Being able to carry out basic soldering jobs is an incredibly useful skill to have for all guitarists.

Perhaps you want to switch out your pickups or pots, or maybe you need to repair a broken cable, or you could even be looking into building your own pedals. Learn to do it yourself instead of forking out to have your local guitar tech do it for you!

Luckily, soldering pretty easy to learn, and a suitable kit is very inexpensive to put together. When you consider the cost of say, getting two humbuckers replaced by your local store, a basic kit could pay for itself after just one job.

Let’s look at the equipment you’ll require. As a bare minimum, you will need the following:

• Soldering Iron/Station
• Solder (60/40 Rosin-Core)
• A means to remove old solder, e.g. Desoldering Braid or Solder Sucker

Other toys you might like to pick up are wire strippers, heat sinks, a helping-hand unit, a multimeter, safety goggles and extra wire. The list could go on, but for most people starting out, the equipment I’ve listed above is all you’ll need until you start tackling more advanced jobs.

What are the Best Soldering Irons for Guitar?

When choosing a soldering iron for guitar wiring, it is more important to consider temperature rather than wattage. For example, a budget 40 watt iron may not get as hot as a quality 30 watt model. A higher temperature is important as this will actually help to protect your components. This is because a hotter tip will quickly melt the solder, while a lower temperature iron will slowly melt the solder, and gradually heat everything connected to the point of contact as well. The more time you spend melting solder, the more likely you are to melt plastic wire insulation, overheat your components, or produce defective solder joins.

This isn’t to say that you should buy an uber-expensive, commerical quality iron right off the bat. Higher priced irons are designed to be used by professionals who are soldering on a daily basis. As a guitarist, it’s unlikely you’ll be using your iron every day!

For guitar related soldering jobs I suggest picking up a soldering station, as opposed to the iron on its own. A station gives you a sturdy place to store the iron when not in use, as opposed to the unsafe, flimsy folding stands that come with the cheaper irons.

On top of that, a station usually also comes with variable wattage/temperature control to allow you to use the iron for a variety of jobs.  This also allows you to turn the wattage right down in order keep it warm when not in use. Keeping the iron at maximum temperature for longer than necessary will degrade and/or pit the tip.

Weller WLC100 40 Watt Soldering Station

My personal recommendation for a good quality, affordable soldering iron for guitar is the best-selling Weller WLC100 40 Watt Station. Weller is a well-known and trusted name in soldering irons, and at just $40 this really is the best value for money soldering station around.

Important Features

• Illuminated Power Switch – so that you don’t accidentally leave it powered on
• Built-in Holder – keep the iron safely stored when not being used
• Variable Wattage – 5 to 40 watts
• Sponge Holder – to keep your tip clean
• Beginner Friendly Chisel Style Tip – others are available if needed.

Find out more, and read the glowing reviews at the link below.
Click Here for Info on the Weller WLC100 Station

What Type of Solder Do I Need For Guitar Wiring?

Simple! 60/40 Rosin-core solder is what you’ll need for guitar jobs. This solder is a mix of 60% tin and 40% lead, and has rosin flux in the center to ensure that the solder melts and flows easily and quickly. Smaller diameters (.032″ – .062″) are best for guitar wiring.

Solder Removal Tools

The last essential tool you’ll need is something to remove old solder once it has melted. You’ll need to remove solder for jobs such as swapping out old pickups.

You have a few choices here – the main tools are desoldering braid, desoldering bulbs, or solder suckers. Desoldering braid is held against the heated part, and the melted solder then soaks into the braid. Alternatively, the bulb and the sucker both suck away the molten solder. All methods are viable, and all are very inexpensive.

To pick up all of the gear I’ve listed above should run you roughly $50 – around the price your local guitar tech would charge you to switch out one set of pickups. It’ll have paid for itself in no time at all!

If $50 is more than you’d like to spend, I’ve also included an ‘all-in-one‘ option in the link below which will be fine for occasional jobs.

Tip Shapes

For working on smaller components such as soldering pots lugs, switch contacts or caps, a more accurate pointed tip is preferred. Chisel style tips are best for situations that require considerable heat, such as when soldering ground wires and braided shield to pot cases.

Tinning The Tip

In order to keep your iron in good working condition you will need to ‘tin‘ the tip every time you turn it on and off. Tinning is simply the process of keeping a shiny layer of solder on the iron tip to prevent it becoming rough or dirty. If you fail to regularly tin your tip it will eventually refuse to accept solder, rendering it virtually useless.

Learning to Solder

Learning to solder is very easy (if I can do it, so can you!), but I couldn’t possibly cover all techniques and jobs in a single article. So when you’re ready, I’d recommend heading over to YouTube and watching a few tutorials so that you can actually see what it is you are supposed to be doing. Start off by watching videos which cover the absolute basics, such as proper soldering techniques and iron maintenance. After that you can progress on to videos which tackle the specific jobs you will be carrying out.

There are literally hundreds of videos covering what you need to know, but here are a couple of good ones to get you started…

• Check out this video for a great introduction to soldering basics.
• Seymour Duncan has some great videos for basic guitar jobs on their blog.

Tips and Tricks

• Dont blow on a joint to cool it faster. This might lead to internal air pockets which may loosen the joint over a period of time
• Only strip as much insulation from wires as is needed. Too much exposed wire can come into contact with other wires, causing issues.
• Heat the connection first. This will aid in preventing air pockets (also known as a ‘cold-joint‘).
• Tin the wire AND contact points before soldering. A thin coating is all that’s needed.
• Protect your guitar with card or rags. If a splash of solder lands on your guitar it will cause instant damage.
• Wear safety glasses. Again, just in case of rogue splashes.
• Work in a well ventilated areas. You don’t want to be breathing in solder fumes or you’ll have a bad time.

And that’s about it folks. Once you’ve mastered the basics of soldering you will potentially save yourself a fortune in guitar tech fees by being able to do these simple jobs yourself. And once you’ve mastered the basics, the world is really your oyster. Build your own pedals, modify your amps, make your own custom cables – have fun!

If you want to be taken seriously, your band needs a website. Period. The good news is that anyone can make a killer band website these days. Let me show you how easy (and cheap!) it is.

Whether you’re a band, solo artist, guitar teacher, luthier or a small business, it is essential that you have your own site. A Facebook fan page isn’t even close to being enough. Did you know that unless you pay to reach more people, your Facebook posts could be hitting as little as 2% of your followers?

A good-looking website is a crucial, central-hub for your band’s online presence. Fans can go there for the latest news, photos, touring information, behind the scenes blogs, band merchandise and much, much more. Plus fans and people in the music industry will see you as a more serious, professional outfit for having one.

The great news is that building a sleek band website is incredibly easy. You don’t need any design skills, coding ability or complicated server knowledge. If you have a mere 5 minutes to read through this article, I guarantee that you will be able to create a killer site in no time at all.

Band-In-A-Box or, Gulp….FREE Options

First of all, let’s get this out of the way. I’m not a fan of free website solutions, or products specifically aimed at bands which claim to take the hassle out of creating a website. They may seem like a great solution for the thrifty or for the non-tech savvy, but let me explain why I wouldn’t use them personally.

Free Options
A site which costs nothing doesn’t exactly portray professionalism does it? Your website address will be something along the lines of ‘www.myband.freebandsitemaker.com‘ – awful! Plus, the provider has to make a profit, right? So your site will be peppered with ugly banner adverts and self-promoting links, which slows down performance, and let’s face it, makes your site look very cheap and amateurish.

It will also lack a lot of elements, with the features it does have being very limited. If you require extra functionality, or outgrow restrictions, you’ll have to pay to upgrade.

Considering how low the cost of hosting your own site is, you’d have to be a ridiculous penny-pincher to opt for this route.

Band In A Box
Many site builder companies exist which have pre-built templates specifically designed for bands and artists. I don’t personally recommend using these because they are way more expensive than hosting your own site, and they are incredibly restrictive unless you pay for the high-tier packages.

Take a look at the table below which compares one of the most popular band-in-a-box site’s entry level product with a traditional shared hosting package. Keep in mind that the B-I-A-B package is the cheapest tier product – you can pay for more features.

