plenty out there. If I can find an afford one I would like to find an SG with a Bigsby. I am ashamed to say I own a Chapman ghost fret lefty, but only because I have always wanted an explorer. They are not the best made guitars, but a lefty explorer with a standard fixed bridge fit the bill. It was rebuilt from tuners to bridge saddles to include locking tuners, DiMarzio pups, pots, switch, and all wiring. Now I have to get my buddy who has a wood shop to reshape the head stock to look like a Gibson or at least a Jackson. That head stock looks like the old cheap BC rich or some of the Dean ones. I'll have to remove the logo. Ahhhh to bad. I'll just tell people it's some custom built guitar. It was free so I can't bitch too much. The delivery date kept getting pushed out at Guitar Center every month for 3 months. I got hold of the regional VP in charge of sales, and complained. A few weeks later I got it free of charge. He also helped me to get a lefty schecter Reaper. GC carried the reaper, but not lefty, so he contacted Schecter, and they drop shipped me one. I have to give them a kudos for all their (his) help.
As a lefty myself, I couldn't agree more with everything in this video. My buddy works at Sweetwater (weird flex, but okay) so I called him up to get some locking tuners and a new nut, or just a locking nut for my guitar. They don't stock any left-handed versions of those items so he looked up where they could buy them from and they were all hundreds of dollars and would take weeks to get to me. There is also nothing worse than going to a guitar store with your friends and only having 3 options to play out of the 1000 options.
@@kevinhernandezretana2170 Yes! What I imagine of the discussion at Fender: "Boss, the acoustisonic has been well received but we are getting asked a lot if there will be a lefty version." "Okay, let's make one. What's the blandest color option?"
I said this on another video but it’s definitely one of the greater benefits of being left handed. When you’re learning via watching an instructor/video, it was always easier to grasp because it was like watching a mirror image rather than watching them play flipped.
fellow lefty here. learned to play drums right handed (same with guitar) and i feel like it took me forever just to get decent because i had to combat the fact that my right had isn't my major hand so i completely agree. i legit didn't know there was such a thing as left handed when i started playing
@@fugue6943 considering everything on the kit is mirrored, yes. considering that most double bass drum pedals DO NOT have a left handed version, yes. what about the fact that certain venues make you play a house kit pre set up and pre miced (that's always set up right handed)
same started right handed on the drums. then saw Deep Purple on t.v. in the early 70 's. Ian Paice left handed drum kit changed every thing for me. lefthanded guitar player is a nightmare for us lefties, the music store is a joke. anyway enough ranting. we are the only ones in our right mind LOL
I feel your pain Mike. After some time though I have convinced myself I made the right decision by playing what feels natural to me. I honestly love being lefty. No one can play my guitars and it makes me stand out. Also I end up getting guitars that no one has and that is cool too.
Man that sucks. I'm not left handed and also still learning to play but I never thought of these types of issues before and it honestly could have kept me from trying had I delt with it myself. I have a lot more respect for lefties that deal with the crap to learn to play. Thanks for sharing
I'm left handed on some things and right handed on others, I box as a southpaw and my left hand is my strong hand but I pretty much do everything else with my right, also left footed
this is the greatest. totally with you bro you just explained my 30 years of being a lefty. the music store. the NEW GUITAR is Magical for us Lefties, because it's special. Thanks man that was awesome.
Fellow lefty here. I learnt guitar right handed since my dad's right handed and I learnt guitar on his guitar. Having watched this I am incredibly grateful towards myself for doing that
Playing in the metal scene in Ohio for over a decade, I played with ONE other guitarist more than once that was another lefty. I thought that would be great in case I needed to use his guitar. Well, the time came that some unforeseen circumstance happened and I had to use his guitar..... NOPE! That shit was cheap, the strings hadn't been changed in forever (plus they were too small of a gauge for the tuning he was in) and it just felt like playing a right handed guitar with how foreign it still felt. Over the last 2 years or so I have been pretty much buying up any left handed guitar or bass I can find, within reason, meaning that I have accrued about 20 or so instruments. To make them stand out I have done everything from having custom pickguards and control plates made, putting in new pickups, I even took a PRS SE (One of four) and I'm having an evertune put in it. I thought it might be a fun idea to offer some up for rent to other left handed players that might not have as good an axe for recording or whatever but..... there's no fucking people around that play left handed! I'll sit in my basement and switch guitars every half hour. It's cool.
Finding left handed volume pots was a game changer. I had always thought all the old timers talking about rolling back the volume for a clean sound were nuts. Crazy whats possible when you have access to more range than 0 and 10 at hand.
Started playing right handed and after 1.5 years I switched to left handed because of picking problems. (I'm a lefty) Two benefits I can think about being a left handed guitar player is symmetry in your band's performance and the mirror effect in videos or real life
Damn I’m about a year and a half into learning and I’m considering switching for the same reason :/ earlier today I got curious and tried it and after like ten minutes of just trying it I could pick faster and cleaner on one string already :/
I tried to start right handed, played for 3 or 4 hours a day and after a year i couldnt barely play a whole song. After a year of being fed up i flipped my bass upside down and learned a song that day.
I too am a lefty. Edit: One of my struggles was back in music class during my senior year, I had to play a right handed guitar upside, so all the chords *were backwards.
If it helps, even though the chord diagrams are ostensibly righty (looking down at left hand on the frets), they're very readable (lefty guitar strung lefty) by picturing the diagram as seen from the BACK of the neck (looking through the neck at the bottom of the right fingertips). Not clear why anyone would need lefty diagrams...
There are left handed models of Steve Vai's JEM guitars (at least one cheaper and one expensive). Left-handed signature guitars are rare, but there are a couple out there.
Left handed person and left handed guitar player here. I once had kinda opposite problem, I had already a left handed electric guitar and I was supposed to play something in front of school, brother of my bassist was supposed to play the guitar but he only had acoustic and I wasn't able to borrow him one. I borrowed a guitar from my uncle but it was in different tuning, had Floyd Rose bridge which I didn't know how to use and output jack was faulty. Eventually I didn't played in front of school for some different reasons, but I recorded few things using that guitar. Later when I bought right handed guitar in case of something similar happening in the future, it's my "studio guitar". Another time our school band was playing at different school and something went wrong and some our equipment wasn't transported there, including my guitar. So I had to borrow one from other band. It was right handed acoustic, I was able to play it because on one song I played a melody, which is not that hard with reverse strings and the other song had Hm-Hm-A-Em progression, these chords are simple to reverse. I actually learned few chords in reverse and I sometimes record on right handed guitars. Ow, I just remebered that when I first tried to learn guitar (which wasn't succesfull, I didn't learn chords until 3 years later) I played E sus4 instead of A major because when I looked at the pictures of the chords I didn't know which strings is a top one and which is a bottom one. BTW I played with other left handed guitar played for 3 years, in that school band, and our bassist was left handed but played right handed. And I think that guitarist's guitar, which is right handed Squier Strat strung upside down, have a right handed nut, and it plays good. First "normal" guitar I converted for left handed playing had similar nut and I just reversed it and it was ok. The second guitar I converted needed to have a new nut, because it wasn't symetrical,I could reverse it.
