Members McDuffie Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 I have been thinking about doing this, after becoming a Hendrix fan, even before I ever picked up a guitar. I think it might be kind of a schlocky thing to do. Have you done it? (If so, post some pics, please). What has been the reaction Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jables66 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 I haven't done it, but I've seriously thought about it. However, I think that you can buy a right handed Strat with a reversed headstock and the trem arm is closer to you, but the dials and jack socket are in their normal place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scuzzo Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 i think jimi always had the guitar strung standard.all photos i have seen.. only cat i know of that has reverse stringing is D Bramhall2 and Freddy King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 's mel gibson Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 I have friends who have done this and they didn't like it. The guitar winds up in the case being ignored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McDuffie Posted December 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 i think jimi always had the guitar strung standard.all photos i have seen.. only cat i know of that has reverse stringing is D Bramhall2 and Freddy King No, he strung up his guitars for left-hand playing, though I heard that he was capable of playing left or right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Why? There are plenty of right-handed guitars out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimwratt Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 My guitar teacher, a friend/mentee/student of jimi's, plays flipped (he's a leftie who plays right handed guitars without restringing). The only thing he changes are the bridges. Having played his guitars, it's not as strange as you'd think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 I'm going to buy a left guitar and do the hendrix thing :: vise versa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MichaelSaulnier Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Fender released a guitar like you're describing several years back... It even had a "mirror" image of the Fender logo. Unless you have Jimi's long fingers, you'll have a bit of fretboard access issues with the high notes... but it can be done. Of course, all sorts of variations of this have been done, but the big things are... reverse headstock... to get different tension or string length on the strings past the nut. This is quite common, and easily done by getting a reverse headstock neck with the nut set to right handed... or flipping a lefty neck, and changing the nut. Then the reverse of the bridge pickup angle... and maybe even the whole reverse of the height of the staggered pickup poles. "Normal guitars often have staggered height pup poles that are designed for particular strings, in an "upside down" guitar, these would not be "normal". So again, getting pickups designed for a lefty and putting them in a righty would do the trick. And the bridge pickup is at a distinct angle... in a "reverse" guitar, this angle is... well... reversed! Then there's the location of the controls and trem. SRV added a lot of followers to this idea when he decided to put a "lefty" trem on his famous #1. Some people don't like this, because the bar crosses the bridge when dangling... but it does put it in a different place, and Jimi had no problem grabbing it when he wanted and playing around it when he didn't. Also having the controls on the other side of the strings would be strange, but Jimi was able to use this to his advantage by using his hand and arm to swell and switch... some people would be bothered by this being in the way... I guess it's all about what technique you use... The cheapest and easiest thing would be to find a low cost lefty, maybe a squire or something, get a new nut, and see what you think before buying or building a more expensive guitar. Good luck, and let us see pics if you end up doing it! M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MichaelSaulnier Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 i think jimi always had the guitar strung standard. all photos i have seen.. only cat i know of that has reverse stringing is D Bramhall2 and Freddy King Pretty sure it's Albert King... Also... Coco Montoya and Eric Gales.. it's pretty wild to watch. But Jimi certainly "flipped", but he also restrung to lefty, new nut etc. I do not believe it is true that he could play either way, just lefty on a righty guitar strung for a lefty. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jables66 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Unless you have Jimi's long fingers, you'll have a bit of fretboard access issues with the high notes... but it can be done. That, and his freakishly long thumbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VonBonfire Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 I have a guitar like that. Your arm bumps the tone control all the way to zero. Also, the volume control gets bumped down if you fingerpick or strum alot. You have to keep an eye on it. That being said, all the controls are supremely easy to manipulate and the tremolo is under your hand for lightning access. The tuners are also on the underside of the headstock making on the fly tuning that much easier as well. They are a cakewalk to get used to and very fun once you do. I've thought about having a guitar made with all of it upside down except for the 1/4" jack plate. I like it. I prefer upside down strats now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 The Jimi thing isn't for me, but it is cool looking. I do have my bridge pup angled backwards, Jimi style, in my current strat. Just to be different. I don't think this changes the tone at all. But it might. If you want to do the Jimi thing right grow fingers ten miles long and learn to play left handed. SRV did use a left handed trem on an otherwise RH guitar. I'm considering this option on my next build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crawfish Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 As a lefty, I say don't do it.. There are only 20 left handed guitars in the states and you want to take one from us :poke: I just purchased a MIM 70's RI recently and had it setup ala Jimi. As much as I like the guitar, I'm learning that it is a pain in the a.. to play. Access to the higher frets is a bi..h. As someone else stated, mine has become a wall decoration (though it does look cool). Here is a photo of my righty flipped: If I had to do it over again, I'd take a pass. I'm no Jimi and I don't know what I was thinking. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members danhan1113 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Doing this is such a waste. I couldn't live without a full cutaway to reach the upper frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Toff Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 As a lefty, I say don't do it.. There are only 20 left handed guitars in the states and you want to take one from us :poke: I just purchased a MIM 70's RI recently and had it setup ala Jimi. As much as I like the guitar, I'm learning that it is a pain in the a.. to play. Access to the higher frets is a bi..h. As someone else stated, mine has become a wall decoration (though it does look cool). Here is a photo of my righty flipped: If I had to do it over again, I'd take a pass. I'm no Jimi and I don't know what I was thinking. Good Luck Is that one of those strats with the U shaped necks? Got any more pics of the neck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seajay Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Seems like it would be a waste of a left-handed guitar. There aren't very many of them out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scuzzo Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 although if your thinking about the reverse headstock idea... go with it.. its has a really cool affect on how the guitar plays and the thick bottom end of the sound.. mho.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hoddy Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 I'm a lefty that grew up in the 60s and 70s buying right handed guitars and flipping them...there were virtually no left handed guitars around back then so there wasn't the option of getting one. There's nothing to be gained by flipping a guitar...I played Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, 335s, Firebirds and SGs that way and it's always a hassle. The knobs are always in the way and hard to adjust and on many guitars such as Gibsons you can't ever set the intonation right without having the bridge moved. It may look cool to some, but it's not going to do anything for your tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crawfish Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Is that one of those strats with the U shaped necks? Got any more pics of the neck? Here is a shot of the neck: And I'm pretty sure that it is a "U" shaped neck. Very comfy to me except for the afore mentioned lack of access to higher frets. EDIT: Here is the guitar on MF's site: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-70s-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=510471 and yes it is "U" shaped and 7.25"R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Toff Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Here is a shot of the neck: And I'm pretty sure that it is a "U" shaped neck. Very comfy to me except for the afore mentioned lack of access to higher frets. EDIT: Here is the guitar on MF's site: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-70s-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=510471 and yes it is "U" shaped and 7.25"R Cheers for those. Ive been checking out the 70s RI for a while; they have alot of what i want and are pretty cheap for what they are. The U Neck has been swaying me though. I do like chunky necks (my sgs, for example), but i'm not sure weather the shape would be that comfortable for me. Im still searching for one to try, till then pics will have to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blazingblake Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Steve Miller did the lefty strat flip it over right handed on his fly like and eagle album I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McDuffie Posted December 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 The guitarist for Cameo had a left-handed strat, strung up backwards, though he took a router or something and cut the wood so that he could access the highest frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daniel-Bianco Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 i am lefthanded, but i can also play a right handed stringed guitar. But i would never dream of buying a right handed.. The tone and volume knobs is just a pain in the ass! There fore my advice: Dont do it There are more cons than pros by doing it Cutaway is a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members milosch Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Is this anything like temporarily shaving a Hitler mustache? Or is it intended to be semi-permanent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.