Here’s a further worrying problem. What happens when the band-in-a-box site you’ve chosen becomes bankrupt, or is sold off? You lose EVERYTHING. Or consider this. What are your options if your band website outgrows the limited capacity of the band-in-a-box provider? You can’t just transfer to a traditional host since the site is coded around their own in-house platform. So you’re forced to stay and pay through the nose for premium features.

It seems that going the self-hosted route is a complete no brainer, right? So why do bands and artists willingly fork out a lot more money for far less features and control?

They believe that building a website is beyond them. Pssst….it REALLY isn’t…

Anyone Can Make A Band Website

Thanks to modern website platforms such as WordPress, anyone can have a beautiful site up and running literally within minutes – and with no previous website building experience required. With WordPress, you simply pick a layout design that you like and then add your own info, photos, music etc.. Anyone can do this.

Let’s break the whole process down. These are the 4 simple steps required to make a band website happen.

Step 1 – Register Your Domain

Depending on the route you take, you will probably be able to skip this step. In most cases, when you sign up for hosting you will be given a free domain name as part of your package. This will be something along the lines of ‘www.yourband.com‘. Much more professional than ‘www.yourband.ididntpayforthissite.com‘ right?

Step 2 – Sign Up For Hosting

You need somewhere to store your website so that people around the world can view it.

As a band or artist, your website has no need to be absolutely blazing fast, so the most affordable option will be perfectly fine. The beauty of going this route is that you can easily upgrade later on if your band blows up!

The most affordable type of hosting is called ‘shared hosting’, which means that you share a server with several other websites. The benefit of sharing a server is the much lower monthly cost, which in the package I recommend below is just $3.95 per month!

If you have more than one band, or have a need for extra websites, you may like to consider a multi-site package. For just a few dollars extra you can add the ability to host additional separate sites on the same package. This means that when you want to build a new site, rather than paying for more hosting, you simply register your new domain name and add it to your current package. Handy!

Step 3 – Install WordPress

This step is super easy. When you log-in to your host’s dashboard, there will be an option to install WordPress for you in just a few clicks. If you decided to go with my recommended host above, click here to watch a video that shows exactly how to install WordPress with Bluehost.

WordPress is very easy to navigate around, and absolutely zero coding knowledge is needed to get a great site up and running. If you can use Microsoft Word, you’ll be fine.

Step 4 – Pick a Theme Design

These pre-made templates will determine what your site looks like, and what features it will have. WordPress themes are big business, which means that there are literally thousands to pick from. You have the option of using a free theme, or premium versions will come with extra features, frequent updates and support. Premium themes are generally quite inexpensive ($20-$60 on average), so I recommend going for one of these if possible. Once you find one that you like, simply download it, log in to WordPress and upload it to your ‘themes’ directory to activate.

Good band themes will come with built-in music players, stores to sell your music and merchandise, and should have a mobile friendly design which adapts to any screen size.

• Click Here to Browse the Free WordPress Theme Library
• Or Check Out Some Premium Themes Here

If you head to the premium theme link above, try typing in ‘wordpress band‘ to get some relevant results. The two I’ve posted screenshots of above are called ‘Eprom‘ and ‘Soundboard‘, but there’s literally hundreds more to choose from depending on your needs.

Now all you have to do is add your band’s logo, upload a few photos and write up a few pages. This is the most time consuming part, but it’s a lot of fun and very rewarding once complete.

If you need extra features (e.g. a merchandise store), WordPress has an endless number of plugins (mostly free) which you can add with one click. It really couldn’t be easier.

• Click Here to Browse the Free WordPress Plugin Library

Need Help With Graphical Elements?

If your band doesn’t have any artistic members it’s super easy to get help via the web. Sites such as Fiverr are chock full of affordable freelance designers who can help you with things like logo design, album artwork, gig posters, tshirt graphics, or even adding more complex functionality to your new site. I’ve listed below a couple of websites that offer these services.

• Fiverr
• 99Designs

Canva is a great free resource if you’d like to do it yourself. Easily put together eye-grabbing posters, or social media graphics using their pre-made templates and elements.

Mailing Lists

At the top of the page I mentioned that your Facebook fan page updates could be seen by as little as 2% of your followers, unless you pay to boost the post. If you have an important upcoming gig, you want as many people there as possible, right? This is why you need to start building an email list from the start. If you do it right, an email will reach damn near 100% of the people you send it to. Plus, while Facebook and other social media networks might disappear, your email list won’t. Powerful stuff!

Although you can build unlimited email lists through your host’s control panel, I don’t suggest going this route on a shared server. The ‘interface’ is generally clunky, you won’t get interaction statistics, and it is likely that a good number of emails will end up in your fans’ junk folders.

Personally, I use a dedicated service called MailChimp, which lets you create beautiful emails quickly and easily. MailChimp offers a free service which has capacity for 2000 people – more than enough for most bands! Many WordPress themes will come with built-in MailChimp widgets to allow you to easily start collecting email addresses. You can also install the free MailChimp plugin for WordPress.

Site Complete!

Voila. You have a home-made band website, which cost you peanuts, and which you have complete control over.

Sounds easy, right? That’s because it is! Take it one step at a time and you’ll be up and running before you know it.

Now, get to work! If you have any questions leave a comment below, or feel free to drop me an email.

Learning the notes on your new lefty bass is a good idea – nay, a GREAT idea! Luckily for you, I’ve put together this handy dandy left handed bass fretboard notes diagram. You’re welcome!

Looking for a version of this diagram for your 6-string guitar? We have one of those too! Click here for the guitar chart.

Left Handed Bass Fretboard Notes Diagram

The image below is merely a small preview of the full-sized chart. Unless you’re some weirdo who enjoys killing your eyeballs, click on the image to enlarge, or if you’d prefer – clicky here. Print it, make it your desktop background, burn it into your mind – after all, this information could potentially save your life one day. Maybe…

Click to Enlarge!

Music Theory 101

Before we start to learn the notes, we’ll consider some very basic music theory that you’ll need to know.

There are 7 ‘whole notes’ in music – A,B,C,D,E,F and G

Between (most of) these whole notes we also have either flat (b) or sharp (#) notes.

A – A#/Bb – B – C – C#/Db – D – D#/Eb – E – F – F#/Gb – G – G#/Ab.

Flats and sharps are just different names for the same notes (this is called enharmonic). For example, notice in the sequence above that an F# is exactly the same as a Gb. The difference is that when ascending the fretboard you’ll use sharps, and when descending you’ll use flats. Simple!

The distance between two whole notes is referred to as a ‘whole step’. The distance between a whole note and a sharp/flat note is a ‘half-step’.  So again, looking at the sequence above, D# is a half-step above D, or Eb is a half-step below E. Be sure to notice that the jump from B to C, and also E to F is a half-step increment, as there are no sharps/flats between them.

The sequence of notes above is the order of the notes that you’ll find on every string. So your primary job should be memorising this progression, as once you have it under your skin, you’ll be able to figure out any note on the fretboard. Happy days!

Learning The Notes

Let’s start with the absolute basics – you know that your bass is tuned E-A-D-G from low to high, right? If you don’t, read how to tune a left handed guitar right now.

So, you know that the open strings are E, A, D and G – good! By default you now also know the notes at the 12th fret (and the 24th, if your bass has that many frets!). This is because all of the notes repeat themselves from the 12th fret onwards. Because the notes are repeated, this means that you only have to learn frets 1 to 11, and then you know the entire fretboard by default.

A good idea is to try and learn the strings one at a time, so as not to overwhelm yourself.  Start of by just learning the whole notes, as once you’ve memorised those, it’s easy to fill in the gaps with flats or sharps. It shouldn’t take too long to master the entire fretboard.

Try using octaves to make learning each string much quicker. Take a look at the 5th fret on the E-string (an A), and then notice that you’ll find another ‘A’ on the D-string two frets higher. Memorise this shape (two strings up and two frets along) to be able to quickly identify notes on the two higher strings.

If you decide to take up 6-string guitar later on, it will be super easy to learn the notes as you’ll only need to master one extra string!

