Double Bass Left Handed Upright Bass

[jmacdbass]

Nick Lloyd has Shens lefty, I bet they would be as comparable to the upton long term - my student got a lefty ply from them and it has funky things weird (like it doesn't sit even on the floor, and the A string has never been right), for the same price (his was around 3k in the end) you can get a really nice hybrid and I am wishing I knew about them before to recommend them

 

[pjmuck]

I'm a lefty too. I've done some research into this topic over the years.

There are a few companies out there who will make lefties on special order, including Engelhardt, Christopher, Chen, and Strunal, with Engelhardt amd Shen being the most prevalent. I know a few lefties who own the Shen SB80, and they love them. Likewise, you'll find more than a few Engelhardt fans too. (The blonde Swingmaster is cool). Both will run you over $2000 with a set up, however. Upton has a lefty conversion option for $500 but it's not clear if you have to buy a Upton bass first and then have it converted for an additional $500 or not.

Lastly, if you wanted to just get your feet wet on the upright vibe via an EUB, I highly recommend the Stagg EDB. I bought mine fully converted to lefty from Adirondack Guitars a couple of years ago for about $500, and after throwing a set of D'Addario Hellicores on it's great. (I Don't know if Adirondack sells these or not anymore, but its a fairly easy conversion).

 

[bassailor]

don't worry too much, just buy a righthanded bass, reverse the strings, and just slap it!!!
in time you will see if you're comin'thru a real left handed bass, or reverse the bass you have chosen,or just burn it and play banjo, i had the work done (italy, 2002) for 600 euros, including bridge, new real ebony fingerboard, and tuning gear.(it's a really beaten up plywood strunal)
depending on the pickup you are using, playing a RH bass w.reversed string it's not big difference.difference comes when we talk acoustic, but just for the start,save as much money as you can, start thinkin' about this mess.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

don't worry too much, just buy a righthanded bass, reverse the strings, and just slap it!!!

Hunh? So having the E string over the soundpost won't put any more downward pressure on that part of top than the G string? And the G string will drive the bass bar the same way the E string does?

 

[bluebird28]

Not to mention the relief in the fingerboard being different from G to E.

 

[MikeCanada]

The double bass is not a symmetrical instrument. Some things are easier than others to reverse; you can get a new bridge and nut pretty easily, and "string it left handed" but it stops there. The bass bar and the sound post are where they are for a reason, and you completely negate that by "flipping" the instrument. Likewise if the instrument is carved, the wood is graduated with the intention of it being set up the way it is supposed to. The fingerboard isn't symmetrical as well, (a bevelled board is an extreme example) the tuners are set up like that for a reason, and I'm likely missing a few more.

There definitely are functional ply basses out there for under $1000. You have to hunt for them, be patient in your search and jump on them when they do pop up. And they are all right handed instruments. Left handed instruments are likely less than 1% of the double bass market. That's a guess, but I'm leaning towards it being too high. I have been playing double bass for 13 years, and a musician my entire life, and I have only encountered two left handed string players. One was a cellist I went to university with, and he was well aware that he likely wouldn't have a professional career in an orchestra because of it. The other was Ashley MacIsaac, and it would be an understatement to say that he deviates from tradition.

Unlike electric basses where almost every company will make one for you, very few double bass makers are comfortable making them. Upton charges $500, and their standard laminated bass starts at $2500. So you are adding an additional 1/5th of the cost, just to get a left handed instrument. If you want to sell the instrument down the road, you are going to have an extremely difficult time finding a market for it and unless you commission an instrument from someone like Upton, (paying the additional $500 a second time) you're going to have an even more difficult time upgrading.

I see absolutely no advantage to using a left handed instrument over a right handed one, and I am left handed. Each of your hands are doing important things, but your left hand on a right handed instrument has the more complex role. It looks after all of the notes, is responsible for intonation, covers a lot more ground shifting etc. which is a lot more of a challenge than pizz or arco. I would even suggest you are at an advantage, as a left handed person on a right handed instrument.

Most of these things hold true for electric instruments as well. If guitar companies stopped offering them, this wouldn't be a problem in a generation. With the exception of someone who has a medical condition that makes it physically impossible to play a right handed instrument, (for which I am sorry and accommodations definitely should be made) I think a lot of people just get sucked in with "I am left handed, therefore I should get a left handed instrument" when there really or benefit for doing so.

 

[Paul Barsic]

Each of your hands are doing important things, but your left hand on a right handed instrument has the more complex role. It looks after all of the notes, is responsible for intonation, covers a lot more ground shifting...

Yes, I've always thought that lefties are at a natural advantage with the standard string instrument set-up. As a right-handed person, it took a lot of time to develop coordination in my left hand. I initially thought of string instruments as being left-handed, and we righties just had to deal with it and be happy with our scissors.

There's also the issue of involving the right brain hemisphere for creative tasks.

With the exception of someone who has a medical condition that makes it physically impossible to play a right handed instrument, (for which I am sorry and accommodations definitely should be made)...

I wonder why Django continued to fret with his left hand after his injury. (Of course, there is a lot that Django did that I don't understand.)

 

[Randall Fortino]

I own a lefty milano 3/4 upright. Bought brand new from fantastic musical instruments on ebay. Cost me about 1000 $. Check them out.

 

[Fat Steve]

I own a lefty milano 3/4 upright. Bought brand new from fantastic musical instruments on ebay. Cost me about 1000 $. Check them out. View attachment 376814

 

[pjmuck]

I see absolutely no advantage to using a left handed instrument over a right handed one, and I am left handed. Each of your hands are doing important things, but your left hand on a right handed instrument has the more complex role. It looks after all of the notes, is responsible for intonation, covers a lot more ground shifting etc. which is a lot more of a challenge than pizz or arco. I would even suggest you are at an advantage, as a left handed person on a right handed instrument.

