College student needing some help.

[Sharkabilly]

I been playing electric for 3 years and me and my teacher wanna try out upright.

The problem is i'm left handed and the local violin shop says theirs nothing they can do for me. I'm wondering are there any online shops that make left handed models or anything you could tell me would be awesome.

Thanks,

Shark.

[lowb1970]

Originally Posted by Sharkabilly

I been playing electric for 3 years and me and my teacher wanna try out upright.

The problem is i'm left handed and the local violin shop says theirs nothing they can do for me. I'm wondering are there any online shops that make left handed models or anything you could tell me would be awesome.

Thanks,

Shark.

I'm left handed and I play right handed. I actually found that my left had worked better on the fretboard that way. Give it a try. I realized long ago that this world wasn't catering to us lefties.....so I conformed

[Sharkabilly]

Originally Posted by lowb1970

I'm left handed and I play right handed. I actually found that my left had worked better on the fretboard that way. Give it a try. I realized long ago that this world wasn't catering to us lefties.....so I conformed

How long did it take you, thats what everyone is saying to me. Won't that really mess you up if you go back to electric? I can't imagine that, it would feel so awkward.

[Sharkabilly]

I found this website

http://www.urbbob.com/doublebass.html

and called him and he said he can do them left handed.

Does anyone own one of his basses?

[grovest]

Bob is extremely well known here and elsewhere online. I can't speak towards his upright business but I have never read anything but praise for his business as a whole. I do think you would be shooting yourself in the foot to learn upright "backwards". If anything this is yet another good reason for the many lefty lurkers out there (hello) to learn on 'standard' righty electrics (the later confusion if one decides to double).

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Sharkabilly

I been playing electric for 3 years and me and my teacher wanna try out upright.

Is your teacher a DB player or will he be "trying it out" as well?

[drurb]

Originally Posted by lowb1970

I'm left handed and I play right handed. I actually found that my left had worked better on the fretboard that way...

Fretboard? My DB doesn't have one of those.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Sharkabilly

I been playing electric for 3 years and me and my teacher wanna try out upright.

The problem is i'm left handed and the local violin shop says theirs nothing they can do for me. I'm wondering are there any online shops that make left handed models or anything you could tell me would be awesome.

Thanks,

Shark.

I believe Upton Bass will do lefty's.

[shostkontrabass]

I'm no expert on this (and I'm right handed), but I know a lot of string players the are left handed but get along just fine on the traditional instruments. I think it's one of those things you just deal with.

Actually, I think it would be really cool to be in your position. You already play bass guitar left handed; if you learned to play upright right handed, you'd be ambidextrous, like the musician version of a switch-hitter or something (for the record, I know little about baseball).

[Phil Rowan]

Earl May plays as a lefty, except his strings are still strung for right handed playing. Talk about backwards!

[coreybass]

I know a great Danish bass player who plays lefty. He has a beautiful custom Wilfer bass that he had made for him. It has the bass bar and sound post switched so it is a true lefty. The finger board and bridge are also carved opposite. It sounds great and he is a monster player!

[Sharkabilly]

I've found Engelhardt's from Upton and Bob, that can be switched left handed.

are they good basses?

No my teacher is a college professor in bass. He plays upright.

[JoeyNaeger]

Do you ever plan on playing in an orchestra? If so, then it would be better to learn it right handed.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Sharkabilly

I've found Engelhardt's from Upton and Bob, that can be switched left handed.

are they good basses?

IMO, in a word, "No." Will Upton do one of their own basses lefty?

[Phil Rowan]

I'm a little confused about things, so if I'm wrong about this, I sort of expected it anyway. Is the only thing that makes a bass left handed the fingerboard and the bridge? If this is the case, you could just have a shim installed on the neck which would be set for left handed play. Then all you need is a bridge cut for the same shape of the lefty fingerboard.

Oh, and I guess the sound post would need to be in a different place too...oops.

[grovest]

Sharkabilly... I think maybe the best route for you would be to rent an upright for a while and see how it suits you.

[Contrabbasso]

I have a lefty Upton Hybrid 5-string on order.
It should be close to the shipping date now.
Here's a link to what I posted a while back
here @ TB.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...95#post4642795

I've played lefty from the start back when I was 10 years old.

Playing in an orchestra most likely wouldn't
work out to good. Someone may get hurt by the
opposite bowing directions. Sad but true.
I don't think there are lefty players in string sections.

Personally I could not play a righty "right-handed".
Because of the cost I did learn as a kid to play
a right-handed bass held left-handed. After 10 years
or so I wanted to use standard fingering and techniques.
I couldn't get the bass "slap and pop" right so I
broke down started over and got a lefty-Musicman bass
and a lefty Gibson SG electric 6-string for chords to
work properly.

Funny I do everything left-handed except
batting in baseball;
golf and hockey.

My father was a pro ball player and he never
encouraged me to be right handed.

I'd do what ultimately feels good to you
and what fits your intent as a performer.

[Contrabbasso]

http://www.jenniferleitham.com/

[Sharkabilly]

Originally Posted by Contrabbasso

I have a lefty Upton Hybrid 5-string on order.
It should be close to the shipping date now.
Here's a link to what I posted a while back
here @ TB.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...95#post4642795

I've played lefty from the start back when I was 10 years old.

Playing in an orchestra most likely wouldn't
work out to good. Someone may get hurt by the
opposite bowing directions. Sad but true.
I don't think there are lefty players in string sections.

Personally I could not play a righty "right-handed".
Because of the cost I did learn as a kid to play
a right-handed bass held left-handed. After 10 years
or so I wanted to use standard fingering and techniques.
I couldn't get the bass "slap and pop" right so I
broke down started over and got a lefty-Musicman bass
and a lefty Gibson SG electric 6-string for chords to
work properly.

Funny I do everything left-handed except
batting in baseball;
golf and hockey.

My father was a pro ball player and he never
encouraged me to be right handed.

I'd do what ultimately feels good to you
and what fits your intent as a performer.

Ya, i've tryed out a right handed (they have one at school) and I just don't feel it, the G string (is it still a G string on a Upright?) is too hard to work with. I have no desire to play in an orchestra, I was thinking more along the lines of Rockabilly and Jazz.

So thats a no on engelhardt's? I called Upton and they will make their basses left handed.

[drurb]

If you can get and can afford an Upton, forget the Engel. IMO, an Upton lami blows the doors off an Engel. The Upton hybrid is another animal entirely and is a large step up from the lami. Then there is their Professor...