Extra Reading

I haven’t put together a great deal in terms of left handed bass tuition materials (yet), so in the meantime why not check out the useful books below for your next task?

• Left Handed Bass Tab Method
• Left Handed Bass Guitar Chord Chart

Head to the Lessons section for more tuition materials

Skervesen is a popular and relatively new custom guitar brand, based in Poland. They offer a wide variety of different guitars ranging from traditional 6-strings all the way up to 10+ string fanned fret monsters!

But what about left handed Skeversen guitars? The great news is that the entire range is available to order left handed at no additional charge. That’s what I like to see!

Skervesen Left Handed Guitars

The image above shows a small selection of the entire range of left handed guitars available at Skervesen. They’re all stunning, right?

As the company is a custom guitar brand you can obviously order any of these guitars in any number of different variations. For example, you can combine any body and headstock combo, choose the number of strings, scale length (including multi-scale!), pick the woods and finish colors. Build your dream axe!

The base price for each model includes hard case, full overall setup, matching headstock, locking tuners, Jescar stainless frets (each manually shaped and polished), Luminlay fluorescent side dots. Finish: acrylic satin (even in high gloss option back and sides are always satin). Binding: ivoroid, black, white, pearl, natural wood, purfling (where possible). Set of Bare Knuckle pickups especially hand made for your build (lifetime warranty), copper-shielded cavity, hand made ebony truss rod cover and ebony headstock strings’ damper.

Skervesen Left Handed Basses

Again, the image above shows a small sample of what is available at Skervesen. Check out the website below to explore all available options.

If you fancy owning your own Skervesen, simply fill in an order form on the website to begin the process. A 40% deposit is required to start your guitar, and build time is roughly 6-7 months at the time of writing.

Skervesen Website

As soon as you hit the Skervesen website you are greeted with an incredible image of the brand logo alongside a bad-ass mechanical creature that looks like it has just crawled out of the Matrix. Clearly this is a company that puts a lot of effort into their branding!

The guitars are all displayed clearly, and with plenty of high quality images showing them off in their best light. Incidentally, I recommend following Skervesen on their Facebook page for daily updates on their latest builds.

Left handed models aren’t displayed, however a section on their FAQ page addresses left handed availability.

For more information:
Skervesen Guitars Website

PureSalem is a relatively new guitar company based in Florida, USA. They offer a good variety of guitars which are an eclectic mix of both traditional and retro designs.

The company is owned by a fellow southpaw player who is obviously well aware of the lack of lefty options offered by many of the bigger name brands. As a result, all PureSalem guitars are available left handed at no additional charge.

And unlike with many other companies, that doesn’t just mean that each model is available in black alone. PureSalem is a really vibrant brand, with each of the guitars being available in usually a choice of three eye-catching colors.

Left Handed PureSalem Guitars

Specifications: At the time of writing we can choose from 9 different left handed PureSalem guitars, with each being available in a variety of colors. Check out the main features of these guitars using the tabs below. Or head to the PureSalem website (link at bottom of page) for comprehensive specs.

SalemFuzz Guitar Pedals

PureSalem has also recently begun to dabble in the world of guitar pedals under the guise of ‘SalemFuzz’. The company has teamed up with 323 Effects to produce a trio of high-quality, limited edition fuzz pedals. All pedals are hand-built within the USA using quality components, and being limited edition (only 12 to 25 of each are being made), they are sure to become collector’s items.

PureSalem Guitars Website

All PureSalem guitars can be ordered directly from the company website, with left handed options being available from a dropdown menu. The company also has a handful of dealers located in the USA and Mexico.

For more information:
PureSalem Guitars Website

Are you searching for a left handed Fender guitar or bass, but are unsure of exactly which models are currently available?

Well fear not! This mammoth guide will give you the run-down on all of the options available to you, including standard production models, factory special runs, foreign imports and custom shop dream guitars.

Left Handed Fender Guitars & Basses 2016

2016 is actually shaping up to be a very exciting year for left handed Fender enthusiasts, mostly thanks to a raft of awesome FSR Japanese limited edition models cropping up. A handful of these new guitars are already available, and I think that it’s safe to say that news of lefty Jaguars and Jazzmasters is going to get a lot of people quite moist in the old underpants. Very exciting news!

Aside from the FSR models, the only new guitar so far this year is the American Elite Stratocaster. Yes, it’s yet another sunburst Strat – but it’s a damn good one at least!

Let’s dive in. We’ll start with Strats…

1. Left Handed Fender Stratocasters

The image below shows all of the various left handed Fender Stratocasters currently available, but keep in mind that different colors (and fretboards!) are offered for some models – check out the tabs underneath for information.

Check out the various tabs below for a brief summary of each guitar.

2. Left Handed Fender Telecasters…and a Jaguar!

The Standard and American Standards are available in a few extra colors, while the rest of the models displayed are only available in the finishes shown. Use the tabs below to find out more about each guitar.

Check out the various tabs below for a brief summary of each guitar.

3. Left Handed Fender Acoustic Guitars

The image below shows all available models and colors currently available.

Check out the various tabs below for a brief summary of each guitar.

4. Left Handed Fender Bass Guitars

As we have a smaller number of left handed Fender bass guitars available to us, the image below shows all models and color-combinations currently offered.

Check out the various tabs below for a brief summary of each guitar.

5. Fender FSR Guitars

From time to time, Fender will release Factory Special Run (FSR) guitars in limited numbers. These special guitars are similar to ‘Spot Production’ guitars from Ibanez as they may only be available in select regions. I have listed below the models that I am currently aware of – but Fender are poised to release some new and exciting lefty FSRs, so check back soon for more information on those. All of these current models are from Fender Japan.

You read it right –  Left handed Japanese Jazzmasters and Jaguars are on the way! That’s got to be the most exciting development for lefties in years! I’ve tried my best to find out more about them, but all I know is that the Jaguar will be available in white and black, and the Jazzmasters are coming in Candy Apple Red (matching headstock), Vintage White, 3-Color Sunburst and Black. I’m told that the model names are likely JG-62L and JM-66L. They are expected around June/July 2016 – so get saving! We might never see these again.

Below are some (tiny!) photos of the Jazzmasters that Fender sent me a few months ago. As soon as I have better images and more info you can expect some big updates.

They will be available from me in the UK at guitarguitar, or in the States from Southpaw Guitars. Call or email to reserve yours.

6. Left Handed Fender Japan Guitars and Basses

If none of the guitars so far have tickled your fancy, then you might also consider heading over to the Fender Japan website where you’ll find even more left handed models to browse. Just make sure that your browser has a built in translation feature! Unless you speak Japanese of course…

The image above includes most of the Fender Japan Exclusives that aren’t already mentioned in the FSR section above. In addition to these, you may also be able to find some older models still available in select stores.

If you’re struggling with the website, you can find the Japan Exclusive Electrics here and the basses here.

Actually getting a hold of one of these could prove slightly tricky, as you’ll either have to order direct from a Japanese store or find a local importer. You can usually find a handful for sale on eBay, including older models which are now discontinued. Right now, Amazon also has quite a few available.

7. Fender Mod Shop

Until recently, Fender had offered their ‘American Design Experience‘ service, which allowed USA customers to create their dream guitar or bass using their online builder. This has now been replaced with the newly lanched ‘Fender Mod Shop‘ – which is a revamped and improved version of the previous service.

The Mod Shop webpage consists of a simple-to-use interface which allows players to design a custom Strat, Tele, P-Bass or Jazz Bass. Available options include body color and wood, fingerboard wood, pickguard material, hardware color, type of pickups, tuning machines and bridge style – and of course, left handed mode!

Once your design is complete, simply add it to your cart and pay. Fender will send you your custom guitar (free shipping in the USA) within just 30 days! I was able to come up with the 7 designs below in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately this service is only available to USA-based customers at the time of writing. If you are outside of the USA (like me!), you can still access the service by switching to the USA website. You won’t be able to order your guitar, but it’s fun to have a little play to see what you can come up with!

Head to fendermodshop.com to start building!