You speak the truth! I was in a car accident and used to play right-handed guitar (I was 17). My left hand is mostly paralyzed, and I play with a special pick holder. Learning guitar a second time was difficult, but it was well worth it. Warmoth is a game-changer and a lifesaver, and I have several guitars that I built through them over the years. They never charge extra for lefthanded bodies and necks, and those ~40 guys have helped me many times. I also buy cheap stuff off eBay and mod it until it is perfect (*OK, playable). For my 40th birthday, I got a Gibson Explorer (I had wanted one for 25 years). The challenging part is buying quality hard cases that fit my left-handed guitars (My Warmoth Diamondback needs a good case). If you want to read a story: My family bought me an ESP LTD EX-100 (Left) as a graduation gift, and Guitar Center sold me the wrong case. It ended up cracking both sides of the neck pocket. I have babied that guitar and found a Gator Case that fits it. I bought three replacement bodies from a site that sold factory closeout parts that happened to come from the same Korean factory where they made the original guitar. Bonus: those guitar bodies were made from the better wood of higher/more expensive models. I am not a tone-wood guy, but some wood dents and cracks easier than others. All I have to do is install the bridge from scratch because they were part of a factory/warehouse closeout sale, but they were $70 a piece. I do all my luthier work (I grew up poor, in the middle of nowhere, and had to learn to service, clean, fix, replace, or fabricate my way out of a jam so I could jam).
Nice shoutout to Southpaw Guitars! As a lefty player from Houston, they are a godsend. I’ve bought about ten guitars there. The last one I got has the right handed pots. I didn’t realize that till watching this video.
I am also a left handed guitarist. I feel you man, finding a guitar is a pain. I started out playing right handed, but a year after for fun I would play left handed and it felt so natural. Now, ten years later, still sucks.
Im a lefty who had the same initial experience except I just accepted that my natural instinct was holding it the "wrong way" and I switched and learned right handed. The bonus for me doing this is that my left hand is really strong when fretting as well as quick and responsive when doing leads. Weird chords and stretches as well. That definitely has made me stand out, because things that are hard for others are easy for me and I could use really heavy gauged strings and get really nice thick bluesy tones and never buzz from not holding down enough. The downside is my rhythm guitar skills really suffered and I could never really get metal down because my right hand wasn't fast enough. Id just cap out at about the speed of "The beast and the harlot" by avenged sevenfold or "The trooper" by iron maiden and even those were pushing it. The crazy alternate picking/string skipping just wasnt getting any easier, so I was stuck being a legato, hammer on and pull off player naturally, even when I got sick of that style. I still sometime wonder if I should pick up a lefty guitar and see if my rhythm improves as that is kind of what interests me more nowadays. Surprisingly however my fingerpicking is pretty good, it doesn't feel awkward like quick picking.
I've learned playing drums lefthanded and it was the biggest mistake in my life... The problems you have are even bigger when you can't even take your set where ever you want to play. So for a long time I had to rearrange a set everytime I wanted to play at a friend's house and my friend (right handed) had the same problem on my own set at home. So I've started learning bass about 10 years ago and forced myself to learn it with a common right handed bass. It's amazing to be able to play anywhere, anytime with no issues! And I find it interesting that my fretting hand is faster and more agile that my right hand which doesn't have to do much else than plucking/slapping the strings. So I feel you... I've bitched about it for years and I still do, when someone asks me to play the drums. I really hate it!
I'm a left handed drummer and the worst thing ever is sharing a kit on a gig. The worst thing was when we had two drummers and we changed multiple times during the set. Also I can never find left handed drum sticks!
Dude I wish I had a lefty in my band. The stage theatrics we could do. Don't cry Mike it's cooler cus you are different. Also who tf boroughs a guitar from a m8.
I like playing right handed guitars in our native orientation. You mentioned Dick Dale but having that easy access to the bass strings coupled with the "different way of looking at things" can help spark even more creative new ideas. Obviously, you'll want to bring those ideas to the guitars that actually like you back, which leads to EVEN MOAR new ways of playing. #fuckrighty
I'm very grateful that I taught myself to play right-handed guitars upside down as it makes finding guitars a lot easier. Plus- for lack of a better way to put it - it makes me feel like it's my own thing or sets me apart even though other lefties play that way too. The thing I've constantly gotten is "you can't play that way" or "you really should get a left-handed guitar, you'll love it so much more". I even once had a music teacher insist she couldn't teach me unless I let her restring my acoustic guitar but she didn't seem to understand it would require flipping the bridge and whatnot. She also commented that she didn't understand why left-handed people couldn't just fret with their left hand as "you think it'd be easier with their dominate hand" whilst not realizing the same logic would apply to right-handers. Even when I showed her I could play every basic chord and had no trouble instinctively translating instructions by sight she was still dismissive. It took submitting an essay on Elizabeth Cotton before she gave way a little. She didn't seem to like lefties period though so I imagine me being an upside down lefty just added on top of that. I've tried playing an actual left-handed guitar and I think I'm just too far gone. It feels (ironically) backwards to me. It makes more sense in my head for the high E to be on top and the low E to be on the bottom. Good video! Keep doing what you do best man.
Amazing video man, everything you have said is correct! Being left handed is brutal and unique but sometimes fucked up.....here in Colombia buying a lh guitar is a nightmare.....7 years ago i had to order one in a town near my city a Vorson Lh....it took like 6 months to deliver.....Now i ordered a Shecter C7 Deluxe.....and it took exactly 1 year to deliver.......Thanks to shecter that they have a lot to choose from and their instruments are amazing... Thanks for this video! Saludos desde Colombia!!
One advantage I've learned is that if you're around right handed guitars enough (and we lefties always are), you eventually learn to play a right handed guitar upside down well enough to at least get by in a rudimentary way, which impresses the hell out of people, and is sweet revenge when the righties try the same thing and can't. An offshoot of this is that certain instruments (a mandolin, for example) are tuned like the lower 4 strings of a guitar reversed, so you as the lefty stuck in a righty world, already have a head start on chords because you've learned how to play "upside down" chords your whole life.
I've done that so many times it freaks people out and I love it. we just see things different on the guitar. Oh and I've never seen a righty who could play left handed.
This is so true. For years, due to poverty I had to borrow right handed guitars from friends, so I learned to play upside down chords. as for mandolin, I did buy a lefty, but I still play a right handed uke and from what I can tell it's WAY easier to play that way. To the point that I'd even recommend righties string their ukes lefty.
Accurate. As a casual bassist/guitarist any lefty instrument on sale looks good regardless of condition. Quality lefty instruments are the true unicorns
Fun fact I just recently found out: Mark Knopfler is a righty who plays left handed guitars.... he says he did it to get a different tone out of the instrument
hey i too suffer from severe left handedness. i’ve been playing for 10+ years as a right handed but i’m my natural stance for playing is being a lefty. i wish i learned it as a lefty
I'm left-handed and I actually did everything with my left. When I started lessons I used a normal Spanish guitar from my grandpa. It was actually really difficult to learn to play right-handed, especially because I basically never used my right hand. It took some more time than I hoped, but I eventually learned to play the guitar and the bass right handed. I lowkey want to try a left-handed bass guitar to see if it feels more natural to me, but I got so used to playing right-handed that I don't think that I would like it
The 'getting a new guitar' part rang SO true.... It took me almost 20yrs of waiting and hunting, but I finally got a Explorer when Gibson decided to do a run of them in 2018.
When right handed guitarists say that "it looks weird" when I'm playing. Well I've been playing like that for almost 30yrs, get over it. Went into my local music store to try out a new amp. Only left handed guitar they had was $2500. They watched me like a hawk with that guitar. The guitar I want to buy is a Solar V. But they don't come in left-handed. 😒
metal mike When they say “it looks weird “ ask them...haven’t you ever played guitar in front of a mirror ? Is the person in the mirror, lefty or righty?????
I am a lefty and have been a golfer for most of my life. Most of the problems you mentioned in this video are quite similar to issues with playing golf left handed, so when I decided to start playing bass, I just sucked it up and learned to play right handed. So while I can’t specifically sympathize with your complaints, I still very much understand the struggle that sometimes comes with being a lefty.
