Left Handed Electric Guitars
Left Handed Electric Guitars
Guitars are the most preferred and perhaps the most romantic of all musical instruments. Strumming away on the strings of a guitar is every musically inclined individual’s dream. Most guitar manufacturers cater to the needs of people who use their right hands more often and hence most guitars are right handed guitars that are difficult to operate if you are someone who uses his or her left hand. Left handed individuals till very recently had to learn to operate a right handed guitar but they no longer have to do so. The arrival of left handed electric guitars in the market has solved the problem faced by most people who are lefties.
Left handed electric guitars are unique because they need to be operated in a different manner as against a right handed or regular guitar. In such guitars, the strings are attached in the opposite direction, with the thicker strings on the top and the thinner strings on the bottom of the guitar. The chords and picking styles of this guitar moves from lower notes to higher ones.
Further, it is important to ensure that that nut slots are properly fixed in such a way as to accommodate the reversed order of strings and reduce the possibility of wear and tear. Knobs on left handed electric guitars should be placed such that it does not affect your strumming, preferably on the lower right hand side of your guitar. The pickguard should be placed below the strings when held in the right direction, so as to protect the body of the guitar while picking the strings. Cutaways in such guitars should be placed on the lower side so as not to interfere with the musical experience. In addition, if your guitar has two cutaways, then the larger of the two should be placed on the lower side of the guitar.
Further, the method of holding such guitars is different from the regular ones. Left handed electric guitars are held in such a way that the body of the guitar is in the front and to the right of the musician while its neck reaches out to the left of the musician. The left hand is used to press the strings on the neck while the right hand is used to strum the strings so that a note is produced. This enables a person with a strong left hand to easily play the instrument without having to take the extra trouble of learning to operate one with his or her right hand.
Finally, it is important to understand that given the fact that people are encouraged to operate regular guitars and have been doing so for a very long time, using left handed electric guitars requires a little adjusting and getting used to. Adapting to such guitars, even for lefties, can take some time and learning, especially if they are already used to a regular guitar. However, once they are used to such guitars, the entire musical experience changes and a whole new world is presented to them.