8. Fender Custom Shop

Last, but certainly not least, we have the ‘Dream Factory‘, aka the Fender Custom Shop. Here, you can have the skilled Fender craftsmen build you your absolute dream guitar. The only limit here is going to be the size of your wallet!

To give you an idea of what they’re capable of, check out the guitar below that one of our customers recently ordered. This Masterbuilt ’72 Thinline Tele relic has to be one of the most incredible lefty Fenders I’ve ever seen!

Fender Website

Congratulations on making it to the very end of this mammoth post! If you’d like even more information, you can head over to the Fender website at the link below. I’d recommend going to the USA site over other countries, as it has an option to filter only left handed guitars when browsing categories.

For more information:
Fender Guitars Website

As LeftyFretz has recently turned 6 years old (enter our Birthday competition!) I thought it would be interesting to give a little backstory on how I chose the name of the website back in 2010.

It wasn’t quite as straightforward as I had hoped! On top of that, there’s another site with the same name, so I do occasionally get asked what the deal is there. We’ll cover that too.

LeftyFretz – Coming Up With a Name

I’d love to say I spent weeks trying to craft the perfect name, but honestly there wan’t a ton of thinking involved. I wrote down a medley of words associated with being left handed, and a second assortment of terms related to guitars. Then I smooshed them together in pairs until I came across something that stuck. It was really as simple as that. No blue-sky thinking or other namby-pamby brainstorming techniques for me, no Sir.

Out of all of the combinations, ‘LeftyFrets‘ sounded good to me. It was short, snappy and memorable. Perfect!

Unfortunately I was a little late to the party…

LeftyFrets.com

Obviously, my first choice for a website name was LeftyFrets.com. A dot-com is the go-to domain extension (at least back then it was!), so I went to register it thinking I had been oh-so-original with the name. Turns out, not so much…

LeftyFrets.com already existed! And had done so for many years. Drat!

The earliest screenshots I could find are from 2001. As you can see from the pictures, it was a proper ‘old-skool’ looking site, complete with glowing green text and scrolling marquee headings. Pretty much insta-migraine territory…

The full name of the site was ‘Alter’s LeftyFrets‘, and it looks to have been a place where ‘Alter’ would share photos of his guitars and other lefty guitars that he liked. There was also a classified section for selling guitars, and a forum to hang out in. I have no idea who ‘Alter’ was, but maybe some of you might recognise him in the image above (click to enlarge).

Anywho – back to the name!

Back in 2010 when I was hunting around for a name, LeftyFrets.com consisted of just a single homepage. From what I can remember it said something along the lines of ‘I’ve stopped working on the site for now, but I may return at some point in the future‘.

So I wasn’t too concerned about it since the guy seemed to have lost interest in his project. And I was right! A few years later the website became available and I snapped it up.

Meanwhile, back in the past, I carried on with my search…

LeftyFrets.net

Roadblock number two. There was another LeftyFrets! A name I had thought was super original was quickly turning out to be as common as muck. Double drat!

LeftyFrets.net has been around since roughly 2006, and is a forum for left handed guitarists to hang out and chat.

Now! When I visited the site way-back-when, it seemed to be dead. Seemed to be! Each section on the forum looked to have no posts, and upon clicking on various sections I was taken to a ‘nothing to see here, move along please‘ type page. So naturally, I assumed this was another abandoned project and quickly forgot about it.

Ahem! LeftyFrets.net is actually a thriving forum as it turns out. Had I known that at the time I would have picked a different name for sure.

I can only assume that perhaps the forum was only readable to registered members back then, or was undergoing updates/maintenance at the exact time I visited. Either that or I was having a slow day… Anywho! The site is currently very much ‘alive‘, so if you fancy a friendly place to go and chat lefty guitars, why not go and say hello.

Oh, and if the owner of the forum happens across this post, I hope there’s no bad feelings!

LeftyFretz.com

So dot-com and dot-net were both taken – what’s a guy to do? I still liked the name, and since no one else seemed to be actively using it, I persevered.

At the time, my favorite guitar blog was GuitarNoize.com, a site devoted to the latest product news. I thought to myself, why not be super stylish like Jon (the site owner) and replace the ‘s’ with a ‘z’. Genius! Back then it was still kinda trendy, okay?

The name was available, so a site was born. On June 18th 2010 I published the very first post (9 Awesome Left Handed Guitarist Advantages), and have somehow managed to keep going since then. At the expense of pretty much all of my free time mind you…

So there’s a little backstory for you. If you’ve made it this far I assume that you found these ramblings at least somewhat interesting. If not, it was at least fun for me to take a quick trip down memory-lane!

We’ll get back to business as usual in the next post…

Looking for a left handed Ibanez guitar or bass? Unsure which models are currently available to us southpaws? You’ve just hit the jackpot my friend!

This monstrous guide lists all of the current 2016 left handed Ibanez guitars and basses, covering everything from standard models, to limited edition runs, and even guitars which haven’t been released yet! The article weighs in at well over 3500 words, so why not grab yourself a coffee before we dive in…

Left Handed Ibanez Guitars & Basses 2016

I’ll be honest – I’ve been putting off writing this article for a long time due to the amount of work involved in creating it. Ibanez is a tricky brand to add to the site because their left handed range is constantly changing. Limited edition models come and go, individual stores commission exclusive runs, and on top of that, some left handed Ibanez guitars are only available in certain regions.

To be eligible to appear in this article the guitars have to be currently listed on either the Ibanez USA or Europe websites. I’ve also included a few older left handed Ibanez guitars which are still readily available in stores. Leave a comment at the bottom of the page if I’ve missed any (and no doubt I have!).

1. Left Handed Ibanez Electric Guitars Part One

Let’s begin by looking at (most of) the currently available ‘RG‘ style guitars. Click the button below for pricing info, or use the tabs for a quick summary of each model.

Check out the tabs below for a brief overview of each guitar!

2. Ibanez Lefty Electric Guitars Part Two

In part two we’ll check out the current hollow-body range of left handed Ibanez guitars, as well as a couple of SA models. And for good measure, our favorite short-scale lefty – the GRGM21 Mikro!

Check out the tabs below for a brief overview of each guitar!

3. Left Handed Ibanez Acoustic Guitars

There is a great range of affordable left handed Ibanez acoustic guitars – check out the tabs below for more information.

Check out the tabs below for a brief overview of each guitar!

4. Left Handed Ibanez Bass Guitars

Check out the tabs below for a brief overview of each bass!

Ibanez J-Custom RG8570ZL

I saved the best til last… XtremeLeftyGuitars has commissioned a run of J.Custom RG8570ZL guitars in Purple Amethyst! J.Customs are the most exclusive, high-end guitars available from Ibanez, and are crafted in Japan by their top luthiers. Aside from Custom Shop guitars, these are truly the creme de la creme! Only 6 of these will be made for XLG.

Judging from the chatter I’ve noticed on various Facebook groups and forums, I imagine these have all pre-sold pretty much instantly. But why not give XLG a call just in case…

Help Keep This Guide Up To Date!

If you’ve spotted a new left handed Ibanez guitar which isn’t included in this guide, I’d love it if you would leave a comment below. Or if you’d prefer, drop me an email.

Ibanez Website

The Ibanez USA website is currently the most lefty friendly, as it has sections to browse left handed models specifically. Unfortunately, most of the other regional websites have recently ditched their southpaw areas, forcing us to trawl the entire website to find out which models are available. Fingers crossed this is rectified soon!

For more information:
Ibanez Website

Reverend Guitars is an American guitar company, founded in 1996 by guitar and amp technician Joe Naylor.  The company is widely known for their unconventional construction methods and retro designs.

They may only offer three or four left handed Reverend guitars at a time, but we do get new models each year which is really nice to see and helps to keep things fresh. This year we’ve retained the Double Agent and Jetstream 390, and gained two new models in the form of the Sensei RA and Double Agent OG. In addition, Reverend has also offered us the Jetstream 390 in an eye-catching new Oceanside Green finish.

