|  | | 
10-30-2010, 01:26 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: seattle | | | left handed uprights
I am looking for a true left handed upright bass
Sign in to disble this ad
|
10-30-2010, 01:54 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wisconsin | | | Lefty
Paesold made one for Jennifer Leitham. I believe they are a German company, but have some American dealers. Try doing a Google search. |
10-30-2010, 02:09 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chicago, IL | | | I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't get a left handed nut and bridge and put it on any upright you like. |
10-30-2010, 02:10 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Four Corners, USA | | | I had a left-handed piano. |
10-30-2010, 02:23 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Stick_Player  I had a left-handed piano. |  |
10-30-2010, 03:39 PM
|  | Registered User
Maker of HPF-Pre upright bass preamp | | Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Madison WI | | Quote:
Originally Posted by VonCakeman I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't get a left handed nut and bridge and put it on any upright you like. | No. The innards of a bass are asymmetrical, as is the fingerboard typically.
Lots of lefties have learned to play bass right-handed, so this should be considered as an option as it greatly opens up your options for finding basses. OTOH if you have already been playing for some time, or are coming from the electric bass side, switching to righty might be more difficult. |
10-31-2010, 05:11 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: West Haven, CT | | | If you do a search in this forum, you will find plenty of lefty options for double bass. (as well as the arguments to learn to play right-handed)
There are several manufacturers of DB's that offer left-handed models: including Christopher, Engelhardt, Upton, and others.
The problem is that it is a custom order and dealers usually do not have a lefty in stock to try out. Over the years, I have only found one lefty in a shop (Stein on Vine in LA).
BTW - You cannot just switch the strings and nut on a DB like you can with a slab bass. The bass board and sound post inside in the bass have to be switched as well. There might be issues with some fingerboards.
__________________
Paddle faster, I hear banjo music!
|
10-31-2010, 06:54 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2007 Location: No. Virginia near Wash, DC | |  Where's PW ?
Quote: |
I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't get a left handed nut and bridge and put it on any upright you like.
|  Oh, Really?? Quote: |
BTW - You cannot just switch the strings and nut on a DB like you can with a slab bass. The bass board (aka bass bar) and sound post inside in the bass have to be switched as well. There might be issues with some fingerboards.
| Where's PW when ya need him? 
P.S. - I recently sold my lefty hybrid that was professionally converted as indicated above by ctcruiser . . .
__________________
Tejano Bass - "Never pick a fight with an old Tejano! If he's too old to fight, he'll just shoot ya!" That's (Tay-hah'-no) . . . if you don't savvy Tex-Mex.
Last edited by Tejano Bass : 10-31-2010 at 07:01 AM.
|
10-31-2010, 06:59 AM
| | Banned | | Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Manhattan | | Quote:
Originally Posted by fdeck No. The innards of a bass are asymmetrical, as is the fingerboard typically.
Lots of lefties have learned to play bass right-handed, so this should be considered as an option as it greatly opens up your options for finding basses. OTOH if you have already been playing for some time, or are coming from the electric bass side, switching to righty might be more difficult. | I believe no one should ever play anything left handed. I learned to play drums left handed and it was nothing but a pain in the ass. (Never being able to sit-in--having to turn things around in the studio, etc). You use both hands anyway. And yeah, there are no left handed pianos. No left handed saxophones. I've never seen a violinist in an orchestra playing lefty and I'm sure many were.
But if you're a LH electric player, there's no choice. Yep, just get a nut cut lefty and deal. |
10-31-2010, 08:05 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Four Corners, USA | | Quote: |
And yeah, there are no left handed pianos.
| Silly boy, sure there are! Left Hand Piano |
10-31-2010, 08:10 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sudbury,ON/Ottawa, ON Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by plangentmusic I believe no one should ever play anything left handed. I learned to play drums left handed and it was nothing but a pain in the ass. (Never being able to sit-in--having to turn things around in the studio, etc). You use both hands anyway. And yeah, there are no left handed pianos. No left handed saxophones. I've never seen a violinist in an orchestra playing lefty and I'm sure many were.
But if you're a LH electric player, there's no choice. Yep, just get a nut cut lefty and deal. | The orchestral comment is only valid if he intends to play in one. no one else really cares. That being said, all of the lefty players I know personally play righty, including those who have changed from electric. I am a classical musician though, so my experience is skewed.
Eerbrev |
10-31-2010, 11:44 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hillsboro, Oregon | | Quote:
Originally Posted by plangentmusic I believe no one should ever play anything left handed. I learned to play drums left handed and it was nothing but a pain in the ass. (Never being able to sit-in--having to turn things around in the studio, etc). | I too learned to play the drums left handed, but I've never found it entirely too bad to work with. It works fine if you're the only drummer or you aren't sharing a kit. If I am sharing I can switch the set around in like a minute if I don't mess with the rack toms.
