Why Can't a lefty have the same choices as a righty?

[Willie]

AAARRRRRGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!.... I refuse to play a right handed guitar upside down, I started off with an old accoustic that way and I hated it with a passion , and I knew that you would try and wind me up ya little bugger lol, I'll get you back on that one skippy

everyone always

[Guitarmiester]

I'm am a lefty, but when I first decided on that I had to play guitar (was in, I'm pretty sure 2nd grade) my mom and dad took me out to some music stores the next day to search for a guitar and amp... I've played guitar before that, but just playing around having fun, but I always picked it up like a righty. Even when I was testing out guitars, only one store had a lefty guitar, I tried it out, but I just couldn't play lefty. I think it's great advantage to have your more dominant hand on the fretboard. I didn't give the whole "I'm left handed and I'm playing a lefty guitar no matter what" type thing, playing right handed guitars felt a lot better than left handed for me. I couldn't fret chords correctly and my left hand wasn't good at picking. Have you ever given playing right handed guitars like a right handed person a try? I'm not saying buy a right handed guitar and flip it around, I wouldn't have done that either, and I don't give a crap that Hendrix did it, like you said, 'that was him.' I write with my left hand, but can write with my right hand also, and I do most things like a righty would. Short story: when I was in, I think, pre-school...they were working on getting us to write, I was the only lefty in the whole class or whatever it was, and I remember that I was 'wrong' for holding the pencil or crayon with my left hand...when my mom came to pick me up, one of the people tried convincing my mom to let them teach me how to write with my right hand rather than my left?! As for left handed guitars, I doubt there will be any change with how many are produced or any companies changing how many left handed guitars they make. I have noticed that some companies have started making some models in left and right hand versions (this isn't really recent though, maybe 4-5 years ago I started to really notice it.)

[Willie]

Yes I have tried it and that is why I'm sticking to playing lefty.

I have tried playing a guitar upside down, playing right handed and playing left handed and I'm naturaly a lefty and it is lefty that I am and have gotten used to, so I'm not changing it.

and besides, I have played pool for 20 years and I'm left handed at pool and so trying to play right handed, is something that I'm not comfortable with or happy with, but in the end of the day, it should matter a damn whether you're lefty or a righty, there should still be the same amount of equipment available for both and I don't give a damn what anyone says, there is such a thing as freedom of choice, which EVERYONE should have.

Anyways, I'm now contemplating starting to make guitars and quite possibly start a company that makes guitars for both left and right handed players and I will be making sure that I will be able to give ALL guitarists good choice, good equipment, good responsive info on whatever Q's that they want to know about a specific model, etc, none of this caper e-mailing a company about 5K times before getting a reply that is useless or pointless.

No matter what, Guitarists are artists and deserve the upmost respect and that is something that alot of companies seem to have a serious lack of for not only customers who are artiosts, but a serios lack of respect to the possibility that their lack of respect is putting people off playing guitar, which is gonna hurt music and that is out of order.

I don't mind because it's up to musicians to ask for more respect.

anyways, Peace everyoen, later

[Logic]

Mr. Willie,
Equity isn't when you take a minority and give them half of everything.
If left handed people make up 3% of the populace then 3% of the guitars should be left handed. But, Instuments are ambidextrious. If you have chosen to play in an unconventional manner please don't get mad when the companies don't find it practical. These companies already make guitars that may never get sold. To start making "Lefthanded"guitars, well you understand. If a person chooses to play in a manner that requires a custom instrument, thats kewl, but please don't cry victim. Biuld you a guitar and get to rockin. Like JemGirl™. She has a "Only one in the world" guitar.

P.S. I am still looking for the statistics of those who are left handed who just pick up the instrument and play. Paul McCartney, a lefty, plays piano without changing the keys.

I don't wanna start anything mean spirited here at all. If anyone wants to play anyway they want, more power to them I will do everything in my power to see that they can.