Left Handed Reverend Guitars 2016

All of these left handed Reverend guitars feature Korina bodies, a signature characteristic on Reverend instruments since 2007. Korina (also known as white limba) is a relatively lightweight wood, and is highly sought after for its excellent resonance and consistent weight. The resonant nature of Korina contributes to guitars which generally have a lively, responsive tone which is rich in harmonics.

These guitars also feature Reverend’s own in-house custom pickups, which are specifically designed and voiced to perfectly compliment each individual instrument.

JetStream 390

This year we’ve managed to retain the dazzling ‘Rock Orange’ finish, and have also gained tons of retro vibe with the new ‘Oceanside Green’ model. Reverend describes the Jetstream 390 as being ‘fat, raw and bluesy but with just the right amount of bite to cut through. An amazing guitar for both clean and distorted tones with enough twang for surf, but thick enough for rock‘.

• Body : Korina
• Neck : Maple
• Fretboard : Maple 22 Fret
• Pickups : Reverend CP90
• Bridge : Wilkinson Tremolo
• Colors : Oceanside Green, Rock Orange

Click here for an overview video

Sensei RA

The left handed Reverend Sensei RA is a welcome new addition this year to the southpaw stable. The company’s aggressive Railhammer Chisel pickups combined with a fast ebony fretboard indicates that Reverend has intended this beast for rock and metal players.

• Body : Korina w/ Flamed Maple Top
• Neck : 3-Piece Korina
• Fretboard : Ebony 22 Fret
• Pickups : Reverend Railhammer Chisel
• Bridge : Tuneomatic
• Colors : Wine Red

Click here for an overview video

Double Agent OG

Another new model for 2016! The Double Agent OG features both a humbucker and P90 pickup to allow players to switch seamlessly between powerful and sweet tones. In addition, the option to combine both pickups for a truly unique sound ensures that this guitar is a truly versatile machine.

• Body : Korina w/ Flamed Maple Top
• Neck : Maple
• Fretboard : Maple 22 Fret
• Pickups : Reverend Special H & CP90
• Bridge : Tuneomatic
• Colors : Coffee Burst

Double Agent

The Double Agent is essentially a double-cut version of the OG model above, with the addition of a Wilkinson tremolo for added versatility.

• Body : Korina
• Neck : Maple
• Fretboard : Maple 22 Fret
• Pickups : Reverend Special H & CP90
• Bridge : Wilkinson Tremolo
• Colors : Midnight Black

Click here for an overview video

Reverend Website

What’s not to love about the Reverend website? Plenty of information, tons of high quality images, and most importantly – a clearly defined lefty section!  If you’re after a left handed Reverend guitar, it will be easy to find on their website.

For more information:
Reverend Guitars Website

I receive emails on a daily basis asking if we have certain guitars listed on the site in stock. Unfortunately LeftyFretz is not a store, but I can certainly help to point southpaw shoppers in the right direction!

So I thought it would be a good idea to start putting together a list of the places which actually are stores! But not just any old stores – let’s put together a handy list of all of the shops who specialise in left handed guitars from around the world.

Photo: Jerry’s Lefty Guitars, USA

Left Handed Guitar Stores Directory

DHR Guitar Experience – Cincinnati, USA
Specialises in high-end left handed guitars, such as Benedetto, Collings, Breedlove, Hamer, K-Line, Grosh and many others.
Website : DHR Guitar Experience

Jerry’s Lefty Guitars – Florida, USA
Jerry Welch’s store is based in Sarasota, Florida and specialises in mainly higher-end guitars. Check out the photo above for a small sample of Jerry’s stock!
Website : Jerry’s Lefty Guitars

LeftyGuitars – Putte, Belgium
LeftyGuitars is one of Europe’s only left handed guitar specialists and is located near Antwerpen in Belgium.
Website : LeftyGuitars

LeftyGuitarsOnly – Rhode Island, USA
LeftyGuitarsOnly is one of the newest southpaw guitar stores to arrive on the scene. They have decided to specialise in higher-end left handed guitars and as a result, have some of the nicest guitars around – give them a look if your wallet is needing to lose some weight!
Website : LeftyGuitarsOnly

Left Hand Gear – Essen, Germany
Left Hand Gear is based in Germany and holds a small stock of interesting southpaw guitars.  As well as selling guitars, they also sell a variety of left handed parts such as necks, bodies and hardware.
Website : Left Hand Gear

Pancho’s Leftys – Michigan, USA
Pancho’s Leftys is located in Michigan, USA and has a great selection of left handed guitars and basses. The website also keeps a photo gallery of previously sold guitars which is always great viewing.
Website : Panchos Leftys

PK’s Music – Perth, Australia
Here’s one for southpaws Down Under – PK’s Music is run by Peter Kelly and is based near Perth in Western Australia. The store has been open since 1985, making it one of the oldest around!
Website : PK’s Music

Southpaw Guitars – Texas, USA
Possibly the longest running lefty specialist store in the world! Southpaw Guitars is based in Houston, Texas and has a wideranging selection of instruments available for purchase.
Website : Southpaw Guitars

Xtreme Lefty Guitars – Florida, USA
Xtreme Lefty Guitars (XLG) is a family run business based in Palm City, Florida and specialises in left handed guitars aimed at the rock and metal demographic. They often commission special runs from brands such as Ibanez, Schecter, Jackson, Charvel and the like, so you may find that some of the guitars on offer here are not available anywhere else!
Website : Xtreme Lefty Guitars

Lefty Friendly Stores

Regular guitar stores with better than average left handed sections.  To me, the criteria is a decent selection of guitars which isn’t just made up of the usual Fenders and Gibsons that every other store sells.

• Adirondack Guitars (USA)
• Amazon (USA)
• Dave’s Guitars (USA)
• DrumCityGuitarLand (USA)
• Guitar Amp Keyboard (UK)
• GuitarGuitar (UK/Belgium)
• RondoMusic (USA)
• Sam Ash (USA)
• Sweetwater (USA)
• Taniguchi-Gakki (Japan)

Help me expand this list. If there are some great lefty (or lefty friendly) stores in your neck of the woods leave a comment below!  No doubt I’ve missed plenty of great establishments.

Looking to get your first left handed mandolin but don’t know where to begin? Let’s get you started…

Left handed mandolins are truly a niche within a niche, so you won’t be surprised to discover that beginner lefty instruments are few and far between. You certainly aren’t going to find many (if any at all!) in your local guitar store, which makes purchasing online pretty much unavoidable.

In this article I’ll suggest a few affordable beginner left handed mandolins that are readily available online, as well as talk you through extras such as accessories and you know, actually learning to play the thing!

Let’s start out with the absolute basics…

What IS a Mandolin?

In a nutshell, the mandolin is a small-sized instrument descended from the lute family. Although there are 10 and 12-string versions, the most common mandolins feature 8 strings split up into 4 ‘courses‘. Each course consists of two strings which are typically tuned to the same note in order to give the instrument its distinctive chiming sound. The most common tuning is G-D-A-E, which is the same as a violin.

A-Style, F-Style or Bowl-Back Mandolin?

Which style is best? Although there is little variance between designs in terms of tones produced, there are some key differences between each style.

A mandolin which is oval or tear-shaped is referred to as A-Style. This type of design is generally the most affordable because they are simpler to build due to the lack of decorative scrolls and points which are found on F-Style models. Due to their much lower price, an A-Style left handed mandolin is going to be the best choice for new southpaw players wanting to dip their toes in the water.

F-Style mandolins (sometimes referred to as Florentine mandolins) are instantly recognisable thanks to their luxurious body scroll and points, generally accompanied with additional lavish appointments. They were introduced by Gibson in the early 20th century, and most modern designs are based on these original instruments. The points on the bottom of the mandolin have a small impact on the sound produced, and also provide a handy resting point for when playing seated. F-Style mandolins are generally most popular amongst country, bluegrass, and roots style players.

Finally, Bowl-Back mandolins tend to be favored for classical, renaissance, and other historical styles of music. As you can probably tell by the name, these mandolins feature a rounded back, helping them to produce a deeper tone than the two styles above.

Best Beginner Left Handed Mandolin

Even right handed players might struggle to find a local store which stocks more than a handful of mandolins, so as a left handed player you’re almost certainly going to have to purchase online. I’ve listed a few good choices below, complete with links to buy.

