Best left-handed guitarists

**jamesmanzi** · 08-10-2015

Originally Posted by Supersonic Scientist

Add me in as a Lefty who plays right-handed.

I often wondered how much different my playing would be if I played lefty from day 1.

I wonder how much better I'd be if, being right handed, I had chosen to learn guitar left handed. I think you got it right - 'cause it's weird that we play guitar with our dominant hand doing the easy stuff and our less coordinated (to be polite) hand doing the tricky bits.

**trurl** · 08-10-2015

I'm going with Elliot Easton. The guy is criminally under-rated.

**trurl** · 08-10-2015

Originally Posted by jamesmanzi

I wonder how much better I'd be if, being right handed, I had chosen to learn guitar left handed. I think you got it right - 'cause it's weird that we play guitar with our dominant hand doing the easy stuff and our less coordinated (to be polite) hand doing the tricky bits.

I guarantee I couldn't learn to play guitar lefty in a million years (I'm right handed). Who knows why; I agree you'd think it would be the other way around.

**mogrooves** · 08-10-2015

Originally Posted by Calabasas_Trafalgar

Did he use a right-handed or left-handed guitar?

Right.

**Shadow** · 08-10-2015

Originally Posted by Supersonic Scientist

Add me in as a Lefty who plays right-handed.

I often wondered how much different my playing would be if I played lefty from day 1.

That all depends. You would have to buy left handed picks.

**WytchCrypt** · 08-10-2015

Originally Posted by Supersonic Scientist

Add me in as a Lefty who plays right-handed.

I often wondered how much different my playing would be if I played lefty from day 1.

I've wondered that too. As a little kid, I had a couple toy acoustics (right handed of course) but when I was 8 or 9 I took guitar lessons for 3 months over a summer at a local music store. Clearly by then I was already handwriting with my left so the guitar teacher must have known I was a lefty...didn't matter as I was handed a righty acoustic. Of course, back in the late 60's left handed guitars were kinda rare anyway.

As far as my fave lefty, for bass I'd go with Sir Paul but guitar is Elliot Easton without question. As someone mentioned earlier, criminally underrated as a guitarist. He reminds me a lot of George Harrison, extremely competent, can rock hard when required, and a chameleon who can fit in almost any style

**Mr.Krautman** · 08-10-2015

Maybe off-topic but are there any well-know left-handed KEYBOARD players ? Not allways easy to spot as most (good) keyboard players are supposed to be ambidextrous.

**ronmac** · 08-10-2015

Originally Posted by happytheman

Why not.. McCartney has laid down some tasty licks through the years..

I agree. But, I guess we'll have to save him for the best left-handed bassists thread.

**ronmac** · 08-10-2015

Hendrix (who played lefty but with a right-handed guitar strung backwards) could play both left- and right-handed, according to Mitch Mitchell.

**klothos** · 08-10-2015

Originally Posted by trurl

I'm going with Elliot Easton. The guy is criminally under-rated.

Onw of the first guys I thought of after seeing the Thread Title along with Hendrix and Albert King

"Criminally Under-Rated" is an understatement for sure

**AncientChord** · 08-11-2015

Jimi...hands down!

**MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER** · 08-11-2015

Originally Posted by AncientChord

Jimi...hands down!

I saw the thread title and immediately thought... beside Jimi? cant think of any who come close

but then who cares which way they play the Guitar... it's what they sound like that matters

**Trane** · 08-11-2015

Originally Posted by WytchCrypt

Same here...for me, it always made more sense to have the dominant hand on the fretboard doing the hardest work

that would make sense

I suppose that lefties learning the right-handed are numerous... Statistically left handers are roughly 15-20% of the population , so you'd have to guess that there'd be the same %age amongst guitarists... and yet, we are not able to name many

Originally Posted by hFx

...so anyone known right handed guitarist trying to take advantage of playing left-handed then?

indeed... maybe also that left-handed guitars are more expensive (made in little quantities so scale economies are not as good)

Originally Posted by Shadow

That all depends. You would have to buy left handed picks.

**Dean Watson** · 08-11-2015

Being a lefty guitar player sucks. You enter a music store, drool at all the beauty, and get to only pick that cheap Epiphone sg400!

**rickmoraz** · 08-11-2015

Personally, I think all right thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired...I'm certainly not! And I'm sick and tired of being told that I am.

**Rune Blackwings** · 08-11-2015

Originally Posted by rickmoraz

Personally, I think all right thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired...I'm certainly not! And I'm sick and tired of being told that I am.

???????

**trurl** · 08-11-2015

http://www.montypython.net/scripts/right-think.php

**LAV** · 08-11-2015

Originally Posted by hFx

...so anyone known right handed guitarist trying to take advantage of playing left-handed then?

Yes.

Greg Sage (of Wipers).

of course, the only source I have of that is his Wikipedia, which is pretty sketchy:

"Sage is also notable as a rare example of someone who plays guitar left-handed even though he is a natural right hander."

At any rate, his playing is fantastic.

**hFx** · 08-11-2015

Originally Posted by LAV

Yes.

Greg Sage (of Wipers).

of course, the only source I have of that is his Wikipedia, which is pretty sketchy:

"Sage is also notable as a rare example of someone who plays guitar left-handed even though he is a natural right hander."

At any rate, his playing is fantastic.

...cool!

Will check him out!

**the illusionist** · 08-11-2015

Phil Mickelson
Bubba Watson

**Progbear** · 08-12-2015

I love Jimi, who doesn’t? But Ollie is my #1 guitar hero as a fellow lefty. And Brian Godding is a lefty, too? Who knew? I love his playing, very unusual and unique sound. No wonder Magma sought him out!

I’ll also add my voice to the folks boosting Elliot Easton. I especially love his sustained guitar leads on “Since You’re Gone.” I’d forgotten he was a lefty!

Originally Posted by hFx

...so anyone known right handed guitarist trying to take advantage of playing left-handed then?

Me!

**Calabasas_Trafalgar** · 08-12-2015

Originally Posted by Progbear

And Brian Godding is a lefty, too? Who knew? I love his playing, very unusual and unique sound. No wonder Magma sought him out!

I recently picked up his solo, "Slaughter on Shaftesbury Avenue" and saw the pictures of him playing. That's where I got the idea for this thread! BTW, check out the nice article on Blossom Toes in Flashback #6.

**calyx** · 08-12-2015

Originally Posted by Mr.Krautman

Maybe off-topic but are there any well-know left-handed KEYBOARD players ? Not allways easy to spot as most (good) keyboard players are supposed to be ambidextrous.

Joe Zawinul !

http://www.weatherreportdiscography.org/black-market/

"Zawinul has spoken often of the inverted keyboard that he played on “Black Market.” It was made possible by a feature on the ARP 2600 that allowed inverting the keyboard voltage so that the upper portion of the keyboard played the lower sounds and vice versa."

JZ : "It was a challenge for me to play in a mirrored system. It’s good for the mind. If you improvise on chords, for example, you’ve got to transpose, and your mind has to be very, very fast. I was recording one day at home on the inverted setup, and that’s when the song “Black Market” was put together. After listening to it, I played the melodies on the straight keyboard, and it didn’t sound as good as it did the mirrored way. Then I had to write the melody down and relearn it on the inverted keyboard, because at first it was improvised."