[Willie]

I know what you mean and I appologise to everyone if I come across as being mad as I don't mean to, I'm just at the point that it doesn't make sense as to why there couldn't be more available for lefties, that's mostly what I'm saying, like for example, I don't know why guitar companies don't make all their models available to lefties if a lefty wants a particular model, but without having to go to the custom shop to get it or having to face higher and sometimes completely stupid and greedy prices, that is what I'm getting at.

The best example is Carvin, good company, nice guitars, they have lefties at no extra charge and they have what I'm looking for, a 7 string that is available in lefty, BUT!... they don't install a Floyd Rose on their guitars for lefties, even though the Floyd Roses are available in lefty in all bridges and in all finishes, to me that doesn't make sense or show to me that it's worth going to them to buy a 7 smoker, that's what I don't get, maybe it's just me, but it really doesn't make sense.

Another thing is, I don't believe for 1 second that the percentage of lefties compared to righties should matter, every guitar model should be availble to a lefty if a lefty wishes to buy that model from a company, but for some reason, this isn't the case and I there isn't a truely good reason why, I am left handed because it is how I am and being left handed and playing a left handed guitar isn't unconventional, being asked to play a guitar that the strings are the opposite way around is unconventional.

Anyway, It's building my own axe that I'm trying to do, but it's getting a parts supplier who has the brains to offer a Lefty 7 Floyd Rose that is the exhausting part.

Anyway, I applogise for coming across as being mad as I don't intend to be , Peace everyone always

[Pi2plank]

regarding all lefties here...i think the questions regarding lefty guitars should be directed to the um..luthier?, rather than the company...cause i think you could get alot of answers from them why is it this & that...

imo, i think the luthiers go to work & their machines are already calibrated to make righty guitars (most of the time in the week i guess), & if they do make a lefty, they'd recalibrate the machines...unless there's a large order for lefties, i think it'd be cumbersome for them to keep on recalibrating their machines..but this is just my opinion

a smart guitar company should've run survey how many of the guitar playin population are lefties, & w/ that make a number of guitars to cater to this % in the population...but imo, i guess the law of supply & demand is very much applied in these guitar companies...

[al]

ok im slightly drunk i dnt realy know wat im saying i didnt read half the psots, but its just the way it is,

[xifr]

regarding all lefties here...i think the questions regarding lefty guitars should be directed to the um..luthier?, rather than the company...cause i think you could get alot of answers from them why is it this & that...

imo, i think the luthiers go to work & their machines are already calibrated to make righty guitars (most of the time in the week i guess), & if they do make a lefty, they'd recalibrate the machines...unless there's a large order for lefties, i think it'd be cumbersome for them to keep on recalibrating their machines..but this is just my opinion

a smart guitar company should've run survey how many of the guitar playin population are lefties, & w/ that make a number of guitars to cater to this % in the population...but imo, i guess the law of supply & demand is very much applied in these guitar companies...

All the things that can benefit from machines, like fret slotting and radiusing, can be used interchangebly between lefty and righty. The only differences between a lefty and righty neck is the nut and tuners.

The biggest problems come with the bridges, pickguards and bodies. The bridges and pickguards are normally sourced from elsewhere, and a lefty body could be done quite easily provided the luthier has the template (which any good luthier should).

In summary, any luthier should be able to make a lefty guitar for about the same price as a righty (with a slight difference due to not bulk buying bridges etc.).

[Willie]

Hey Guys and Gals

Maybe it is a bit strange to think of it, but do you good people agree that it would be better for all guitarists if there were machines that the luthier had that could easily be programmed to cut the body for both left or right, rather than the luthier having to reset the machine to cut a body and all the cavities and detail for a lefty?

The trouble is though like you were just saying xfir, is that although the bridges are available in lefty as well as righty from the companies that make them, the major parts supply companies don't either stock lefty parts or don't bother to think of the idea of ordering the bridge, nut, machine heads, whatever, etc for the lefty guiarist , if say any of you guys had a parts company and you didn't stock a Lefty 7 Floyd Rose, but could order it from the manufacturers, I would be more than happy to wait on the Floyd Rose being ordered, but this has yet to be thought of by companies in general

But no matter what, I'm hell bent that I'm gonna get a lefty 7 with a Floyd Rose trem and to the specs that I would like it to be and not 1 single guitar company is gonna hold me back

Anyways, peace always everyone and I'll catch you guys soon

[Mojo Hand 17]

Represent as another Lefty,

One company that works well with lefties is Fender, believe it or not (I know this is a shred/Ibanez board, but hey, you have to start somewhere). When I wanted an electric, I wanted an American Strat, and nobody around here stocked them, so I contacted Fender and they switched their whole asssembly line over to lefty for little old me. And, goddammit, that Strat is the best guitar I've ever played.

