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I really loathe "righties"

#103
As many here know I am right handed but play lefthanded. Having my strongest and most dexterous hand on the fretboard has not given me any advantage over right handed players or lefthanded musicians who play righthanded. When I was starting out I never even really thought much about it, I wanted to play, the only way that was going to be possible for me was to play lefthanded. There were no lefthanded basses available to me (I didn't even realize they existed) so I bought a bass I could afford, flipped the strings around, as this made more sense to me than playing with them inverted, and got busy becoming competant on my chosen instrument and playing gigs.

I have certainly been disappointed over the years that certain instruments that I fancied were not available to lefties (when it comes to playing bass I consider myself a lefty) and I do have a few particular pet peeves with manufactuerers to be sure. But I have been able to aquire suitable lefthanded instruments over the years and the availability of lefty basses/guitars has improved dramatically over the last several decades.

But, I became a bassplayer because I love music and bass is my "voice" for musical expression. The instrument itself is only a tool, a means to an end. While it is beneficial to have an instrument that fits you well, works with you and allows you to express yourself as well as you can, our instruments become very personal to us and it is easy to get caught up in gear issues and lose sight of the bigger picture.

In the end it isn't about the hammer you use it's about building the house.

Cheers!
 
#108
I'M a lefty who play lefty. No one have told me I would have a lot of trouble finding a bass. But I learned to play upright bass righthanded ( no choice in college ) but I was very very bad at it.

3 years ago I tried to play right handed but I soon realised it will be a very very long journey and I wasn't ready for it after 10 years lefty
 
#109
Mayers said:
3 years ago I tried to play right handed but I soon realised it will be a very very long journey and I wasn't ready for it after 10 years lefty
Click to expand...

I agree with what you're saying man..
Friggin A...I mean I can flip the damned bass around right handed and I can play the bass like Fieldie from KoRn..(You know...all the taps he does.) And that's from drums...But the fingering with my left hand? Forget it. Countless hours of power tools and heavy impact machinery makes my left hand absolutely USELESS for fingering. All my fingers do is lock up and I go like this.. :crying:

Like I said, I'm done whining about it because the selection of lefty guitars has DRASTICALLY improved even in the past decade!
 
#110
Valiant Bandit said:
Lol I've tried playing righty...It's pathetic...I'm AWFUL... Which is weird because I play drums righty and I'm pretty decent at piano, so you figure it wouldn't be that big of a difference?

I even tried the Jimi Hendrix...It's weird...Maybe it's a mental thing but once I got a real lefty bass, learning was SO much easier and faster. Plus I didn't look like a dolt trying to emulate (IMHO) the best guitarist ever to grace this planet.

...Plus.....

*Sits down in Psychiatrist's Chair*
It started when I was a child...I was forced to do everything right handed and I hated it. I used to get made fun of because my handwriting was so illegible. Duh? It's because I'm a lefty?? Thank God I taught myself to write the right way...(No pun intended.)

I tried "Customizing" a P.O.S. Crescent lefty bass.....And noticed the paint didn't stick because the original "paint" is just laminate...So now to save face I have to pick up some XIM primer that bonds to everything.

mntngrown, It's interesting you mentioned the fact you play righty even though you're a lefty which makes you a great finger style player...
I had the honour of meeting the RX Bandits when they were out in Riverside, CA a couple of weeks ago. I was getting all of their autographs and I noticed that their lead guitarist (Steve Choi) was signing my poster with his LEFT HAND!!?
I said "Steve, TF? You're a lefty?"
Steve: "Yep." (Looks at me and asks "Why?" with his eyes.)
Me: "Well...You play the guitar right handed, why'd you do that if you're a lefty?"
Steve : "Well I sat down one day and thought to myself ' My playing would sound more intricate if I used my dominant hand to do the fingering.' . "
Me : " It makes perfect sense Steve, that makes sense as to why your guitar tracks on 'Mandala' is orgasmic....I can't do that sh*...+1 to you man."
Click to expand...

For the record I would never say anything like that. I am an average bar band hack retread playing bass for fun in retirement. I was just saying that I did not even know there were LH instruments in the 60's, and in retrospect I like my most capable hand on the frets.
 
#112
Rush-2112 said:
That's amazing man, more power to you all. As a righty I consider myself lucky, because it clearly takes more skill to learn to play like that.
Click to expand...
actually no more skill than playing normal. the strings, notes, and frets are still in the same places.

plus playing inverted gives me the opportunity to hand my bass to anyone righthanded and they can experience the joys of flipping a bass and seeing what it is like to jam on a flipped unit. and...we were playing with another band (friends of ours).. the bassplayer broke a string and I handed him my lefty to finish out the set..worked for him, worked for the band, and he bought me 30 bucks in food and drinks to say thanks....
 
#113
VB,

That bass isn't only for "righties". They have it in long and short scale on the website now.

SX Ursa 4 RN 3TS Left Handed Long Scale - Link Removed

SX Ursa 4 JR RN 3TS Left Handed Short Scale - Link Removed

Pick one up and enjoy....

Bob
 
#116
Just for the fun of it, I went to the MF website and typed the words "left hand" in their search box.

In the search results were 40 electric bass guitars, about half of which were under $500. Ibanez, Squier, Schecter, Hofner, Fender, SBMM and MTD all have left handed models available.

As previously mentioned, Rondo carries a fair number of lefty models as well.

Lefties may not have the pick of the litter, but they do have some variety to choose from.
 

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