Can you reverse strings?

[sherpa]

Being a Lefty, I learned to play upside down and I'm comfortable with that. I've always had problems playing electric guitars because the knobs are in the way. On acoustic that have an electric package the controls end up on the bottom on my knee and are useless. Plus, I have always wanted a Left Hand cut-away acoustic.
Here's my question; Can I buy a Left Hand guitar and string it Right Handed without effecting the intonation? Do most guitars have a slanted 'compensating' saddle? I think Hendrix played a Right Hand guitar restrung Left handed.

[John Arnold]

A slanted saddle is necessary for correct intonation. The saddle slot can be filled and recut to reverse the stringing. The nut also must be modified or replaced.

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by sherpa

... Hendrix played a Right Hand guitar restrung Left handed.

It's pretty easy to reverse an electric because of the nature of the adjustable bridges they have. Some acoustics come with a non angled bridge saddle which would allow easier individual adjustment, but they're the exception.

[L20A]

Unless you have a reason to keep this guitar guitar, it will be much cheaper to sell it and get a different guitar that is left handed.
Many makers have left hand models but you may have to order it.

[sherpa]

Originally Posted by L20A

Unless you have a reason to keep this guitar guitar, it will be much cheaper to sell it and get a different guitar that is left handed.
Many makers have left hand models but you may have to order it.

I already have a house full of Right Handed instruments and play them all upside down. I am not interested in learning to play all over again. Just looking for an easy out without having to have a custom made guitar.

[Wade Hampton]

After Sherpa wrote:

Originally Posted by sherpa

Here's my question; Can I buy a Left Hand guitar and string it Right Handed without effecting the intonation? Do most guitars have a slanted 'compensating' saddle? I think Hendrix played a Right Hand guitar restrung Left handed.

John Arnold replied:

Originally Posted by John Arnold

A slanted saddle is necessary for correct intonation. The saddle slot can be filled and recut to reverse the stringing. The nut also must be modified or replaced.

Exactly. As John pointed out, the slant of the bridge saddle is what makes an acoustic guitar play more or less in tune with itself, and if you're converting a right-handed guitar for left-handed playing, you'll get the best results if you have the saddle slot filled in and recut for left-handed intonation. This is obviously more involved than dialing in an adjustable bridge saddle on an electric guitar, but it's really worth doing.

Something you should be aware of, Sherpa, is that for some unknown reason, there's something deeply disturbing about playing guitar left-handed that rattles a surprisingly high percentage of right-handed players and even some lefties who've learned to play right-handed. So prepare yourself for a flurry of posts about how "there's no such thing as a left-handed piano" and other attempts to shame you into playing the guitar "correctly." By which they mean right-handed.

Why on earth this should matter to any of them, I haven't a clue. But it's evidently a "hot button" issue, because anytime the subject arises on this forum, there will inevitably be lots of posts yammering about how much "better" it is to play right-handed, including how much easier it is to find right-handed guitars than left-handed instruments.

Which would be laughable if the people writing those posts weren't so deadly earnest about it. Again, why it matters to them, I have no idea. But it does.

My own opinion is that players should do whatever makes their playing easier, and not feel obligated to listen to and follow unsolicited opinions from strangers on the Internet.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by sherpa

I already have a house full of Right Handed instruments and play them all upside down. I am not interested in learning to play all over again. Just looking for an easy out without having to have a custom made guitar.

Sherpa, I just read this post of yours. If you're playing right-handed guitars upside down, there wouldn't be any advantage to having the guitars re-intonated for left-handed playing. Your guitars should already be correctly intonated for the way they're strung.


whm

[sherpa]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

After Sherpa wrote:



John Arnold replied:



Exactly. As John pointed out, the slant of the bridge saddle is what makes an acoustic guitar play more or less in tune with itself, and if you're converting a right-handed guitar for left-handed playing, you'll get the best results if you have the saddle slot filled in and recut for left-handed intonation. This is obviously more involved than dialing in an adjustable bridge saddle on an electric guitar, but it's really worth doing.