Don't let Righty keep you down!

p.s. Playing a guitar upside-down's only downside is that you can't reach the top frets without a contoured cutaway. The whammy bar should come equipped upside-down.

[Willie]

Yes Fender is a good company, but if you want a 7 string, they're no good and it's a 7 string in lefty I'm looking for , but one that has a Floyd Rose or similar tremelo bridge

Like I have said in a few other posts reguarding a lefty 7, I'm not going to compromise of on the bridge or any other features that I'm looking for, it must be a lefty with a Trem w/h a whammy bar, I can say that if Steve Vai were in the same situation, he would be very much the same way, so would Frank Zappa, the no compromise is the the 1 thing that I refuse to budge on when it comes to guitars , But saying that, again, Fender is just another company that will tell me that I'll have to contact their custom shop, so that will be a waste of time.

Anyway, take good care everyone and I'll see you guys later , peace

[wanted_lefthanded jem]

hear ya buddy guitar companies suck at making leftys for us who dont wanna learn playing righty and u need too go custom shop too get a specific guitar many times

[Willie]

Well, that is the exact reason why I have decided to persue a particular idea that I've had for quite some time, but I'll be waiting a while till I see exactly what is involved in going about it in the right way and also do alot of research into it , but it's something that I believe will benifit everyone

Also, I did have some good news today though , I called my buddy in Scotland, who works in the Sound Control company, (guitars Dep't) and he said that he should be able to order a lefty 7 Floyd Rose for me , so I'm waiting for him to get me a price and then I'll hopefuly have it ordered and here in a few weeks , the few weeks is allowing my buddy to remember to get back to me with the price lol

Still no reply from Carvin, but I pretty much have an idea that the answer is and that is why I'm more determined to persue something that I have thought of before, but am most definitely gonna persue it now

Anyways, take good care everyone and I'll chat soon, peace always

[Logic]

Addendum,
If Three percent of guitar players are left handed and only ten percent of those play reversed instruments, that leaves a very small market. As frustrating as that might leave lefties who play reversed instruments that is the deal. Companies look at this data and then make there marketing decisions based on whether they can make any money. There is a good side to this, that is, these instruments are custom. Thus the price.
JemGirl's custom guitar built by Mr. Patrick is worth a lot of money. More than a regular Jem by far. You may not agree, but it's the same as any other custom guitars. Reversed or not. Bottom line. You have to look at these guitars as custom as all musical instruments are ambidextrous.

[Willie]

Hey Logic, How are ya buddy?:)

I'm glad to say and it may be a bit of a suprise, but I no longer give a damn about percentages of lefty player os who plays what because there is something that I'm going to be persuing that won't matter about percentage crap or maket statistics that these "Companies" go by

I agree that custom guitar are often more sought after than regular mass produced models, but if a lefty guitarist who is new to guitars, but knows that he wants to get a 7 string and play only a 7 string, then he or she is pretty much told by most companies "No, you can't have that because you're a lefty", but what I'm persueing will cut that nonsense out, but will also not be discussed in any detail untill I decide that the time is right to say what it is that I'm doing, but I know that it will be worth while

And besides, I'm not bothered anymore because Carvin has proven to me that they really ARE a company that can deliver, I just got an e-mail about 30 minutes ago to say that yes they will fit a lefty 7 tremolo bridge on the DC747 for me, but it will be a Wilkinson and not a Floyd Rose, but to be honest, I'm not too fussed about it because it is a tremolo bridge that I have been looking for on a lefty 7 and that's what Carvin have offered , when it's got some whammy, I'm happy

Anyways, take good care everyone, peace always