Guitars anyone???
-
Does anyone have advice for a beginner's left handed acoustic guitar? I'm thinking of taking some lessons, but the choices are fairly limited for us lefties (because of the global rightie conspiracy to keep us down and all that :)).
So far I'm looking at the Fender CD-100 LH.
-
Learn right handed… :|
Seriously tho: budget enough to get a decent quality instrument -not overboard- that has a good sound and is comfortable for you to hold. This will make your playing, practicing and learning more enjoyable.
You should have several south paw options in the $500 range. Gbase.com is a decent resource for finding a range of instruments based on specific criteria.
For your first, id also recommend playing the instrument before you buy vs mail order to make sure it "feels" right (as a beginner you'll probably at least know what doesn't feel right).
Good luck in the search. Its one of my favorite pasttimes. And post up when you get one.
MBH
-
I'm left handed and use right handed guitar for my whole life. Honestly because I didn't know that left handed guitars existed. But you're better off learning right handed because all you have to teach your right hand to do is strum while your left hand does all the hard technique. Buy the Yamaha FG-700S usually about $199 and go on sale at Guitar Center a lot.
-
@michaeljcr I sold guitars for almost 20 years and I agree with @Fadez and @mikebarhoot . My advice? Go to GC, get an FG700S, start lessons immediately, practice for 20-30 minutes every day, and see how you feel in 3 weeks or so. If you still feel like you really need to learn lefty, take advantage of GC's 30-day return policy and get the CD100L. Don't spend less than $199 on a starter guitar (stick with Yamaha or Fender in this price range), and spend more if you can afford to. For around $500-ish you can get a Seagull which is a great upgrade compared to Yamaha and Fender, and a few hundred more will get you a Taylor.
-
Martin's go really nice w 25oz XHS too. So if yer gonna spend a coupla hunderd more. Go ahead and spen a few more Gs and get a Martin.
Remember… its not how you play but how you look while playing.
-
Learn right handed… :|
Seriously tho: budget enough to get a decent quality instrument -not overboard- that has a good sound and is comfortable for you to hold. This will make your playing, practicing and learning more enjoyable.
You should have several south paw options in the $500 range. Gbase.com is a decent resource for finding a range of instruments based on specific criteria.
For your first, id also recommend playing the instrument before you buy vs mail order to make sure it "feels" right (as a beginner you'll probably at least know what doesn't feel right).
Good luck in the search. Its one of my favorite pasttimes. And post up when you get one.
MBH
Ha! Yes, I thought about just playing right handed. I've read up a lot on that and, while I'm sure I can, I think I might be better served going leftie.A few friends have recommended buying from my local shop, rather than mail order, which I will do, and arrange lessons through them. I can order pretty much anything through them.
Thanks for the advice!
M.
-
I'm left handed and use right handed guitar for my whole life. Honestly because I didn't know that left handed guitars existed. But you're better off learning right handed because all you have to teach your right hand to do is strum while your left hand does all the hard technique. Buy the Yamaha FG-700S usually about $199 and go on sale at Guitar Center a lot.
Cheers! I think I'm going to try left-handed, but that's two votes for going rightie so far. Decisions, decisions…
M.
-
@michaeljcr I sold guitars for almost 20 years and I agree with @Fadez and @mikebarhoot . My advice? Go to GC, get an FG700S, start lessons immediately, practice for 20-30 minutes every day, and see how you feel in 3 weeks or so. If you still feel like you really need to learn lefty, take advantage of GC's 30-day return policy and get the CD100L. Don't spend less than $199 on a starter guitar (stick with Yamaha or Fender in this price range), and spend more if you can afford to. For around $500-ish you can get a Seagull which is a great upgrade compared to Yamaha and Fender, and a few hundred more will get you a Taylor.
I'm in the UK, so they're sadly not an option. We have a local store that's part of the Rimmers Music, a local chain in the North West of England. They seem pretty friendly at the local store near where I live and do part exchange etc. so I could try either way and not lose out too much on swapping. They can arrange lessons as well. they seem to be out of stock of the FG700S right now. I'd need to special order the Fender LH anyway, so no great problem.