Dude i really liked your video, I've just started bass, & even though a left hander, it was more the fact i got a more accurate right hand for string holding. Watching right-handers in videos is even easier, everything is mirrored, helps identify stuff quicker.
Lefty bass player here. It's bearable once you learn to compensate (longer cables, spatial awareness where your headstock is going, ...), the one thing I always forget is which way the truss rod tightens/loosens. I could not tell you off the top of my head.
I know this pain all too well. Being a left handed bass and guitar player for over 33yrs now, I am constantly disgusted by not only the pricing differences, issues with pots and bridges (as noted in your vid), and limited option ranges within a given model (usually only the base models are available), the worse for me has always been the sheer number of guitars that just aren't made for Left handed players. As I moved through the many styles of music I began looking for acoustics, banjos, and fretless basses only to find that in most cases, we are the bane of manufacturer's existence. My first love is the bass and in my years of playing out I definitely felt the pangs of having to watch out for headstock fights and getting in the way. I have been so disgusted with the availability of quality left handed fretless basses that I have begun designing and hand crafting my own boutique versions. the pain is real and the struggle goes on
Good question, I have the same notion that just as (many) lefties could easily play a "regular" guitar, many lefties would probably benefit from a lefty piano. The left hand on a guitar seems to do the more technical work, yet on a piano it performs the (typically) less technical rhythm. Why?
@@Lawrence330 I had a long conversation with a famous lefty pianist who (obviously) plays a righty piano. The answer depends on what kind of music you're playing. Apparently, classical and ragtime have no favored hand so each hand has to be able to play similar parts - no disadvantage to being left-handed. This is not true of pop and similar, where the two hands have very different parts/roles.
There are permanent challenges. When it comes to playing faster and keep a tempo you cant. I played righty for 6 years, and now playing for 3 months a lefty my tempo and strumming is way better than it was before.
What do you mean, "becomes natural"? How do you know that the piano wasn't designed by a lefty? How do you know that you're not playing it backwards? Why would you assume that it feels unnatural for us? Where do assclown right handers get off that they're doing our thinking for us?
As a left handed who is just now learning how to play guitar i came here specifically for the rant! I feel so frustrated all the time... i wont give up of course, but it's been a: "could be a lot more pleasant if everything in the world wasn't especifically designed for right-handed people" experience.
I'm lefty and I played right handed for 20 years. Now (2022) I decided to learn the lefty way. I'm so happy because I'm progressing very well, it's being good fun.
@@phile5437 My friend (who's a rhythm guitarist in our band) play guitar left handed despite being right handed.It's because when he first started learning guitar he tried to play the normal way(right handed) but he felt uncomfortable then he decided to learn to play left handed and surpisingly was very comfortable for him so he stick to that way.Kinda funny tbh. Fun Fact:Mikey Demus (Skindred Guitarist) is also a righty who plays guitar left handed.
@@AzizDoufikar2280 That's how it is for me. I'm a right handed lefty player. I've been asking LH players in the comments and the answers so far support my suspicion.
As a lefthanded guitar player, I agree with everything you said. I started playing in either 92 or 93, so it is far too late to 'switch' to playing right handed....but one of the biggest regrets I have is not forcing myself to play right handed when I was a kid. Everything you said was perfect...so I don't have much to add. But to me..the lack of (if any) selection at music store, not being able to borrow of try friends' guitars....etc. But to me, the biggest issue is that every time you buy (usually order) a guitar, you are taking a huge and expensive gamble. A few years ago, I paid about 4000 dollars to have an american luthier (I am Canadian) build my dream guitar for me. While it physically/cosmetically looks like everything I wanted, I am not the biggest fan of how it feels. I like it, but I do not love it. Not only was I not able to try the guitar before buying it, but I had to have someone build it and wait for a year, with my fingers crossed. They are also hard to sell.... Okay, i'll stop now because i could complain all day. hehehe.
Red Scorpion 6, oh god, can’t even imagine the pain with basses. I’ve always been interested in painting my guitars, I already add stickers to them so that seems like the next option.
Here's a question for lefty drummers: Does playing drums left handed effect how you play or set up your kit? I've seen kits where the ride and crash were switched, so I've been curious if maybe they were left handed players or just liked those cymbals in different places.
While technically yes, drums would be reversed if you were to play left handed like phil collins does, though many left handed drummers i.e. dave lombardo, chris Adler, Ringo Starr just play right handed, because when they're just starting out and using house kits it's very awkward and time consuming to switch them round
Not really. You also have a good example of the opposite, which is Carter Beauford, Dave Mathews Band drummer. He learned how to play by setting his drumset in front of a mirror and watching TV performances. By the time he figured out he was playing lefty, he was too far in to re-learn drums, so he decided to play open handed instead.
I found a left handed 2008 Fender 1960 Heavy Relic CS Stratocaster used in a guitarcenter in Denver in 2018. It was listed at $1999.99 and I bought it in the spot. Such a lucky find since 1960-1961 are my favorite years of the Stratocaster.
One of the cool things about being lefty is when you're trying to show the other guitarist a part of a song or something you've written (or vice versa) it's like looking in a mirror so it's actually easier for you both.
And I also read that the guitar god Mark Knopfler is lefthanded but started playing righthanded because he could do the vibrato on the strings easier with his left!
The fact that this many people thought this was a political video immediately before watching says a lot about our culture, and it's sad...
Just a matter of terminology, my dude. These are very political times.
Sorry to be one of those ppl, Mike. All the lefty love.
Mine was more of a joke and I knew this wasnt going to be a political video. However, this is a really busy time in politics with impeachment proceedings and the 2020 election coming up.
@@smithfan22 correcto.
#Bernie2020
I figured it was a joke since you did something similar with the college kids video. Granted you're not necessarily shy about it (you've made some hints here and there) but you don't go over board with it. You're someone who's somewhat open about your beliefs, but that's not what you want to talk about. It's a good balance. It feels more genuine.
Today is election day here in the UK, I totally thought this was a commentary on left-wing ideas haha
All my left handed people, unite.
raggaeldestro hell yea
Aye!
raggaeldestro YEEAAAAHH
raggaeldestro HELL YEAHHHHH
raggaeldestro oi oi oi
Being lefty is great for teaching and sharing ideas with righty’s. It’s like looking in a mirror
It hurts my head playing with lefties 😂😂
Vice versa
Yeah but my brain is used to seeing right handed guitars and the moment I see a left handed one I'm like duude what's wrong there
@@declanl2167 it's okay dude, it's b/c your using only half your brain.
Agreed. I think this really allowed me to teach righties. They seemed to comprehend easier.
As a left handed person, I learned how to play right handed guitar
Yet I can’t even hold a spoon with my right hand
Same my dude
Same man. I spent 3 hours in the city trying to find a lefty bass guitar, the last shop sent me out to the suburb for one of their smaller shops had one. Arrived, not a single lefty bass in sight, gave up and told em to give me a beginner righty bass and went home.
SAME! I had an ex tell me I was actually right handed because I play guitar and bass right handed. So annoying.
@@UnleashTheFear that explains why they're an ex
Same.
My “favorite” thing about being a left handed guitarist is how there’s such a variety of colors to choose from when it comes to Ibanez...yah know black and then there’s....black...and oh yeah black.
Just like Fender, where you can pick from either black or sunburst! If they're nice they'll throw in a white/red in there.
You can have it in any colour you like as long as it is black.
Or a company would use the ugliest colors possible on the left handed versions...
Yeah i know,it's like buying a black vehicle.You're asking for it!
Joshua Dixon and white and blue 😖
And that instant connection you get when you find out someone else is a lefty
lmao ikr
Yes
Lefty love
I never met one but I can image ! Lol
Paul mccartney found it useful when sharing a mic with George Harrison
Only if he was standing to his right otherwise they are sword-fighting!!