Unless you are completely in love with the look of the F-Style, beginners should really opt for an 8-string A-Style model as you’ll get a higher quality instrument for the same money. When you first start out, a mandolin sounds like a mandolin. Once you’ve been playing a year or two you’ll be in a better position to feel confident about dropping extra money on a more advanced instrument.

1. Stagg M-20 A-Style – click here for pricing info or check out the package deal here
2. Oscar Schmidt OM40 F-Style – click here for pricing info
3. GoldTone GM-55A A-Style – click here for pricing info
4. GoldTone GM-70+ F-Style – click here for pricing info

1. If you are new to mandolin and aren’t ready to spend too much cash, then the Stagg M-20 LH is definitely going to be the instrument for you. It’s super affordable, widely available, looks great with its violin-burst finish, and most importantly, plays and sounds just peachy. This bargain beauty is unbelievable value for money at under $100 and is easily our best selling left handed mandolin. It features a basswood body coupled with a nato neck and bound rosewood fingerboard. It’s also available in a beginner bundle package which includes everything you’ll need to get started. Click here for a video overview and sound demonstration.

2. If you’d prefer the styling and features of a F-Style mandolin, then the Oscar Schmidt OM40LH is currently the most affordable left handed option. Oscar Schmidt is a bit of a team favorite here at LeftyFretz, as these guys really help to fill a void in the niche left handed instrument market. The mandolin features a select spruce top, maple back/sides, mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, gold hardware and pearloid tuners. It’s certainly a step up in the looks department when compared to the Stagg, but all of these extra appointments come at a much higher price. Click here to hear how it sounds.

Numbers 3 and 4 are probably going to be out of most beginners’ price ranges, but I’ve included them as great options for those who are happy to drop a little extra coin. Both are made by GoldTone, a well respected name in folk instruments.

3. The A-Style Gold Tone GM-55A is a real quality mandolin, featuring a solid spruce top, flamed maple back, maple sides, maple neck and ebony fretboard. It also utilises a special, super-thin hand-oiled finish which allows the instrument to resonate better. Click here for a quick video demonstration.

4. Finally, those looking for a great quality, but still reasonably priced F-Style mandolin might like to check out the Gold Tone GM-70+.  This beauty features a solid spruce top, solid maple back and sides, maple neck and ebony fingerboard. Click here to see it in action.

Accessories

If this will be your first mandolin, there are a few extra bits and pieces that you may also like to pick up if your instrument doesn’t already come bundled with them.

Picks. Most mandolin players prefer to use a thick pick, of at least 1mm.

Tuner. My choice would be an inexpensive Snark ST-8 clip-on tuner. This little gadget clamps on to your headstock and tunes very accurately via vibration (although it also includes a built in mic).

Strap. Mandolin straps are a little different to regular guitar straps. The most popular option is this beautiful brown leather Planet Waves strap.

Gigbag. Protect your mandolin when travelling to lessons or gigs with a good padded gigbag. There are plenty of options available.

Strings. Most stores won’t put a fresh set on before shipping, so who knows how old the strings will be on your new mandolin. Grab a few sets to make sure your mandolin sounds its best. The most popular set for mandolin is the D’Addario J74 Phosphor Bronze pack.

Learn to Play Left Handed Mandolin

Ok! So you’ve got your new mandolin and a bunch of shiny accessories – now what? At this point it would probably be a good idea to learn how to make some sweet, sweet music, right?

Obviously your best option is going to be finding a good mandolin tutor. However, not all of us can afford pricey one-on-one lessons, so there’s no reason why you can’t teach yourself using free resources such as video lessons on YouTube. I would suggest that if you decide to go the self-taught route, make sure to supplement with a good beginner book to ensure that you have a little structure in your education.  A great book is Mandolin Primer for Beginners by Bert Casey, which includes an accompanying CD.

There’s really no reason to look for lessons specifically aimed at left handed players. The only slight disadvantage you have is that you will need to read chord diagrams backwards – not exactly a difficult task! However, I know that some new players can struggle a little at first. So if you want to make sure to get started on the right foot, William Bay has a great left handed mandolin chord chart.

Solid Body Electric Mandolins

Back in the 50s, Fender produced a solidbody electric mandolin which players came to call the ‘Mandocaster’. Today quite a few other brands produce electric mandolins, and fear not, there are a handful of great lefty options.

On the left is the Eastwood 8-string Mandocaster which features an alder body, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, and two singlecoil pickups for a variety of tones. You can check out a great demonstration video here, or buy your own here.

Another cool option is the Gold Tone GME-4 shown above on the right. This model has 4-strings, alder body, maple neck and fingerboard and a single neck pickup. See it in action here, or click here for purchasing info.

Happy National Left Handed Day 2016!  Every year on August 13th we southpaws get our very own designated day to celebrate our ‘gift’.  Left Handed Day 2016 is also meant to help raise awareness of the troubles that lefty people experience with living in a right-hand centric world.

So the idea is that we have an excuse to get drunk and have a whinge at how easy righties have it? Well, not quite.

National Left Handed Day 2016 – August 13th

Special events are usually set up around the world, such as designated ‘left handed zones’ where righties are encouraged to use their non-dominant hand to perform simple tasks.  These special areas might only include lefty tools and utensils in order to force people into finding out what it’s like being a southpaw in a right handed world. Because let’s face it, sometimes it’s a bit of a pain in the ass!

All too often we lefties are overlooked by designers and developers. So it is also hoped that through participating in this day we can raise awareness of the need for ambidextrous product designs.

Here’s my (selfish) suggestion for this yearly event.  Every year on August 13th, guitar stores worldwide should have a sale where only the left-handed models are discounted. Do it. Do it.

Are you planning on celebrating National Left Handed Day 2016?  Leave a comment below!

You’ll probably love these articles too!

• 25 AMAZING Facts About Left Handed People!
• Gift Ideas that Left Handed People Will LOVE
• 60 Second Lefty Test – How Left Handed Are You?

Further Reading – Check out these fascinating resources!

Let your friends know about National Left Handed Day 2016 by hitting the share buttons below!

Finally, a Pro Series Jackson Soloist for the southpaw shredders!

The brand new left handed Soloist SL2L from Jackson’s Pro Series was previewed at Summer NAMM this year and is expected to launch around mid-October.

Left Handed Jackson Soloist SL2L Pro Series Guitar

Main features include a mahogany body, maple neck with 24 fret ebony fingerboard, quality Seymour Duncan Distortion pickups, and a Floyd Rose FRT-O5000 double-locking tremolo.

The neck-through-body design ensures excellent sustain and easy access to the upper frets. The thin profile Jackson ‘Speed Neck’ is lightning fast, making it ideal for technical players.

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : 1-Piece Maple Neck-Through (Oiled Finish)
• Fingerboard : Ebony w/ 12″-16″ Compound Radius
• Frets : 24 Jumbo
• Inlays : Alumiloid Piranha
• Pickups : Seymour Duncan Distortion humbuckers
• Bridge : Floyd Rose FRT-O5000 Double-Locking Bridge
• Nut : Floyd Rose R3 Locking Nut
• Tuners : Jackson
• Hardware : Black Nickel

Perfect for left handed shredders and modern metal masters.

Several stores already have these available for pre-order at around $1100 USD. At the moment the only available finish is that southpaw ‘favorite’ – metallic black.

For more information:
Jackson Website

Who doesn’t love a limited edition left handed Fender? Here, have three of them…

Fender will be releasing three brand new left handed FSR guitars in limited numbers from the Japan Exclusive Series. Previously only available in Japan, these are expected around December this year. These went down really well when I showed them off on Facebook recently, with the thinline in particular resonating well with readers. And why wouldn’t it? It’s awesome!

Left Handed Classic ’72 Telecaster Thinline

Now here’s something different! Featuring a lightweight semi-hollow ash body, humbuckers for a slightly meatier sound, a new pickguard design, and a single f-hole accent, this guitar is sure to stand out in your collection.