There's something a teacher of mine once said to me; it doesn't matter which way you play, it just means one hand will be stronger (either your bowing hand or your neck hand). On drums it's kinda different cause my left foot is much stronger and the bass drum is (arguably) more important. |
10-31-2010, 11:50 AM
|  | JeffKissell | | Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Soquel, CA | | | I'm left handed. I play a right handed bass. I personally know 2 other bass players as well as several guitar, cello, violin/fiddle, piano players who are all left handed... they all play right handed instruments. I've never actually seen a left handed bass in person.
Regarding the left handed Piano... why would you want to be that totally isolated from playing music with others? Just my $.02.
__________________
"...sounds like a goddamn train wreck!" |
10-31-2010, 12:14 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: London, Ontario | | | Its always funny how theses forums quickly stray away from the original topic.
dean_hedges@hot asked where he could find a true left handed upright. Not if it’s right or wrong to play a left-handed upright.
Anyway, Wilfer makes really nice left handed basses.
good luck in your search. |
10-31-2010, 12:31 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada | | Seems to my dim recall that there's a 'Christopher' left-handed model or two. And perhaps Shen makes one. I converted one old Bohemian to left-handed for a player, a guy who had been playing it set up as left-handed for years but was nowhere near satisfied with the sound of the lower strings that way - which is kind of obvious, owing to the asymmetrical physics of the bridge and belly and the lower output energy of the bottom strings. He finally had me convert it with a new bar on the opposite side etc. and was very content with the results. Unfortunately he had a severe finger injury after some years, then more recently sold the bass to a European player who'd been looking for a proper left-handed bass for some time. There's nothing inherently wrong with this approach, except from the perspective of bowing in an orchestra which would get a lot awkward. For solo players or less formal settings it seems that if this is what the player wants, why the heck not?
Oh, and checking the Christopher site just now - http://www.christopher-bass.de/dbass_e.html - I see that "All models are also available as lefthanded versions upon request." Cool. |
10-31-2010, 12:48 PM
| | JeffKissell | | Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Soquel, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by fstasiak Its always funny how theses forums quickly stray away from the original topic.
dean_hedges@hot asked where he could find a true left handed upright. Not if it’s right or wrong to play a left-handed upright.
Anyway, Wilfer makes really nice left handed basses.
good luck in your search. | I think because of the commitment of time and money required in finding and/or building a true lefty. Several makers will make one custom.
-J
__________________
"...sounds like a goddamn train wreck!" |
10-31-2010, 02:51 PM
| | Registered User
Private Inventor - Bass Capos | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cologne/Göttingen, Germany | | | Arrgghh!
I hate that this has come up again. My big reason for staying away from lefty basses: Choice!!! Even though there are now good student level basses available in LH, what do you do when you want to upgrade?
__________________
Robobass
|
11-01-2010, 08:09 AM
|  | Big and fat. So is my sound.
Endorsing Artist: Dean Markley | | Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Montreal, Canada | | | Hi dean,
I just took delivery on my lefty Shen SB-100 a week ago. Took 4 months to receive, but it's a true lefty. The downside, as mentioned above, is you can't try before buying, and in my case, it was a final sale. The upside is that is sounds great, with my dealer setting it up properly. He didn't charge me extra, but mentioned that Shen charge 5% more for lefty models.
Anyway, I'm very happy with the sound (Evah Pirazzi Weich strings and Fishman Full-Circle pickup) and she looks real nice too with the hand-rubbed oil finish.
I play blues, no arco, FWIW.
Finally, during my lengthy search, I learned you can buy a right-handed bass and have it converted to lefty - the best quote I got was $700 to do a job like that... so it could be an option if you find something you really like.
Good luck! |
11-01-2010, 08:25 AM
|  | Oracle, Ancient Order of Rass Hattur | | Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Connecticut | | Quote:
Originally Posted by PappaK Finally, during my lengthy search, I learned you can buy a right-handed bass and have it converted to lefty - the best quote I got was $700 to do a job like that... so it could be an option if you find something you really like. | Is that $700 to pull the top, move bass-bar and post, re-carve bridge, change/re-file nut, re-plane fingerboard?
__________________
Famous last words: And with that- Im gone. You will probably read in the paper soon about a deranged kid who burns his bass in front of a luthier. |
11-01-2010, 08:30 AM
| | Big and fat. So is my sound.
Endorsing Artist: Dean Markley | | Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Montreal, Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by drurb Is that $700 to pull the top, move bass-bar and post, re-carve bridge, change/re-file nut, re-plane fingerboard? | Yes drurb, that's it. The full monty. New nut, new adjustable bridge and the innards flipped.
EDIT: and yes, fingerboard replaned.
Is that a good price - or way off? I didn't follow it up as I ended up just ordering the full lefty from another shop. |  | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | |
