LH bass price discrepancies? Why?

Get used to it....if your interested in Fender-2 colors to select from, which arent bad but nothing really "stunning". I bit the bullet and went for a Japanese Fender Jazz 75 reissue. I would love to have a talk with the people at Fender USA on this issue.

 

Have a look at the Ibanez range I have three of them anSR 300,SR500 and an PGB1.

 

Lefties often have a disadvantage like that, and the only field I've seen relative equality in lefty/righty availability and price is in sporting goods like baseball and golf equipment. Music instruments like guitars, not so much.

 

It took me a good minute to figure out what LH stood for

 

Some manufacturers seem to be more lefty friendly, with more models,features and colors to choose from. Examples I've seen are Warwick, Schecter, and G & L. There are fewer lefty players out there in the market, so it's just capitalism at work that makes them less available and more expensive.

 

Have you investigated a place called "Southpaw Guitars"? They advertise a lot in "Vintage Guitar" Magazine, and they have (or at least used to) a wicked sense of humor. They'll sell right-handed guitars, but there's a 15% sur-charge!!

I'm a righty, and when I managed a guitar store, we tried to keep left-handed stuff on the wall all the time. In those days it was a bit harder in some respects, but easier in others. In those days Fender only had a few models. There was only one Precision bass, and you could select color, maple/rosewood, fretted/fretless, and LH or RH. But the LH ones were available in all the same colors as the RH ones. The thing is that lead time was stupidly long on ANYTHING that wasn't a popular choice. A Natural fiinish fretted RH P bass could ship in as short as six weeks depending on where the production cycle was. A CAR lefty fretless could take over a year to get shipped.

jte

 

I think it may be a hold over from the earlier belief's that left-hand people, in general, are possesed by demons, or knowingly practice "evil" satanic religous rites. This could include anything from simple herbal remedies, to full on human sacrifice, and of coure, EVERYTHING in between. Although modern science has virtually disproved this as fact, many people, apparantly in the MI biz, still hold to these values.

 

Suppy and demand....I'm lefty but play righty.

 

You hit the nail on the head. It cost them more to make a LH guitar
simply because they won't make or sell as many. Basic economics.

 

Many here on TB would argue that an $800 bass is rather economically low priced consider that it is not uncommon to see street prices of excellent quality instrument prices in excess of $2500. A $1000 - $1500 instrument would then be considered more middle ground

There are many reasons why a manufacturer and/or model could be more expensive in a LH model, and you'll soon see this as you browse the offerings from the different manufacturers/builders.

IME there is very little in the parts department where a LH part is more expensive than its RH cousin, mostly because most parts are universal. Exceptions to the universal usage of a part would be something hand specific like a '51P control plate, a LH acoustic bass bridge, a lefty Hipshot de-tuner, etc ...

Compared to 10+ years ago, the LH market today is flooded with an unending number of choices for quality instruments and options

all the best,

R

 

Carvin doesn't charge extra for left handed models. LB20 is currently $739 for a US made neck through bass. This probably won't help unless you live in a Yorkshire pudding that is located in the continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, or Canada; that's all I see for shipping options.

 

TS, if you haven't already trained yourself as a lefty, I might recommend teaching yourself to play righty. Financially, it just makes the most sense.

As others have already stated - demand is lower, price is higher.

 

lower demand = true

higher price = often, but not always

all the best,

R