Now I'm torn! I'll have a think about it. I learned to shoot right handed at school, in the cadets, as we were using right handed bolt action rifles, and found that no problem. I qualified full marksman at UK Army standards in .22, 5.56 and 7.42. Not nearly the same thing, of course, but I'm one of those people who writes left-handed, but uses my knife and fork and computer mouse the 'right' way around. So not too big a stretch.
Thanks again for all the advice.
-
Martin's go really nice w 25oz XHS too. So if yer gonna spend a coupla hunderd more. Go ahead and spen a few more Gs and get a Martin.
Remember… its not how you play but how you look while playing.
I DID see a Martin I really liked! Not quite in the budget right now, but I like where you're going with this…
M.
-
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll post pics as and when I buy.
-
If it's not too late on what guitar to buy allow me to chip in. I'm a lefty and learned (well, learning!) with a right handed guitar. Honestly, it has never been a problem and as another wise poster said you're gonna strum with your right while the left stretches, shapes and eventually skitters up and down the neck. I've come to adapt to the right handed world and a lot of the time a lefty turns out to be the supreme being playing right handers at their own game. Alternatively you could buy a right handed guitar, flip it to the left side and rearrange the strings…
Good luck with it and practice, practice practice!
Sent from my HTC One
-
regardless of which guitar you buy take one-to-one lessons, at least to begin with - saves developing a lot of bad habits and can be inspiring.
-
If you want a leather gig bag Glenn Cronkhite is the man - simply the best - http://www.glenncronkhite.com
-
Another route that would be cool is MATAMP http://matamp.co.uk I honestly think these fit the IH brand about the best out of any amp maker out there right now.
the real deal
-
@michaeljcr I sold guitars for almost 20 years and I agree with @Fadez and @mikebarhoot . My advice? Go to GC, get an FG700S, start lessons immediately, practice for 20-30 minutes every day, and see how you feel in 3 weeks or so. If you still feel like you really need to learn lefty, take advantage of GC's 30-day return policy and get the CD100L. Don't spend less than $199 on a starter guitar (stick with Yamaha or Fender in this price range), and spend more if you can afford to. For around $500-ish you can get a Seagull which is a great upgrade compared to Yamaha and Fender, and a few hundred more will get you a Taylor.
I'm in the UK, so they're sadly not an option. We have a local store that's part of the Rimmers Music, a local chain in the North West of England. They seem pretty friendly at the local store near where I live and do part exchange etc. so I could try either way and not lose out too much on swapping. They can arrange lessons as well. they seem to be out of stock of the FG700S right now. I'd need to special order the Fender LH anyway, so no great problem.
Now I'm torn! I'll have a think about it. I learned to shoot right handed at school, in the cadets, as we were using right handed bolt action rifles, and found that no problem. I qualified full marksman at UK Army standards in .22, 5.56 and 7.42. Not nearly the same thing, of course, but I'm one of those people who writes left-handed, but uses my knife and fork and computer mouse the 'right' way around. So not too big a stretch.
Thanks again for all the advice.
Just remember that if you learn to play right-handed, you will never suffer the pain of not being able to own your dream guitar because it isn't available left-handed.
-
If it's not too late on what guitar to buy allow me to chip in. I'm a lefty and learned (well, learning!) with a right handed guitar. Honestly, it has never been a problem and as another wise poster said you're gonna strum with your right while the left stretches, shapes and eventually skitters up and down the neck. I've come to adapt to the right handed world and a lot of the time a lefty turns out to be the supreme being playing right handers at their own game. Alternatively you could buy a right handed guitar, flip it to the left side and rearrange the strings…
Good luck with it and practice, practice practice!
Sent from my HTC One
Not purchases yet. I'm still prevaricating. I have seen several suggestions, however, that say if it was better to have your dominant hand on the neck, then right-handers would play the other way around. I have no opinion on that myself, but it's interesting to hear from a left-hander. I'll make my mind up at some point!
-
regardless of which guitar you buy take one-to-one lessons, at least to begin with - saves developing a lot of bad habits and can be inspiring.
Yep, I'll be taking lessons, one on one. There are several local instructors who look very good.
-