@@Defensive_Wounds why would they? You always have the choice
Very true
@@Defensive_Wounds what's wrong with sword fighting?
@@minethotho5422 You do, of course. As I do being a leftie guitar and bass player. But it has so many issues in a small room...lol
"Yesterday I was at the music store to get a left hand guitar. I tried both of them."
Found that many, did you? Lucky!
Lucky! Let me guess a strat and telee
We have two stores here. One has one lefty and the other has none.
When you enter in a guitar store and finally find a lefty hanging on a wall, then you realize it’s a reversed Hendrix signature...
Left handed player’s signature made right handed, what a joke
Mighty Pigeon I’m outraged fender didn’t make a reversed Hendrix signature for us lefties. Then again, they probably elected not to since we’ve been doing it ourselves for decades haha.
AND WE GET SFA ARTIST MODELS AVAILABLE!!!!!!!!!!!
This is so true. I found 2 lefty strat in guitar store and found out its was a reversed Hendrix sig, strung right handed. And I CAN'T play it.
What kills me is we are still up-charged when a "Reverse headstock" comes stock on so many RH models.
Got one! Restrung it. Love it.
BRO, I fucking respect you, dude. Being a left-handed guitarist myself, I was shocked as to how many of the things you mentioned were actual issues I have on a daily basis. Playing guitar is underrated and the people who does should be respected just as much as the ones that don't
Dude I rock with the leftys and I had so many tell me to learn right...I told them it felt wrong. I also had to get a guy who works on guitars to convert all the ones I liked that were right handed. He is so awesome and understanding
I'm lefty and growing up spiral notebooks were a pain in the rear especially 3-5 subject one
I hated that shit. The teacher always wanted to know why I spaced farther to the right than normal. BECAUSE MY FUCKING HAND WONT FIT OVER THESE STUPID SPIRALS! " you can't use a pen, use a pencil instead..... why is your work always so smudged?"
@@tlarison88 Heck yeah I was born 1980 so I probably was using spiral right handed notebooks up until maybe 7th or 8th grade I finally discovered perforated paper notebooks and was finally able turn a clean paper. I never realized how dirty the cuffs were on my sweater and shirts all due to years of dragging my hand all over the paper. Man in those days writing neat was a big thing.
You start from the cardboard and work your way to the front brotha
This southpaw has felt your pain.
I felt this. But I’m a righty player so I’m lucky
I’m lefty but play right handed. Totally by accident. When I first picked up guitar I didn’t think of left or right handed instruments, I just played. Now I’m thinking it was the right accidental choice
"It's the way I've always air-guitared, how would I adapt to playing a lefty guitar after all that 'practice?'"
And im right and prefer left hand guitars.
You did the right thing. I'm left handed aswell and have played right handed bass and guitar all my life because it didn't even occur to me that "normal" guitars were actually right handed. To me, instruments are instruments which is why there's no left handed piano. I must admit i look down on lefties that grew up spoiled enough to demand left handed everything. I'm a leftie and i write with my right hand and my hand writing is likely better than most right handers. You can teach your non dominant hand to do anything just as good as your dominant, you just don't want to.
i played it wrong but thank God my teacher told me to flip it around n play it normally 😂
both of us are lucky ngl
"Being surrounded by water but dying of thirst"
I believe you mean, "Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink"
"...but not a drop to drink"
I believe you mean "...nor any drop to drink"
Great reference though, I never considered the connection there lol
Lmao that's the first thing that came into my head as well
And the curse goes on
@@bleachmaster1545 ...and on and on at sea
I'd laugh in "F tone" with that
I am RIGH-handed and prefer left- handed guitars, I play left-handed. Yes, you didn't read it wrong.
A friend of mine is righty and plays lefty and he's pretty good, There's something in having your dominant hand on the fretboard, Shawn Lane, Gary Moore, Steve Morse, Mark Knopfler, Duane Allman, I could go on but I think there's someone for everyone there
@@hughjarrse yeah, but it's hard when you like thrash metal and need to do downstrokes with your weak hand lol
Same here. It’s called cross dominance, when you do most actions with your dominant hand but choose some actions to do with your weaker hand. Quite common actually but not for guitarists. No matter how much I tried to play right handed, my mind and body go “Nope!! Put it back!” And I gotta go back to lefty
@@hughjarrse i agree, i'm left handed but play right handed
So basically you're saying that the dominant hand should be the one that's picking, since it could be just faster and more comfortable than the non dominant hand?
"We are the 11%" - Mike
11*
@@artvandelay8744 thanks, I corrected it
Do we jump on limited runs with color choices and configurations?
YES.
Southpaws rise up. We live in a society
I was jamming with a lefty bassist recently, and I found it easier to visualize what he was playing, so I could follow along, because it was like looking in a mirror. I could match his hand position much easier, than when I observe my righty friends. When they're playing something, I have to mentally flip around the image of their hand on the neck which is just an extra step.
I'm left handed and I play left handed too. I own a Lefty Ibanez GIO a chinese knock off of a jackson guitar and I recently purchased a genuine Jackson Dinky js32L.
Annoyances:
1.- Buying instruments is a pain in the ass, prices and colors are limited, very few options.
2.- As you mentioned the logistic part of being lefty can be troublesome and in my experience is hard for most people and other musicians to realize you're lefty, so you have to explain it to them.
3.- Whammy Bars, hard to come by, so don't lose yours.
4.- Volume knobs: 10=off, 1= loud.
5.- Not being able to please the ladies with a few songs at parties or reunions because the only guitar around is right handed.
Advantages:
1.- No one can borrow your guitar
2.- As you mentioned, lefty guitars are custom made and special to a certain extent.
3.- You are forced to learn songs by ear because guitar tabs make no sense... or is it just me?? hahaha XD
In general I don't find any advantages of being lefty, at the end of the day you're just like any other guitar player.
Call the manufacturer and tell them you want to talk to the engineer about a left hand set up. The engineer will either supply you the correct pots or give you the part numbers. They will also send you a left-hand wiring diagram for the model you have.
Tabs do make sense idk what you’re talking bout
also don't forget the fact that you can do cool dual guitar on live shows just like Zacky V and Syn Gates form A7X xD
lol guitar tabs make snese just fine to me
@@tjsogmc really, they do that?.
All my dream guitars, I cant find them in a lefty version, ticks me off
I'm about at the point of just messaging a company for a nice 7 string custom lefty because literally the only option is Schecter.
Yup.
Question. You might play lefty, but are you left handed? I think the majority of LH players are RH people.
Just discovered your channel and I have to say, thank you. as a fellow lefty, you covered every major talking problem I ever faced and I too went through the same struggles with right handed gear. Hell my first guitar is a right handed acoustic, which I flipped and have kept for the 13yrs that I've had it.
I am a lefty but my first guitar was a righty guitar. I taught myself how to play and to this day I am still a lefty who plays a righty guitar
licky, lucky,, quirky (? murky ) u , “ [ Ai luv it “ ] - Random Key & Peele skit ..
Really?? I was planning to buy a guitar but there's no left handed guitar in my town. I played uku left handedly and there's some problem with it because I can't do the other chords and I've had troubles learning other songs becuz of it. Now, I am kinda reluctant to buy electric guitar because I might have the same experience.
Preach, Brother! I’m a left handed player and you hit most of the bullet points. The only one I’d like to add is the salespeople who try to talk you into buying a right handed guitar using sideways logic. I get great joy out of unraveling their logic then walking away.
"We don't sell left-handed amps."
Ugh, that one is the worst.
Left handed guitar stools.