Something you should be aware of, Sherpa, is that for some unknown reason, there's something deeply disturbing about playing guitar left-handed that rattles a surprisingly high percentage of right-handed players and even some lefties who've learned to play right-handed. So prepare yourself for a flurry of posts about how "there's no such thing as a left-handed piano" and other attempts to shame you into playing the guitar "correctly." By which they mean right-handed.

Why on earth this should matter to any of them, I haven't a clue. But it's evidently a "hot button" issue, because anytime the subject arises on this forum, there will inevitably be lots of posts yammering about how much "better" it is to play right-handed, including how much easier it is to find right-handed guitars than left-handed instruments.

Which would be laughable if the people writing those posts weren't so deadly earnest about it. Again, why it matters to them, I have no idea. But it does.

My own opinion is that players should do whatever makes their playing easier, and not feel obligated to listen to and follow unsolicited opinions from strangers on the Internet.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

Thanks for the valuable advise from all of you. I've been playing upside down for over 50 years and am not about to change now. I guess I need to look for a model with a straight saddle and go from there, otherwise it looks like a custom made guitar.

[Seagull S6]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Sherpa, I just read this post of yours. If you're playing right-handed guitars upside down, there wouldn't be any advantage to having the guitars re-intonated for left-handed playing. Your guitars should already be correctly intonated for the way they're strung.


whm

He wants a Lefty strung R/H.................

[sherpa]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Sherpa, I just read this post of yours. If you're playing right-handed guitars upside down, there wouldn't be any advantage to having the guitars re-intonated for left-handed playing. Your guitars should already be correctly intonated for the way they're strung.


whm

See the original blog. I want a Left Hand cut away acoustic with electric package with controls on top. And yes, my right-handed guitars are fine, except for my electric. The tone knob is always getting turned by accident when I strum.

[sherpa]

Originally Posted by Seagull S6

He wants a Lefty strung R/H.................

It's not that unusual to play upside down. I know two others in my tiny little town in NC.
I use to own a Yairi WY-1 RH. I loved it but gave it to a good friend for graduation. Loved that guitar and miss it.

[Seagull S6]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Something you should be aware of, Sherpa, is that for some unknown reason, there's something deeply disturbing about playing guitar left-handed that rattles a surprisingly high percentage of right-handed players and even some lefties who've learned to play right-handed. So prepare yourself for a flurry of posts about how "there's no such thing as a left-handed piano" and other attempts to shame you into playing the guitar "correctly." By which they mean right-handed.

Those people are certainly wrong about that as well: http://www.classicfm.com/discover-mu...istopher-seed/

When I was 10, I restrung a R/H guitar L/H and was minding my own business trying to to learn me some Chet Atkins from a record and my dad spouted all those nonsense reason for playing R/H and make me put it back to R/H. I gave up the guitar shortly after that and didn't do any real attempts at playing until I bought a Lefty when I was about 30.

Thanks Dad for screwing me out of learning guitar when my mind was pretty much a sponge seeking knowledge........

I've seen Leftys play upside down and it sure looks painful to me, but to them it seemes perfectly normal, like this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King

[SuperB23]

You can have a guitar converted from Righty to lefty or vise versa by a skilled Luthier. I had Gryphon convert a lefty to a righty for me several years back. The guitar had no pickguard so there were no tan line concerns. The pulled the saddle and filled in the bridge slot with ebony and hide glue. They sanded the filled in spot until it was smooth with the whole top of the saddle then they cut a new saddle slot for righty on the bridge. They installed a new nut and saddle and the guitar played and sounded great when they got done with it.

[erhino41]

buy a guitar without electronics and have the controls installed on the side you need them. Your asking if you should convert a left handed guitar to a right handed guitar so the electronics will be on the proper side. You will have a much easier time moving knobs than filling in the slot and fitting a new saddle and nut.

[Ozzy the dog]

Buy a left handed guitar and just have the bridge and nut replaced with the right handed version. This does not have to be mega expensive - it just depends how 'good' a match you want.

Or, if you're handy, get a cheap used lefty and have a go at changing the bridge and nut yourself, might be fun and more satisfying if you've done it yourself.