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Can I flip a headless bass

JoeThomas

JoeThomas

Jan 15, 2021
86
298
#1
As a result of a recent injury I am now a left handed player.
My question is that I have access to a right handed Spirit 4 string bass for a great price. Obviously great for travel and tight places.
Can this be flipped to a lefty?
I'm aware, and don't care, about the control placement or leg rest. I just want something playable.
Thanks in advance!
 
#3
I have a recent (about 3 years old) Spirit and can confirm that it doesn't flip.

The head-piece can't be physically rotated to work (it's a whole top cap) and I also checked the retainers for you and they're not the same size, so you can't fit the E string where the G string would go.

IMG_0835.jpg
 
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#4
BurningSkies said:
I have a recent (about 3 years old) Spirit and can confirm that it doesn't flip.

The head-piece can't be physically rotated to work (it's a whole top cap) and I also checked the retainers for you and they're not the same size, so you can't fit the E string where the G string would go.

View attachment 4197959
Click to expand...
Really appreciate you're response! That was my concern also when I looked at pics.
Thanks BurningSkies!
 
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#6
BurningSkies said:
I also checked the retainers for you and they're not the same size, so you can't fit the E string where the G string would go.
Click to expand...

Wow, interesting... Can anyone offer any reason why they might have designed it that way, why that might be preferable to having a uniformly-sized string retainer across all strings (like they did with the original Steinberger L-2)?
 
#7
Bob_Ross said:
Wow, interesting... Can anyone offer any reason why they might have designed it that way, why that might be preferable to having a uniformly-sized string retainer across all strings (like they did with the original Steinberger L-2)?
Click to expand...
Since there is no traditional nut, perhaps the thinking was that this would limit the side to side motion per string, similar to what a traditional bridge saddle does at the other end. Pure speculation on my part.
 
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#8
lug said:
Since there is no traditional nut, perhaps the thinking was that this would limit the side to side motion per string, similar to what a traditional bridge saddle does at the other end. Pure speculation on my part.
Click to expand...

This would be my guess too. Also, the engineering on the neck cap/string retainer is a bit weak. If you don't insert the ball-end of the string horizontally, it will slip through the gap on mine.
 
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#11
JoeThomas said:
What about the adapters that allow for standard single ball strings?
Is there still a form of nut to deal with?
Click to expand...

I just realized you're dealing with a 4 string...I'd tried mine, a 5, by flipping strings...the low B wouldn't fit. So I just retried with the E string instead:

IMG_0839.jpg


It's totally functional. Just not with the five string version.
 
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#14
BurningSkies said:
I just realized you're dealing with a 4 string...I'd tried mine, a 5, by flipping strings...the low B wouldn't fit. So I just retried with the E string instead:

View attachment 4198150

It's totally functional. Just not with the five string version.
Click to expand...

This thread is exploding
 
#15
JoeThomas said:
As a result of a recent injury I am now a left handed player.
My question is that I have access to a right handed Spirit 4 string bass for a great price. Obviously great for travel and tight places.
Can this be flipped to a lefty?
I'm aware, and don't care, about the control placement or leg rest. I just want something playable.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I own a Spirit and love it.You could flip it.A new nut will have to be cut and the bridge saddles look identical.The tuners are in a straight row .So if the tone controls don't matter ( my advice is change them for the smallest available) There's still plenty of plucking room imo.Unless I'm missing something and if it's a good deal do it.Good luck!
 
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#18
Sorry about your injury mate but welcome to the lefty club.

You mention you can get a "great price" on the Spirit but IMO they are not "great basses" so I'd hesitate to purchase just to have to mod it into something that even works. If all you want is something playable, any j or p bass will do with a quick nut flip which most repairguys won't charge you much for.
Or pick up a new lefty Squier they're all really good bargains.
Also check out leftybassist.com they have a small marketplace and good community, there are some guys there with enormous collections who will probably happily set you up with something reasonable.
 
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#20
Very confused 4-string Steinberger Spirit owner here: mine has a zero fret, and no nut.
If you're looking at the same type as I have, there shouldn't be any real problem with stringing it left-handed, though you may need to stick to a light gauge.
Another option, if you're not wedded to double-ball strings, is an adapter for single-ended strings. They're cheap, and there's no modification involved because it's just held on by string tension. Mine has the same sized hole for each string, so that's another option.
 
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