I'd just get out of the store actually XD
That was awesome that you gave a shout out to Southpaw Guitars. I'm a left handed guitarist (but a right handed drummer) and I live in Houston. Southpaw is amazing and if you ever find yourself in the Houston area I highly recommend stopping by.
Lefty player, but are you a left handed person? I think the majority of LH players are RH people.
As a lefty drummer, when I play along to music, mostly the mix is such that the music syncs with my playing. The snare on the right, the toms roll to the left...it actually helped me hear the music the way I was playing it. Small miracles.
Left-handed guitarists be like: *plays guitar left-handed*
Sir Balls-of-Steel Left-handed guitarists be like: *complains about playing left-handed*
Not gonna lie, this is definitely me when I play guitar left-handed
Fuck that il just grab the same guitar cheaper and make ppl think im good by being fast on the fretboard with shit picking
Josh Brough
Lucas Mann: *shakes head in sincere pity*
that profile pic is sacrilegious
The best is blowing right handed players minds when you can play chords and licks on their guitars upside down
I know Right
Totally! I blew people's minds in a music store once when I played perfectly good chords upside down on a righty guitar and even on a 12 string righty acoustic
The notification on my phone read "Why it sucks being a lefty..." I thought you were going to go there and the algorithm was going to nail you. I'm a lefty but play righty guitar. I feel some techniques take longer to learn that depend on the other hand. Cheers!
Great video - I can't relate personally, but I can empathize. My wife is a lefty and taught herself a la Batio to do many things with her right hand simply because adapting was easier than trying to do what came naturally.
I don't discourage people who take guitar lessons from me to *not* play left handed unless they're brand-new to the instrument (any new instrument you start, if you haven't played *at all* will feel just as awkward) in which case I lay out those valid points that you made concerning the disadvantages.
I also have the anecdotal story of my grandfather, who was a lefty himself but learned right handed guitar.
It's not even about the awkwardness. If you are a fully left handed (not ambidextrous to some degree) Your overall potential will suffer. You won't be as good as you could be and you will end up noticing it. If the left hand is the one that's natural to you, you will be better even if you are able learn to use things right handed.
There are things that lefties learn the wrong way and they are never as good. My dad was forced to learn to write with his right hand right from the start. He can now write with either hand with horrible handwriting. I learned to use the mouse with a right hand right from the start. My accuracy and speed is below average and I just know in my bones it would be better had I learned it the other way, but there's no going back anymore.
If your students are fully left handed their picking technique will be gimped they will lose some dexterity even if they can learn to play great with the right handed way. Please even if your students are completely new to the guitar let them play the way that feels more natural to them.
@@ToveriJuri Like I said, I make them aware of the disadvantages, but the student and their parents make the final decision. I understand what you're saying, and I agree with it, but the reality of having trouble finding instruments is there, and make them aware of that challenge.
From what I've seen (interesting topic to me) it looks like some can get away with playing the other way but some just can't do it at all or struggle a lot despite practicing a ton and have to switch at the end. And the question is the ones that don't feel they're hindered by playing the other way - how good they are, how high goals they have? If one's happy with being just average, it's sure easier to get away with playing with what's "the wrong way" for them.
I'm almost entirely fully left-handed and experienced being in a pretty big disadvantage when playing video games, the layout of the controller was for RHs, of course. It was just a game, so it's not a big deal but it made me aware that there's high chance I would hinder myself at some point if I chose to play a RH guitar. And that I would regret greatly.
I'm gonna need the speed and preciseness in high speed later on - and that's where I failed in the game. I could do it with my left easily and couldn't with my right. Maybe you can train your weak hand enough (how long that might take and is it worth the effort to battle yourself?)- and maybe you can't. There are stories from people who tried to win this battle and lost and had to switch and relearn everything. I decided it's not worth the risk. I chose not to risk hindering my potential and rather sacrificed the selection of guitars (I'm an adult beginner so I found out pretty fast how the situation with lefty instruments is).
Also, there are people who do feel it's natural for them to play the "wrong way" (a lefty playing a righty and a righty playing a lefty guitar) and that's totally ok.
I think it's quite a complex topic at the end and I guess there's more variables than one would assume.
I have been playing 38 years. When I was young all we had was an old acoustic.
I picked it up. Learned a minor penatonic, and I was off.
I never thought I could get serious, but then I found Albert King, Dick Dale, Doyle Bramhal II, and the list goes on.
I tended to play double cutaway guitars like SG's V's etc.
Now I own 19 lefties, and one right handed Hammer LP Jr double cutaway. I take them to a tech that swaps the nut, and strings, and sets them up. My only real gripe is slanted bridges like on Gibson's. You cannot set the intonation correctly on the lower strings because there is not enough room. I would love nothing more than an SG, but if I just flip it over my arm tends to hit all the knobs.
I could build one, but it wouldn't be the same. I have Carvin's. They will make them left strung right at no extra charge. Schecters, fenders, and some with trems. I block them, but they are easy to swap strings. A couple Fender lefty basses, and a few others. As long as it has a trem or a standard fix bridge I'm good, but the SG eludes me, or any stop bar bridge, but there are still plenty out there.
If I can find an afford one I would like to find an SG with a Bigsby. I am ashamed to say I own a Chapman ghost fret lefty, but only because I have always wanted an explorer.
They are not the best made guitars, but a lefty explorer with a standard fixed bridge fit the bill. It was rebuilt from tuners to bridge saddles to include locking tuners, DiMarzio pups, pots, switch, and all wiring. Now I have to get my buddy who has a wood shop to reshape the head stock to look like a Gibson or at least a Jackson. That head stock looks like the old cheap BC rich or some of the Dean ones. I'll have to remove the logo. Ahhhh to bad.
I'll just tell people it's some custom built guitar. It was free so I can't bitch too much. The delivery date kept getting pushed out at Guitar Center every month for 3 months.
I got hold of the regional VP in charge of sales, and complained. A few weeks later I got it free of charge.
He also helped me to get a lefty schecter Reaper.
GC carried the reaper, but not lefty, so he contacted Schecter, and they drop shipped me one. I have to give them a kudos for all their (his) help.
It gets on my nerves when people call it “Upside down playing”
I play left handed and my wife calls it “goofy handed.”
@@themetalhead1463 kind of like goofy stance on a skateboard or surfboard. That ones not so bad
😭
As a fellow left handed guitarist, I can confirm the pain is real in terms of finding models you want.
As a lefty myself, I couldn't agree more with everything in this video. My buddy works at Sweetwater (weird flex, but okay) so I called him up to get some locking tuners and a new nut, or just a locking nut for my guitar. They don't stock any left-handed versions of those items so he looked up where they could buy them from and they were all hundreds of dollars and would take weeks to get to me. There is also nothing worse than going to a guitar store with your friends and only having 3 options to play out of the 1000 options.
Lefty player, but are you a left handed person? I'd wager the majority of LH players are RH people.
Also why is every lefty guitar in the shop black?
Because black is a very well liked color.
@@Blindashitmetalasfuck ....and pretty common.
THIS.
if not black, it's the fugliest color the brand sells
@@kevinhernandezretana2170 Yes!
What I imagine of the discussion at Fender: "Boss, the acoustisonic has been well received but we are getting asked a lot if there will be a lefty version." "Okay, let's make one. What's the blandest color option?"
I said this on another video but it’s definitely one of the greater benefits of being left handed. When you’re learning via watching an instructor/video, it was always easier to grasp because it was like watching a mirror image rather than watching them play flipped.
fellow lefty here. learned to play drums right handed (same with guitar) and i feel like it took me forever just to get decent because i had to combat the fact that my right had isn't my major hand so i completely agree. i legit didn't know there was such a thing as left handed when i started playing
Does being left-handed really impact your drum playing though?
@@fugue6943 considering everything on the kit is mirrored, yes. considering that most double bass drum pedals DO NOT have a left handed version, yes. what about the fact that certain venues make you play a house kit pre set up and pre miced (that's always set up right handed)
same started right handed on the drums. then saw Deep Purple on t.v. in the early 70 's. Ian Paice left handed drum kit changed every thing for me. lefthanded guitar player is a nightmare for us lefties, the music store is a joke. anyway enough ranting. we are the only ones in our right mind LOL
I feel your pain Mike. After some time though I have convinced myself I made the right decision by playing what feels natural to me. I honestly love being lefty. No one can play my guitars and it makes me stand out. Also I end up getting guitars that no one has and that is cool too.
You're a lefty player, but are you a left handed person? I'd wager the majority of LH players are RH people.
“I once saw an Ibanez GIO and almost laughed”
Me: *looks at gio in hand*
I own one myself hahaha
I have a GIO. I upgraded the electrics and it totally kicks ass. Just because it's a "budget" instrument doesn't mean it's not a player.
😂😂
Gios are pretty sick tbh.
Man that sucks. I'm not left handed and also still learning to play but I never thought of these types of issues before and it honestly could have kept me from trying had I delt with it myself. I have a lot more respect for lefties that deal with the crap to learn to play. Thanks for sharing
I'm left handed on some things and right handed on others, I box as a southpaw and my left hand is my strong hand but I pretty much do everything else with my right, also left footed
this is the greatest. totally with you bro you just explained my 30 years of being a lefty. the music store. the NEW GUITAR is Magical for us Lefties, because it's special. Thanks man that was awesome.
RIGHT POWER
Fellow lefty here. I learnt guitar right handed since my dad's right handed and I learnt guitar on his guitar. Having watched this I am incredibly grateful towards myself for doing that
Playing in the metal scene in Ohio for over a decade, I played with ONE other guitarist more than once that was another lefty. I thought that would be great in case I needed to use his guitar. Well, the time came that some unforeseen circumstance happened and I had to use his guitar..... NOPE! That shit was cheap, the strings hadn't been changed in forever (plus they were too small of a gauge for the tuning he was in) and it just felt like playing a right handed guitar with how foreign it still felt. Over the last 2 years or so I have been pretty much buying up any left handed guitar or bass I can find, within reason, meaning that I have accrued about 20 or so instruments. To make them stand out I have done everything from having custom pickguards and control plates made, putting in new pickups, I even took a PRS SE (One of four) and I'm having an evertune put in it. I thought it might be a fun idea to offer some up for rent to other left handed players that might not have as good an axe for recording or whatever but..... there's no fucking people around that play left handed! I'll sit in my basement and switch guitars every half hour. It's cool.
Finding left handed volume pots was a game changer. I had always thought all the old timers talking about rolling back the volume for a clean sound were nuts. Crazy whats possible when you have access to more range than 0 and 10 at hand.
Started playing right handed and after 1.5 years I switched to left handed because of picking problems. (I'm a lefty)
Two benefits I can think about being a left handed guitar player is symmetry in your band's performance and the mirror effect in videos or real life
Damn I’m about a year and a half into learning and I’m considering switching for the same reason :/ earlier today I got curious and tried it and after like ten minutes of just trying it I could pick faster and cleaner on one string already :/
I play like kurt cobain (he was right handed and played left handed)
I tried to start right handed, played for 3 or 4 hours a day and after a year i couldnt barely play a whole song. After a year of being fed up i flipped my bass upside down and learned a song that day.
2:57 dont know why but its pleasing to hear him i say houston,texas in his southern Accent
As a Houston native, I agree
Being a lefty I relate to this so much, especially the fact that in my country we can't really "choose" between guitars to buy.
I too am a lefty.
Edit: One of my struggles was back in music class during my senior year, I had to play a right handed guitar upside, so all the chords *were backwards.
If it helps, even though the chord diagrams are ostensibly righty (looking down at left hand on the frets), they're very readable (lefty guitar strung lefty) by picturing the diagram as seen from the BACK of the neck (looking through the neck at the bottom of the right fingertips). Not clear why anyone would need lefty diagrams...
Lefty player, but are you a left handed person? I'd wager the majority of LH players are RH people.
@@phile5437 Yes I am left handed.
@@vivavoxxy97 10-4. Thanks for answering my question. It's 50-50 so far with replies recieved.
There are left handed models of Steve Vai's JEM guitars (at least one cheaper and one expensive). Left-handed signature guitars are rare, but there are a couple out there.
Left handed person and left handed guitar player here. I once had kinda opposite problem, I had already a left handed electric guitar and I was supposed to play something in front of school, brother of my bassist was supposed to play the guitar but he only had acoustic and I wasn't able to borrow him one. I borrowed a guitar from my uncle but it was in different tuning, had Floyd Rose bridge which I didn't know how to use and output jack was faulty. Eventually I didn't played in front of school for some different reasons, but I recorded few things using that guitar. Later when I bought right handed guitar in case of something similar happening in the future, it's my "studio guitar". Another time our school band was playing at different school and something went wrong and some our equipment wasn't transported there, including my guitar. So I had to borrow one from other band. It was right handed acoustic, I was able to play it because on one song I played a melody, which is not that hard with reverse strings and the other song had Hm-Hm-A-Em progression, these chords are simple to reverse. I actually learned few chords in reverse and I sometimes record on right handed guitars. Ow, I just remebered that when I first tried to learn guitar (which wasn't succesfull, I didn't learn chords until 3 years later) I played E sus4 instead of A major because when I looked at the pictures of the chords I didn't know which strings is a top one and which is a bottom one. BTW I played with other left handed guitar played for 3 years, in that school band, and our bassist was left handed but played right handed. And I think that guitarist's guitar, which is right handed Squier Strat strung upside down, have a right handed nut, and it plays good. First "normal" guitar I converted for left handed playing had similar nut and I just reversed it and it was ok. The second guitar I converted needed to have a new nut, because it wasn't symetrical,I could reverse it.
Boy, it sure is good to be right-handed.
I know that now!
Hello fellow non-witch
@@conormurphy4328 Yep, I definitely weight more than a duck.
Yenneffer i always said if its not right, then its wrong handed.
Even better to be ambidextrous
You speak the truth!
I was in a car accident and used to play right-handed guitar (I was 17). My left hand is mostly paralyzed, and I play with a special pick holder. Learning guitar a second time was difficult, but it was well worth it.
Warmoth is a game-changer and a lifesaver, and I have several guitars that I built through them over the years. They never charge extra for lefthanded bodies and necks, and those ~40 guys have helped me many times. I also buy cheap stuff off eBay and mod it until it is perfect (*OK, playable). For my 40th birthday, I got a Gibson Explorer (I had wanted one for 25 years). The challenging part is buying quality hard cases that fit my left-handed guitars (My Warmoth Diamondback needs a good case).
If you want to read a story:
My family bought me an ESP LTD EX-100 (Left) as a graduation gift, and Guitar Center sold me the wrong case. It ended up cracking both sides of the neck pocket. I have babied that guitar and found a Gator Case that fits it. I bought three replacement bodies from a site that sold factory closeout parts that happened to come from the same Korean factory where they made the original guitar.
Bonus: those guitar bodies were made from the better wood of higher/more expensive models. I am not a tone-wood guy, but some wood dents and cracks easier than others. All I have to do is install the bridge from scratch because they were part of a factory/warehouse closeout sale, but they were $70 a piece. I do all my luthier work (I grew up poor, in the middle of nowhere, and had to learn to service, clean, fix, replace, or fabricate my way out of a jam so I could jam).
Imagine being a left handed bass player...oh wait I am
Ima left hand 5 string bass player. I feel your pain.
oh god ...
That unicorn lefty Fender P
Me too.
Edit- You're a lefty player, but are you a left handed person?
Nice shoutout to Southpaw Guitars! As a lefty player from Houston, they are a godsend. I’ve bought about ten guitars there. The last one I got has the right handed pots. I didn’t realize that till watching this video.
It's really rare to find a left handed glass of water! 😂 😂
I am also a left handed guitarist. I feel you man, finding a guitar is a pain. I started out playing right handed, but a year after for fun I would play left handed and it felt so natural. Now, ten years later, still sucks.
I am mainly right handed but for some reason a lefty when it comes to guitar, the struggle is real
I think it's safe to say the majority of RH players are RH people. I bet the majority of LH players are RH people though.
Im a lefty who had the same initial experience except I just accepted that my natural instinct was holding it the "wrong way" and I switched and learned right handed. The bonus for me doing this is that my left hand is really strong when fretting as well as quick and responsive when doing leads. Weird chords and stretches as well. That definitely has made me stand out, because things that are hard for others are easy for me and I could use really heavy gauged strings and get really nice thick bluesy tones and never buzz from not holding down enough. The downside is my rhythm guitar skills really suffered and I could never really get metal down because my right hand wasn't fast enough. Id just cap out at about the speed of "The beast and the harlot" by avenged sevenfold or "The trooper" by iron maiden and even those were pushing it. The crazy alternate picking/string skipping just wasnt getting any easier, so I was stuck being a legato, hammer on and pull off player naturally, even when I got sick of that style. I still sometime wonder if I should pick up a lefty guitar and see if my rhythm improves as that is kind of what interests me more nowadays. Surprisingly however my fingerpicking is pretty good, it doesn't feel awkward like quick picking.
The tears of left handed guitar players feeds me.
I've learned playing drums lefthanded and it was the biggest mistake in my life... The problems you have are even bigger when you can't even take your set where ever you want to play. So for a long time I had to rearrange a set everytime I wanted to play at a friend's house and my friend (right handed) had the same problem on my own set at home.
So I've started learning bass about 10 years ago and forced myself to learn it with a common right handed bass. It's amazing to be able to play anywhere, anytime with no issues! And I find it interesting that my fretting hand is faster and more agile that my right hand which doesn't have to do much else than plucking/slapping the strings.
So I feel you... I've bitched about it for years and I still do, when someone asks me to play the drums. I really hate it!
I'm a left handed drummer and the worst thing ever is sharing a kit on a gig. The worst thing was when we had two drummers and we changed multiple times during the set. Also I can never find left handed drum sticks!
Bro is speaking the most valid facts
Dude I wish I had a lefty in my band. The stage theatrics we could do. Don't cry Mike it's cooler cus you are different. Also who tf boroughs a guitar from a m8.
Dude you ever have a real conversation with someone left handed?
We'll get both hemispheres deep on you.
I like playing right handed guitars in our native orientation. You mentioned Dick Dale but having that easy access to the bass strings coupled with the "different way of looking at things" can help spark even more creative new ideas. Obviously, you'll want to bring those ideas to the guitars that actually like you back, which leads to EVEN MOAR new ways of playing. #fuckrighty
I'm left handed, and I learned violin first. So I already had the left hand playing notes and right plucking/strumming
I'm very grateful that I taught myself to play right-handed guitars upside down as it makes finding guitars a lot easier. Plus- for lack of a better way to put it - it makes me feel like it's my own thing or sets me apart even though other lefties play that way too.
The thing I've constantly gotten is "you can't play that way" or "you really should get a left-handed guitar, you'll love it so much more". I even once had a music teacher insist she couldn't teach me unless I let her restring my acoustic guitar but she didn't seem to understand it would require flipping the bridge and whatnot. She also commented that she didn't understand why left-handed people couldn't just fret with their left hand as "you think it'd be easier with their dominate hand" whilst not realizing the same logic would apply to right-handers. Even when I showed her I could play every basic chord and had no trouble instinctively translating instructions by sight she was still dismissive. It took submitting an essay on Elizabeth Cotton before she gave way a little. She didn't seem to like lefties period though so I imagine me being an upside down lefty just added on top of that.
I've tried playing an actual left-handed guitar and I think I'm just too far gone. It feels (ironically) backwards to me. It makes more sense in my head for the high E to be on top and the low E to be on the bottom.
Good video! Keep doing what you do best man.
I bought a lefty guitar specifically because my friend always forgets his
Amazing video man, everything you have said is correct! Being left handed is brutal and unique but sometimes fucked up.....here in Colombia buying a lh guitar is a nightmare.....7 years ago i had to order one in a town near my city a Vorson Lh....it took like 6 months to deliver.....Now i ordered a Shecter C7 Deluxe.....and it took exactly 1 year to deliver.......Thanks to shecter that they have a lot to choose from and their instruments are amazing...
Thanks for this video!
Saludos desde Colombia!!
One advantage I've learned is that if you're around right handed guitars enough (and we lefties always are), you eventually learn to play a right handed guitar upside down well enough to at least get by in a rudimentary way, which impresses the hell out of people, and is sweet revenge when the righties try the same thing and can't. An offshoot of this is that certain instruments (a mandolin, for example) are tuned like the lower 4 strings of a guitar reversed, so you as the lefty stuck in a righty world, already have a head start on chords because you've learned how to play "upside down" chords your whole life.
I've done that so many times it freaks people out and I love it. we just see things different on the guitar. Oh and I've never seen a righty who could play left handed.
This is so true. For years, due to poverty I had to borrow right handed guitars from friends, so I learned to play upside down chords. as for mandolin, I did buy a lefty, but I still play a right handed uke and from what I can tell it's WAY easier to play that way. To the point that I'd even recommend righties string their ukes lefty.
Accurate. As a casual bassist/guitarist any lefty instrument on sale looks good regardless of condition. Quality lefty instruments are the true unicorns
Fun fact I just recently found out: Mark Knopfler is a righty who plays left handed guitars.... he says he did it to get a different tone out of the instrument
it´s the other way around:-)….he is a lefty but plays righty because he can do vibrato on the strings better with his left.
hey i too suffer from severe left handedness. i’ve been playing for 10+ years as a right handed but i’m my natural stance for playing is being a lefty. i wish i learned it as a lefty
Lefty Power!
So we had the “fake guitarist” controversy next is the “fake lefty” controversy with people mirroring their videos.
Yea.
I'm left-handed and I actually did everything with my left. When I started lessons I used a normal Spanish guitar from my grandpa. It was actually really difficult to learn to play right-handed, especially because I basically never used my right hand. It took some more time than I hoped, but I eventually learned to play the guitar and the bass right handed. I lowkey want to try a left-handed bass guitar to see if it feels more natural to me, but I got so used to playing right-handed that I don't think that I would like it
You look a bit like John petrucci
The 'getting a new guitar' part rang SO true.... It took me almost 20yrs of waiting and hunting, but I finally got a Explorer when Gibson decided to do a run of them in 2018.
When right handed guitarists say that "it looks weird" when I'm playing. Well I've been playing like that for almost 30yrs, get over it.
Went into my local music store to try out a new amp. Only left handed guitar they had was $2500. They watched me like a hawk with that guitar.
The guitar I want to buy is a Solar V. But they don't come in left-handed. 😒
metal mike
When they say “it looks weird “ ask them...haven’t you ever played guitar in front of a mirror ? Is the person in the mirror, lefty or righty?????
They have a lefty V. But it's only available in black (what a surprise). I got the neon yellow A2.6 three months ago.