• Body : Semi-Hollow Ash
• Neck : 1-Piece Maple (Slim ‘C’ Shape)
• Fingerboard : Maple (7.25″ Radius)
• Frets : 21 Vintage Style
• Pickups : Vintage Style Wide-Range Humbuckers
• Bridge : 6-Saddle Vintage Style String-Thru
• Finish : Natural

Left Handed Classic 50s Telecaster

With its authentic, vintage 50s style features, this Off-White Blonde is a great buy for players who have to have that original look, feel and tone. Original Telecaster specifications are present and accounted for, from the vintage voiced pickups to the 7.25″ fretboard radius.

• Body : Ash
• Neck : 1-Piece Maple (Slim ‘C’ Shape)
• Fingerboard : Maple (7.25″ Radius)
• Frets : 21 Vintage Style
• Pickups : Vintage Style Alnico Singlecoils
• Bridge : 3-Saddle Vintage Style String-Thru
• Finish : Off-White Blonde

Left Handed Classic 60s Telecaster Custom

Normally only available in Japan, this sought-after model will shortly be available left handed in limited numbers. This one is pretty special due to it having a bound-body (it’s hard to tell in the picture below), as well as being one of the very few current left handed Telecasters with a rosewood fingerboard.

• Body : Ash
• Neck : 1-Piece Maple (Slim ‘C’ Shape)
• Fingerboard : Maple (7.25″ Radius)
• Frets : 21 Vintage Style
• Pickups : Vintage Style Alnico Singlecoils
• Bridge : 3-Saddle Vintage Style String-Thru
• Finish : 3-Color Sunburst

All of the specifications listed above are correct as of the spec sheets I was sent. The preview images provided may differ slightly from the final products.

These 3 new FSR Japan models are expected sometime around December this year. I don’t have word about worldwide availability yet, however they will definitely be available in Europe. If interested, UK/Euro southpaws can pre-order here.

See The Entire Current Left Handed Fender Range

If none of these models tickle your fancy, be sure to check out our mammoth Fender guide, which showcases all current (and upcoming) left handed Fender guitars and basses. Click here to check it out.

What percentage of people are left handed?

Ever signed for a delivery and had the driver ask if you’re a lefty? Apparently we’re still that much of a rarity that people feel the need to point it out to us every time they notice.

I’m not having a go, I do it myself. All the time…

Last week at work the purchasing team ordered a bunch of Fender merchandise, including (for some reason!) this ridiculous anime lunchbox. Rather than asking why in the hell we were stocking a Fender lunchbox (like everyone else in the office), I proudly pointed out that the girl on the front was playing a left handed guitar.

So apparently it’s still a novelty even to me. A guy who is left handed, plays guitar lefty, and runs a lefty guitar website…

What makes for the fascination? Just how many people are left handed exactly?

Check out the handy, dandy infographic below (click to enlarge!), or keep reading to find out.

What Percentage of People are Left Handed?

Roughly 12% of the world is left handed.

This figure is averaged from studies undertaken in North America and Western Europe. In these developed countries being left handed is less likely to be discouraged due to social stigmas, which should result in a less skewed overall number. Although it should be noted that left handed discrimination does still occur in these countries, such as this well publicised example in the USA in 2015.

Right Handed (~87%). I’m sure you didn’t come to this article unaware that right handed people make up the majority of the population. It is estimated that right handed people amount to roughly 87% of the world.

Left Handed (~12%). The second most common handedness type, studies show that on average us lefties make up around 12% of the population. Although this does vary depending on location, as in some countries being left handed may still have a social stigma attached to it. For example Taiwan (5%), Japan (4.7%), and Korea (2%) all have a much lower population of lefties. Scroll down a little further to see the lefty representation broken down by country.

Ambidextrous (<1%). An ambidextrous person is able to perform any task equally well with either hand, although they do still tend to favor their dominant side. Truly ambidextrous people are incredibly rare, and are estimated to make up less than 1% of the population.

Ambivelous (<1%). An ambivelous (or ambisinister) person is the exact opposite of an ambidextrous person, finding it generally awkward to use either hand to undertake tasks.

Age is a Factor

Even until recently, being left handed was still discouraged in many developed countries. We can see this when we look at the number of lefties in different age groups in North America. Only 6% of over-65s identified as being left handed, whereas a whopping 15% of under 30s said the same.

Check out the graph below which shows the percentage of lefties broken down by year. These results were taken from a large study by Gilbert and Wysocki (Hand Preference and Age in the United States, 1992) which included over 1 million people. The increased number of people identifying as being left handed is almost certainly due to modern society becoming less conservative.

On top of this, it is estimated that amongst older generations some 6-8% of right handed people are actually natural left handers, but were forced into writing right handed due to social pressures.

Considering the results based on age, it would seem very likely that the overall percentage of people identifying as being a lefty will continue to increase over time.

How Many People Are Left Handed In Other Parts of the World?

The figures above are taken from a select few countries, but what about the rest of the world? Check out the graphic below to find out!

Data for European countries was taken from a large internet study by McManus and Peters (Handedness in Europe: analysis of data from the BBC internet study). Information on other countries was sourced from various other bodies of research.

It’s clear that in countries with a more formal culture, the rate of left-handedness is much lower. It has been suggested that the more complex writing style in many Asian countries is a major reason why the numbers are so much lower.

Men Versus Women

Lefties are not created equally! According to a 2008 study (Sex Differences in Left-Handedness: A Meta-Analysis of 144 Studies), a left handed person is 23% more likely to be male than female. This means that for every 4 left handed women, there should be roughly 5 left handed men.

One possible explanation for this uneven split is that girls are more likely to conform to social norms. It has also been suggested that there may be genetic factors, which you can read about below.

The Chances of Having a Left Handed Child

According to a 2009 study by Llaurens, Raymond and Faurie (Why are some people left-handed? An evolutionary perspective), the chances of having a left handed child are as follows:

• Both parents Left Handed – 27% Male / 21.4% Female
• Righty Father & Lefty Mother – 22.1% Male / 21.7% Female
• Lefty Father & Righty Mother – 18.2% Male / 15.3% Female
• Both Parents Right Handed – 10.4% Male / 8.5% Female

I’ve averaged these results out for simplicity and displayed them in the graphic below.

Another interesting factoid I stumbled across was that two left handed parents are twice as likely to produce twins!

Is There A Place Where 100% of People Are Lefties?

Yes! Well, kinda… In the small town of Left Hand, West Virginia, USA, technically…everyone is a left hander!

Further Articles You Will Love

• How much of a lefty are you? Take our 60 second test and find out!
• 25 Amazing Facts About Lefties
• Gift Ideas That Left Handed People Will LOVE
• The Survival Guide for Living Lefty in a Right-Handed World
• The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness

News of a brand new, limited edition lefty Ibanez found its way to my desk this afternoon. Would you like to know more? Of course you would…

Well! It’s an RGD, it’s from the Iron Label series, it has proper pickups, looks awesome, and most importantly, isn’t gloss black. Certainly ticks all of my boxes!

As ever, Ibanez has given it a super catchy name – the RGDIX6MPBL-SBB.

Left Handed Ibanez RGDIX6MPBL-SBB Iron Label Limited Edition

• Body : Layered Ash w/ Poplar Burl Top
• Neck : 3-Piece Nitro Wizard Maple/Bubinga
• Scale Length : 26.5″
• Fretboard : Birdseye Maple
• Frets : 24 Jumbo
• Bridge : Gibraltar Standard II
• Pickups : DiMarzio Fusion Edge Humbuckers
• Tuners : Gotoh MG-T Locking Tuners
• Finish : Surreal Blue Burst (SBB)

To me, this is a pretty exciting new offering from Ibanez, even if it is just a limited run model. It has been quite some time since there was a left handed Iron Label, and i’m pretty sure there has never been a lefty RGD.

This is something special, something that stands out from the rest.

Availability

I don’t have information on worldwide availability yet, but these will certainly be on offer within Europe. They are expected September/November 2016.

In the UK/Europe, you can pre-order these here in the UK, or in Europe here.

More Ibanez Lefties

See the rest of the current range of new and upcoming left handed Ibanez guitars here.

