Hi, everyone.I'm a lefty and I want to purchase a bass guitar in the near future.The question is:Left handed bass or right handed bass?I played acoustic guitar for a couple months.It was a lefty guitar.It feel comfortable for me to play like that and I think it would be quite difficult for me to "reset" the way I play.I fell that my left hand it's perfect for strumming,picking etc.Right hand,my "weak" hand,develop de dexterity from doing chords and now feel natural to me to use my right hand for fret.But,it s difficult to find a left bass and the options are limited.So,what should I do?My budget is about 200-250 € for now.If I buy a normal bass,I'm afraid that the process of learning would be more more longer and difficult and I don't want that.I really don't know what to do...I don't buy basses every year so the resell of the instrumenr it s not a big problem I guess...the problem is that I won't pe able to play other basses...Hmm...hard choice.What do you say?I really need good advices.Again,it feels natural to me to play lefty,but this thing has multiple desadvantages.So,what do you think guys?Also,I need bass suggestions,it help me a lot.(200-250€,left basses suggestions,these are more difficult to find).Thanks.
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What should I do?Help guys
- Thread starter Iwanttoplaybass
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Definitely get a lefty bass. It might be inconvenient but that's your orientation and you need to roll with it. As for which bass to choose, you might want to look into Squier. Good value for the money (at least in North America) and they do make lefties. What part of Europe are you in?
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99% of people who don't play will recommend to just get a lefty.
I personally know one and know of five other lefties who, in the face of knowing that learning anything is never going to be "easy", just got on with it and learned guitar righty.
Bonus for them: they weren't ever in a position to say "ooh I like that bass! Aw shucks, they don't make a lefty version of it. Ooh, I like that one... but they're charging 20% more for the lefty version? Dang."
Thing is, as a lefty, your smarter hand is the one that probably ought to be doing the fretting, and your dumber right hand would be put to better use plucking.
Running is natural. Throwing things is natural. Hitting things is natural. The human body is not made for wrapping one's hands around a horizontal board for hours at a time. The process of learning only ends when you quit.
I personally know one and know of five other lefties who, in the face of knowing that learning anything is never going to be "easy", just got on with it and learned guitar righty.
Bonus for them: they weren't ever in a position to say "ooh I like that bass! Aw shucks, they don't make a lefty version of it. Ooh, I like that one... but they're charging 20% more for the lefty version? Dang."
Thing is, as a lefty, your smarter hand is the one that probably ought to be doing the fretting, and your dumber right hand would be put to better use plucking.
Running is natural. Throwing things is natural. Hitting things is natural. The human body is not made for wrapping one's hands around a horizontal board for hours at a time. The process of learning only ends when you quit.
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I had this in reverse - I'm a lefty who learned it right handed. I do a lot of things right handed simply because that's how it was designed to be used and I had the ability to I s'pose.
At one point at around 15-16 I got to wondering wether as a natural lefty I should be playing lefty, but when I tried to swap I found it almost impossible - I'd think that now you've started Lefty you'd do better staying with it if you've progressed past the rudiments.
As you go past the basics I think there is too much detailed fine muscle control to swap back easily - it's not just learning something new, it's UNlearning what you already know.
Cheers - All the best.
Maurie.
At one point at around 15-16 I got to wondering wether as a natural lefty I should be playing lefty, but when I tried to swap I found it almost impossible - I'd think that now you've started Lefty you'd do better staying with it if you've progressed past the rudiments.
As you go past the basics I think there is too much detailed fine muscle control to swap back easily - it's not just learning something new, it's UNlearning what you already know.
Cheers - All the best.
Maurie.
East-
Yeah,something like that.I should "unlearn"and learn to play the opposite side.I think my brain would suffer from that change
))I think the flow is crucial when we talk about playing bass.Well,I feel that my left handed is create for this job.I develop the dexterity in my right hand and now it feels weird to do invert this.I feel natural to use my right hand for fret and left hand for slap,strum etc.
Mine did, re-learning the fine touch on the opposite sides is a brainf#~¥. When you think about it your finger frets the note slightly ahead of time ready for the pluck which is on time - if that's ingrained for a few years it's hard to shift.
Best.
Best.
I am right handed, so this does not come from experience, but it makes sense to me to go with a left handed bass in your situation. Good luck with it, and welcome to TB, by the way. 
I'm a lefty but play right handed. Have been doing so for 30 years or so. My son's also a lefty but also decided to play right handed. On a lark, I tried a leftie at a music store and boy did it feel awkward.
There are pros and cons to doing both, but really the differences are mostly in the beginner stage, after some experience, it becomes natural either way you choose.
Pros to playing right handed :- I had a much easier time than most righty bassists I grew up with in playing fast bass lines, eg. Rush. My left hand seemed more adept and nimble moving fast on the fretboard - so there's at least an advantage in that.
Cons: ever try to use chopsticks with your right hand? that's what if felt like using a pick, slapping/funk also similarly felt a little awkward, finger style was okay and didn't have too much problems there. Took a few years, but now it's second nature, no problem slapping but maybe it's a matter of preference, but I don't like using a pick.
I can't speak for a leftie playing left-handed but I would assume it would feel more natural from the get go.
Now speaking about the availability of left handed basses being unavailable or harder to find, why not just buy any right handed bass, change the nut, restring it and play it as a leftie? If Jimi Hendrix could get away with it and look cool why not eh?
There are pros and cons to doing both, but really the differences are mostly in the beginner stage, after some experience, it becomes natural either way you choose.
Pros to playing right handed :- I had a much easier time than most righty bassists I grew up with in playing fast bass lines, eg. Rush. My left hand seemed more adept and nimble moving fast on the fretboard - so there's at least an advantage in that.
Cons: ever try to use chopsticks with your right hand? that's what if felt like using a pick, slapping/funk also similarly felt a little awkward, finger style was okay and didn't have too much problems there. Took a few years, but now it's second nature, no problem slapping but maybe it's a matter of preference, but I don't like using a pick.
I can't speak for a leftie playing left-handed but I would assume it would feel more natural from the get go.
Now speaking about the availability of left handed basses being unavailable or harder to find, why not just buy any right handed bass, change the nut, restring it and play it as a leftie? If Jimi Hendrix could get away with it and look cool why not eh?
Quite a few left-handed basses available, Tvrtko posted pics of three in your price range, here are two more.
Sterling StingRay and Ibanez Talman TMB 100
Despite how many people might say "I'm lefty but play a regular bass" don't go that route. Stick with what your comfortable with. I've heard far too many stories about bassists who gave it all up because they bought the wrong bass and couldn't bond with it. Don't become another statistic!
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Hmm...not a bad idea at all, but I think it s a pretty complex procces...even I buy a right hand bass,I need to find a specialist who do this conversion and I don't know where to find him(in my town or country maybe).
That s good to know!Thanks for advice!Quite a few left-handed basses available, Tvrtko posted pics of three in your price range, here are two more.
Despite how many people might say "I'm lefty but play a regular bass" don't go that route. Stick with your comfortable with. I've heard far too many stories about bassists who gave it all up because they bought the wrong bass and couldn't bond with it. Don't become another statistic!
Ask @GIBrat51 and @TheBassmaster27
They're both lefties!
And everybody in this club.... THE LEFTY UNION: The Club for the Left-Handed... Returns!
Most lefties are more ambidextrous than righties. Comes from living in a right-handed world. Even though I’m a leftie myself, I play right-handed, as that feels most natural to me. My advice would be just to go with what’s most comfortable to you.
