... in the name of guitar
Lost your password or username? Click here

Not a member already? Join now It's free!
PlaneTalk
GFB&B Radio
Members Online: 334 | Discussions: 20,096 | Replies 209,809 | Members: 88,966 | Register here

 
If you are seeing this text, you need to download the latest version of Flash Player here.

Welcome to the Guitar For Beginners & Beyond Forum, the fastest growing Guitar Community on the Internet.

You are currently viewing our site as a guest which limits your access to many of the great features available. By joining our free community you will gain access to over 100 free guitar lessons, be able to post topics, ask questions and communicate with other members (currently we have close to 80,000 guitar players from all over the World). By becoming a member, you will also be able to respond to polls, upload and get feedback on your playing and access many other special features... Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so why not join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Playing The Guitar The mechanics of playing guitar. Discuss and ask questions about styles and techniques here.

Forum Home > Guitar For Beginners & Beyond General Forum > Playing The Guitar > Righthanded to lefthanded


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
  #1  
Old March 22nd, 2007
dEcember dEcember is offline
Newcomer
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Last Online: 4 Weeks Ago 10:50 AM
Location: Bel
Posts: 27
Righthanded to lefthanded

Is it wise just to change the string position so that it can be played as a lefthanded guitar .


If at first you don't succeed. Then skydiving is not for you.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old March 22nd, 2007
baretta's Avatar
baretta baretta is offline
Member
donating member

Playing guitar for over 10 years.
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Last Online: April 24th, 2007 05:56 PM
Location: UK
Posts: 127


The quick and obvious answer is no. There are several things to consider when converting a right handed to left handed: - firstly the nut must be changed round so the strings sit in the slots at the correct height. If you just change them round the bass 6th string will sit too high in the nut and the 1st will too low and probably the others as well. Resulting in high and low actions, fret buzzing and hard to press down on the first fret. So the nut should be turned round. Unfortunately most nuts are shaped with a curve towards the front of the fretborad and flat at the back to fit against the neck so usually the best thing would be to buy a blank nut, preferably bone but not essential, and make new left handed one.
Secondly, with acoustic guitars, the bridge is set at an angle to allow for intonation. That is where the note of the string played open is the same at the 12th fret closed, the note being exactly an octave higher. You can hear this roughly but a tuner of some type is more accurate. Changing the bridge angle really needs to be done professionally because of the woodwork involved but that depends on your own skill level which I don't know.
Electric guitars still need the nut doing the same as acoustics. The bridge in lots of instances can still be used. It may require the saddles to be changed over or it may not depending on the bridge. Gibson types like Tunomatics are set at an angle like acoustics so they are as much trouble. Fender type saddles can be adjusted without any trouble.
With electrics of course there are the volume and tone controls and maybe the single cutaway body will be upside down. That is not a problem but a hindrance. Paul McCartney still uses an old right handed Epiphone upside down, just changed the strings round.
In the more expensive acoustics the bracing of the body is installed to enhance the bass and treble sounds from the top of the guitar so with those bodies there is a marked difference in tone. On cheaper models the bracing is equal on both sides.
How do I know all this? I've been playing left handed for 45 years and buying lefty guitars just doesn't get any easier!!
My advise if you are just starting out playing give it a go right handed first you haven't got anything to lose. If not your'e stuck with it, good luck!!


Keep Spanking The Plank!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old March 27th, 2007
dEcember dEcember is offline
Newcomer
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Last Online: 4 Weeks Ago 10:50 AM
Location: Bel
Posts: 27


Hi thanks for the advice . I just look on the net at this site http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/nuts.htm. Have to read it still.the problem is that I don't have time at the moment.This guitar is that I have is old and I would'nt mine experimenting on it.


If at first you don't succeed. Then skydiving is not for you.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Forum Home > Guitar For Beginners & Beyond General Forum > Playing The Guitar > Righthanded to lefthanded


The GfB&B Guitar Slide Rule

Download the PDF of the 'Guitar Chord Slide Rule', print it out, fold it together and you'll have at your disposal a very neat tool that will not only show you all the positions for the main flavors of chords, but will also teach you a very important lesson about how the guitar works... It consists of a folded sleeve and six double sided inserts, instructions for cutting it out and folding it together are included with the PDF ... it's very simple to do, and if you botch it, you can simply print it out again!

Buy it now for only $10

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:59 PM.

 



Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.0.0 ©2007, Crawlability, Inc.