Most of these things hold true for electric instruments as well. If guitar companies stopped offering them, this wouldn't be a problem in a generation. With the exception of someone who has a medical condition that makes it physically impossible to play a right handed instrument, (for which I am sorry and accommodations definitely should be made) I think a lot of people just get sucked in with "I am left handed, therefore I should get a left handed instrument" when there really or benefit for doing so.

The man wants a left handed bass. PERIOD! He already stated he could care less about his restricted chances of playing in an orchestra. I'm sure he's well-aware, (you know, on account of him being lefty and all), how difficult it is to acquire left handed instruments already without yet another clueless righty or (worse yet) a self-proclaimed left handed "sympathizer" extolling the virtues of being right handed and encouraging him to abandon his dexterity just to save all these poor companies the trouble of having to put up with us lefties "for another generation" until we're forced into extinction.

I had no idea we were such a "problem". :scowl:

 

[Randall Fortino]

Preach it brother

 

[Basshappi]

The man wants a left handed bass. PERIOD! He already stated he could care less about his restricted chances of playing in an orchestra. I'm sure he's well-aware, (you know, on account of him being lefty and all), how difficult it is to acquire left handed instruments already without yet another clueless righty or (worse yet) a self-proclaimed left handed "sympathizer" extolling the virtues of being right handed and encouraging him to abandon his dexterity just to save all these poor companies the trouble of having to put up with us lefties "for another generation" until we're forced into extinction.

I had no idea we were such a "problem". :scowl:

AMEN.
I get tired of being treated as if the existence of lefthanded instruments is somehow a threat to civilization.

 

[MikeCanada]

I think that most of what has been said here by left-handed people, or people who have played "left-handed" electric basses and switched to a "normal" double bass has good intentions behind it. Just a few of the disadvantages:

1. Few makers/shops are comfortable with them
2. The market is almost non-existent
3. Newly commissioned instruments are more expensive, and impossible to back out of, for no reason other than them being "left handed"
4. You can't "sit in" with bands if you don't have your own instrument with you
5. Orchestral/Classical music barriers

Converts said the switch wasn't a deal breaker. There is a pretty big technique learning curve anyway. I switched from french horn to trumpet in high school. They use almost identical fingerings but the opposite hand. By the time I had figured out the difference in the mouth piece, where the harmonics were etc. my hand had caught up. I was switching between principal horn in the orchestra and lead trumpet in the jazz band by the end of my first year "switching".

I apologize if my idea of strongly encouraged extinction seemed harsh. I still feel that there is not an advantage to starting a new instrument "left handed", and the difference between double bass and electric bass is enough to call it a new instrument. Double bass technique, especially in the case of the OP who uses a pick exclusively is going to be a fundamentally different experience. Were you looking to switch between "left handed" electric guitar to bass where there are a lot more similarities then yes, you would be sacrificing/abandoning technique/dexterity.

As it has been said, there isn't a left handed house, so why make a "left handed" bass? Are the users of "left handed" instruments a problem? No. Do "the rest of us" fear an uprising? No. Will guitar companies, and the odd double bass company gladly take the extra money you are throwing at them? Absolutely. Are you creating a self-imposed disadvantage by making the decision to play these instruments? That is not stretching the logic too far...

If one absolutely wants a "left handed" bass regardless to the overwhelming amount of cautionary responses, Some good options have been offered up. Upton has a "left handed" player and luthier on staff, Shen and a number of the other factories offer them, the guys at Gollihur have an option, (all for an additional cost) and if you ask around there are a few makers who offer them.

 

[groovygreg]

lefty bass players website:

http://www.leftybass.com/

Didn't we cover all of this in this thread?

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f1/lefties-60068/

My 2 cents:

I'm a lefty bassist also. I had an 80 or so year old German bass converted (bass bar and soundpost switched, plus all the other stuff like the bridge, nut, fingerboard, etc.).

...hopefully this will not give any righties who object to such a bastardization of an otherwise fine instrument a case of the vapors....

I've also got an old Kay (my first bass) with the same work done, and am in the process of getting an EUB made for me. Has it always been convenient? No, but it hasn't ruined my life or my professional career (although I've never pursued the classical thing, where it could possibly be a major problem). Did it help me learn the bass quickly? Absolutely (I picked it up in college after having played lefty electric for about 5 years). The learning curve on the upright is so tough at the beginning that I feel like if you're fighting your natural inclination, handedness-wise, on top of the struggle just to get around the stupid thing, you're fairly likely to be frustrated enough to put the thing down (or through a wall). Left-handed uprights are becoming more and more available, and why make it harder on yourself than it has to be, just in case you need to rent an instrument somewhere down the line, or want to sit in but don't feel like dragging your upright to the jam session?

The other thing that no one has mentioned in this thread is that there are degrees to which all people are left hand dominant, right hand dominant, or ambidextrous. I have always done everything left-handed. I know other left handed people who do some things righty, like using scissors (have you ever tried to use those cheap elementary school scissors with the wrong hand? no wonder I did so bad in art class!) And many lefty are more ambidextrous out of necessity, like those (like my friend's dad) who weren't allowed to write with their left hand in school. If you're a fairly ambidextrous lefty, why not at least try righty? I can't do it, but maybe you can.

But if you can't, don't feel pressured into it, and don't let it stop you from playing the instrument you want to play. And certainly don't listen to some know-it-all righty talking out his a**; after all, if the left hand is the one "doing all the work", why doesn't he as a righty, switch to lefty? Why have all string instruments, across the world, throughout history, been built “righty”? Give him a lefty instrument and watch him try to fret it with his “dominant” hand, it'll be amusing...

 

[Fat Steve]

Strunal Lefty Hybrid Double Bass for $1,500.

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