Learn How To Play Guitar & Guitar Accessories

Question: Do you need a left handed guitar when you play left handed?

(Posted by: HiI'mALeprechaun on 2010-07-26 14:32:08)

Hi! I want to start learning the guitar, I'm kind of ambidextrous but find playing left handed more comfortable. I found it hard finding a beginners AND left handed guitar and wondered if you NEED a left handed one. Thank you!! PS!!!! Do you think that this might be a good option: http:/ / www.argos.co.uk/ static/ Product/ partNumber/ 5450497/ Trail/ searchtext%3EGUITAR.htm

Posted by: Mimi on 2010-07-26, 14:34:02

You can restring a guitar, reversing the order of the strings to accommodate your playing.

Posted by: johnb693 on 2010-07-26, 14:36:34

There is no such thing as a left handed guitar. All you do, is reverse the strings, Like putting the top string at the bottom, and all the rest, from fifth to first. Then you can just hold the guitar, in your right hand, instead of your left.

Posted by: Lisa Mitchell on 2010-07-26, 14:37:51

No you don't need one you can just swap the strings around to make it easier on a right handed guitar (take it to a shop or ask someone to do this for you if you can't). And left handed guitars tend to be more expensive and I'm left handed and find a right handed guitar fine because after a while it just felt natural. That's a decent guitar to learn on but I would just look on ebay or Amazon because you can get second hand guitars that are ten times better and only a bit more expensive. Good luck, you could be the next Jimi Hendrix :)

Posted by: LeftyFretz on 2010-07-26, 14:51:24

Generally anything out of Argos isn't going to be great and for 60 quid you can't expect much. However if all you're interested in is learning a few chords to play some simple songs then it may be fine for you. If you want to become more advanced at guitar I'd steer clear of that one. A cheap guitar will sounds and play crap and will likely put you off playing guitar out of sheer frustration. If you go 2nd hand you can get something a lot more reasonable for £60 on eBay/ gumtree etc... A good UK acoustic brand to check out is Tanglewood, they make solid guitars. So yeah, buy the Argos effort if you are happy just to learn the basics. Otherwise buy the best guitar you can afford. It's a false economy to buy a cheap guitar now and then spend more money later on when you realise you need a better one. Also, don't listen to the 2 guys before me. There are of course left handed guitars. You can't just buy a right handed guitar and restring it, this will cause all sorts of intonation issues. Good luck. If you want any advice on left handed guitars you can contact me through my site below, I'd be glad to help.

Posted by: Average Mike on 2010-07-26, 15:38:29

Mimi, John, Lisa - the first three responders - are all complete morons who don't know what they're talking about. There are a number of reasons why you can't simply restring a right handed guitar. The pickguard will be on the wrong side. If there's a cutaway that will be on the wrong side. The nut needs to be rotated 180 degrees since the grooves for the bass strings are wider. The saddle would also have to be rotated 180 degrees for the same reason as the nut but if you look carefully the saddle is not precisely perpendicular to the strings, but canted a few degrees to allow for proper intonation. Even if you flip the saddle the intonation will be permanently and incurably off. Finally, many acoustic guitars are braced asymmetrically since the bass strings exert more tension than the treble strings. Reverse the strings and you're on your way to warping the guitar. Don't take advice from deluded know-nothings. By the way, that guitar is a complete POS. You can't buy even a minimally acceptable beginners' acoustic guitar for £59 - try twice that much at least. Good luck.

Posted by: 54321 on 2010-07-27, 01:49:16

Looking at most of these answers, alot of these people dont know anything about left handed guitars. it is much more than reversing the strings. The bridge must be flipped, you need a new nut, if its electric you need to flip the controls and whammy bar, and even after all that the body will be shaped awkwardly. It is more worth it to go find a left handed guitar. The one you picked out is a great guitar for a beginner, but it wont last you very long. If you get it and pursue guitar, plan on buying a better guitar later on. A guitar sounds only as good as how its made.

Posted by: Tom Fontana on 2010-07-28, 12:59:55

Just learn on a normal guitar, not a left handed one. The learning process will be the same, and you'll have a much easier time later on when you want to buy new guitars.