Lefty player, but are you a left handed person? I'd wager the majority of LH players are RH people.
I am a lefty and have been a golfer for most of my life. Most of the problems you mentioned in this video are quite similar to issues with playing golf left handed, so when I decided to start playing bass, I just sucked it up and learned to play right handed. So while I can’t specifically sympathize with your complaints, I still very much understand the struggle that sometimes comes with being a lefty.
I’m ambidextrous with the guitar. However, I wouldn’t exactly call it playing the guitar.
Air guitar?
Dude i really liked your video, I've just started bass, & even though a left hander, it was more the fact i got a more accurate right hand for string holding. Watching right-handers in videos is even easier, everything is mirrored, helps identify stuff quicker.
Odd thing is I’m left handed but play right handed, always have and it feels more natural
I think it's safe to say most RH players are RH people. I don't think the majority of LH players are LH people though.
Lefty bass player here. It's bearable once you learn to compensate (longer cables, spatial awareness where your headstock is going, ...), the one thing I always forget is which way the truss rod tightens/loosens. I could not tell you off the top of my head.
"Hi, my name's Mike, and I am a left-handed guitar player."
Point and laugh.
I know this pain all too well. Being a left handed bass and guitar player for over 33yrs now, I am constantly disgusted by not only the pricing differences, issues with pots and bridges (as noted in your vid), and limited option ranges within a given model (usually only the base models are available), the worse for me has always been the sheer number of guitars that just aren't made for Left handed players. As I moved through the many styles of music I began looking for acoustics, banjos, and fretless basses only to find that in most cases, we are the bane of manufacturer's existence. My first love is the bass and in my years of playing out I definitely felt the pangs of having to watch out for headstock fights and getting in the way. I have been so disgusted with the availability of quality left handed fretless basses that I have begun designing and hand crafting my own boutique versions. the pain is real and the struggle goes on
I wonder if left handed pianists have an especially difficult time, or if bass on the dominant hand and melody on the slow hand becomes natural.
Good question, I have the same notion that just as (many) lefties could easily play a "regular" guitar, many lefties would probably benefit from a lefty piano. The left hand on a guitar seems to do the more technical work, yet on a piano it performs the (typically) less technical rhythm. Why?
@@Lawrence330 I had a long conversation with a famous lefty pianist who (obviously) plays a righty piano. The answer depends on what kind of music you're playing. Apparently, classical and ragtime have no favored hand so each hand has to be able to play similar parts - no disadvantage to being left-handed. This is not true of pop and similar, where the two hands have very different parts/roles.
Being a lefty, my left hand totally wants to play melodies when I sit down at a piano, and my right wants to chord it up.
There are permanent challenges. When it comes to playing faster and keep a tempo you cant. I played righty for 6 years, and now playing for 3 months a lefty my tempo and strumming is way better than it was before.
What do you mean, "becomes natural"? How do you know that the piano wasn't designed by a lefty? How do you know that you're not playing it backwards? Why would you assume that it feels unnatural for us? Where do assclown right handers get off that they're doing our thinking for us?
As a left handed who is just now learning how to play guitar i came here specifically for the rant! I feel so frustrated all the time...
i wont give up of course, but it's been a: "could be a lot more pleasant if everything in the world wasn't especifically designed for right-handed people" experience.
The advantage of having left handed guitars is that no one can borrow it😂😂😂
Or you’re showing the bois your new axe and they ask if they can play it, I love sayin you couldn’t if you wanted to
I'm lefty and I played right handed for 20 years. Now (2022) I decided to learn the lefty way. I'm so happy because I'm progressing very well, it's being good fun.
“Oh your left handed, did you know Kurt Cobain was left handed?”
Oh wow it’s so crazy how I don’t care
I thought kurt was a righty who played guitar left handed.
@@AzizDoufikar2280 I'd bet the majority of LH players are RH people.
@@phile5437 My friend (who's a rhythm guitarist in our band) play guitar left handed despite being right handed.It's because when he first started learning guitar he tried to play the normal way(right handed) but he felt uncomfortable then he decided to learn to play left handed and surpisingly was very comfortable for him so he stick to that way.Kinda funny tbh.
Fun Fact:Mikey Demus (Skindred Guitarist) is also a righty who plays guitar left handed.
@@AzizDoufikar2280 That's how it is for me. I'm a right handed lefty player. I've been asking LH players in the comments and the answers so far support my suspicion.
As a lefthanded guitar player, I agree with everything you said. I started playing in either 92 or 93, so it is far too late to 'switch' to playing right handed....but one of the biggest regrets I have is not forcing myself to play right handed when I was a kid. Everything you said was perfect...so I don't have much to add. But to me..the lack of (if any) selection at music store, not being able to borrow of try friends' guitars....etc. But to me, the biggest issue is that every time you buy (usually order) a guitar, you are taking a huge and expensive gamble. A few years ago, I paid about 4000 dollars to have an american luthier (I am Canadian) build my dream guitar for me. While it physically/cosmetically looks like everything I wanted, I am not the biggest fan of how it feels. I like it, but I do not love it. Not only was I not able to try the guitar before buying it, but I had to have someone build it and wait for a year, with my fingers crossed. They are also hard to sell.... Okay, i'll stop now because i could complain all day. hehehe.
I went to a music store to buy a guitar. They told me how to get to the music store that would have a lefty.
So when you got there did you buy the gloss black Squire or the gloss black Squire?
Red Scorpion 6, this is too true
@@Jmanclub-vd7mg its even worse with basses. I've gotten pretty good at custom painting 😊
Red Scorpion 6, oh god, can’t even imagine the pain with basses. I’ve always been interested in painting my guitars, I already add stickers to them so that seems like the next option.
All of this. YES! Just bought my first guitar to learn and I got an epiphone sg and it was a pain trying to find a lefty. Thank you for this.
Here's a question for lefty drummers:
Does playing drums left handed effect how you play or set up your kit? I've seen kits where the ride and crash were switched, so I've been curious if maybe they were left handed players or just liked those cymbals in different places.
While technically yes, drums would be reversed if you were to play left handed like phil collins does, though many left handed drummers i.e. dave lombardo, chris Adler, Ringo Starr just play right handed, because when they're just starting out and using house kits it's very awkward and time consuming to switch them round
@@DongJohnSilver but Ringo still leads with his left hand.
Not really. You also have a good example of the opposite, which is Carter Beauford, Dave Mathews Band drummer. He learned how to play by setting his drumset in front of a mirror and watching TV performances. By the time he figured out he was playing lefty, he was too far in to re-learn drums, so he decided to play open handed instead.
I found a left handed 2008 Fender 1960 Heavy Relic CS Stratocaster used in a guitarcenter in Denver in 2018. It was listed at $1999.99 and I bought it in the spot. Such a lucky find since 1960-1961 are my favorite years of the Stratocaster.
Yeah being a lefty in the UK right now probably sucks too.
One of the cool things about being lefty is when you're trying to show the other guitarist a part of a song or something you've written (or vice versa) it's like looking in a mirror so it's actually easier for you both.
You know, Herman Li is Left-handed and he plays right-handed.
And I also read that the guitar god Mark Knopfler is lefthanded but started playing righthanded because he could do the vibrato on the strings easier with his left!
So what? If X can do something, it doesn't automatically mean that Y can achieve that too even if Y tries very hard.
That explains his fret speed and control lol
I think it's safe to say the majority of RH players are RH people. I bet the majority of LH players are RH people though.
That's one thing that is cool about Kiesel. They offer every model (except the Type X) in left handed for no extra charge. That's pretty cool.
when tom morello thinks you mean political left and not left handed: i disagree