Guess who’s back, back again… Gibson’s back, tell a friend! And about time too…

That’s right folks, after a lengthy THREE YEAR DROUGHT, Gibson USA is once again making left handed guitars! Pretty much the entirety of the new 2017 range will be available in a southpaw option (including Flying Vs and Explorers!!), so this is very exciting news indeed.

A couple of slight caveats before we take a look at the guitars. Left handed Gibson guitars will come a little later than the righties, with production expected to begin around December 2016 – no big deal! Also, lefties will be available by pre-order only, which means that your dealer will specifically have to order the models that they want in advance. Although after the 3 year drought, dealers would be daft not to stock up on plenty of key left handed models!

You might want to start hassling your local stores and dealers now though, just to be safe..

Pricing Information

These guitars haven’t appeared on the Gibson website yet, however Amazon has most of the (right handed) models listed already. Click here to take a look and get an idea of pricing and full specifications.

Traditional Versus High Performance

Us lefties have never fully experienced the Traditional (T) and High Performance (HP) options that Gibson is currently offering, so let’s quickly look at the differences between the two. Almost every 2017 guitar (basses and S-Series excluded) comes as either a Traditional or High Performance model, so you’ll need to know…

In a nutshell, the Traditional models stick with the classic, tried and tested designs and hardware. You’ll get options such as traditional locking tuners, rolled binding, classic neck profiles, and historic plastics and hardware. Essentially, everything you know and love about Gibson’s heritage.

High Performance models take these classic designs and supercharge them, bringing them fully into the 21st century. Features include upgraded tops, automatic G-Force tuners, a locking titanium zero-fret nut, a revolutionary pickup wiring system which allows over 150 different tonal options, a fast access neck heel, aluminium hardcase, etc, etc. You get the picture, lots of cool new modern gizmos! At a higher price of course.

In all of the images below I’ve placed the Traditional models on the left, and High Performance on the right.

2017 Left Handed Gibson Guitars

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Standard 2017

• Body : Mahogany with Ultra-Modern Weight Relief
• Top : AAA Maple (AAAA on HP)
• Neck : Mahogany Slim-Taper
• Fretboard : Rosewood Compound Radius
• Pickups : Burstbucker Pro Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Bourbon Burst, Blueberry Burst, Honey Burst

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Traditional 2017

• Body : Mahogany (No Weight Relief)
• Top : AA Maple (AAA on HP)
• Neck : Mahogany
• Fretboard : Dark Rosewood
• Pickups : Burstbucker 1 & 2 Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Honey Burst, Heritage Sunburst, Antique Burst

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Studio 2017

• Body : Mahogany with Ultra-Modern Weight Relief
• Top : A-Grade Plain Maple
• Neck : Mahogany Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Dark Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 490R/498T Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Wine Red, Black Cherry Burst, Ebony

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Classic 2017

• Body : Mahogany with 9-Hole Weight Relief
• Top : A-Grade Plain Maple
• Neck : Mahogany Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Dark Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson Zebra ’57 Classic Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Gold Top, Green Ocean Burst, Heritage Cherry Sunburst

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Tribute 2017

• Body : Mahogany with 9-Hole Weight Relief
• Top : A-Grade Plain Maple
• Neck : Mahogany Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Medium Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 490R/490T Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Gold Top, Faded Honeyburst

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Faded 2017

• Body : Mahogany with Ultra Modern Weight Relief
• Top : Maple
• Neck : Maple Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Medium Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 490R/490T Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Worn Brown, Worn Cherry

Left Handed Gibson SG Standard 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Mahogany Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Medium Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson ’57 Classic Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Ebony, Cherry Burst, Heritage Cherry

Left Handed Gibson SG Special 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Mahogany Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Medium Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 490R/490T Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Satin Cherry, Satin Vintage Sunburst

Left Handed Gibson SG Faded 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Maple  Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Medium Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 490R/490T Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Worn Cherry, Worn Brown

Left Handed Gibson Firebird 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Mahogany/Walnut Slim Taper Neck-Through
• Fretboard : Dark Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 495R/495T Mini Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Vintage Sunburst, Pelham Blue

Left Handed Gibson Firebird Studio 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Mahogany
• Fretboard : Dark Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 496R/496T Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Vintage Sunburst, Pelham Blue

Left Handed Gibson Flying V 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Mahogany Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Light Grenadillo
• Pickups : Gibson Dirty Fingers Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Ebony, Alpine White

Left Handed Gibson Explorer 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Mahogany Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Medium Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson 496R/496T Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Ebony, Heritage Cherry

Left Handed Gibson EB Bass 2017 (4 and 5-String)

• Body : Swamp Ash
• Neck : Maple
• Fretboard : Medium Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson EB Rhythm/Lead Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Satin Vintage Sunburst, Natural Satin

Gibson S Series

New for 2017 is the lower priced Gibson USA S Series. Right now I’m still awaiting confirmation of left handed availability from Gibson, so please don’t get too excited about these just yet. At the moment, one dealer has told me that lefties will be an option, so fingers crossed they are correct. In additional to the 3 below, there will be a further 2 models available in the S Series which I will add as soon as I am able.

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Custom Studio 2017

• Body : Swamp Ash
• Neck : Maple  Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Light Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson DS-A5/DS-A5+Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Denim Blue, Burgundy Plum, Scarlett Red, Reptile Green, Charcoal Black, Whiskey Gold

Left Handed Gibson Les Paul Custom Special 2017

• Body : Mahogany
• Neck : Maple  Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Light Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson DS-C/DS-C+Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Radiant Red, Ebony (Brown or White PG), Pelham Blue, Rose Gold, Light Green, Wine Red, Titanium Grey

Left Handed Gibson M2 2017

• Body : Poplar
• Neck : Maple  Slim Taper
• Fretboard : Light Rosewood
• Pickups : Gibson M2SS17 Humbuckers
• Colors (L to R) : Bright Cherry, Ebony, Phantom Grey, Teal, Strawberry Milk, Citron Green

Pricing Information

These guitars haven’t appeared on the Gibson website yet, however Amazon has most of the (right handed) models listed already. Click here to take a look and get an idea of pricing and full specifications.

What Excites You the Most?

Help me out! I need to know which guitars we should be ordering. Which of these 2017 left handed Gibson guitars appeals to you the most? I know that our friends over at Southpaw Guitars are excited about the Explorers, Flying Vs and Firebirds in particular. How about you? Leave a comment below!

For more information:
Gibson Website

Limited run lefty Ibanez news seems to be coming thick and fast as of late. And now the Japanese giants are back with another stunner which will be out later this year!

It’s a Prestige, and it isn’t gloss black. That should be enough to grab the attention of most southpaw Ibanez fans…

Ibanez RG652AHML-NGB Prestige

The RG652AHML features an ash body for a strong treble response, and a lightning-fast Super Wizard HP neck with a beautiful birdseye maple fretboard. The stunning transparent Nebula Green Burst finish shows off the figured grain of the ash body and is complimented nicely with a matching headstock. Quality DiMarzio humbuckers ensure that this new lefty is worthy of the Prestige moniker.

• Body : Ash
• Neck : 5-Piece Maple/Walnut Super Wizard HP
• Fretboard : 24 Jumbo Fret Birdseye Maple
• Bridge : Edge Tremolo
• Pickups : DiMarzio Tone Zone and Air Norton
• Hardware Color : Cosmo Black
• Case : Hardshell Case

According to our friends over at Xtreme Lefty Guitars, they will be receiving the first batch in the States, but the guitars will also be widely available at least in limited numbers. In the UK/Europe GuitarGuitar has two available for pre-order (edit only 1 left now!). They are expected to arrive in-stock around December.

For more information:
Ibanez Website (Right-Handed Model)
XLGuitars Website (USA)
GuitarGuitar Pre-Order (UK/Europe)

Music Man is one of the world’s best known manufacturers of high quality guitars and basses. The company is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation, with all of the guitars being expertly handcrafted in California, USA.

So, whats the story with left handed Music Man guitars and basses? In total Music Man make 6 of their current range as a left handed option, which unfortunately is a 50% reduction on previous years. Quite a few left handed Music Man guitars and basses (6) have been discontinued recently, which is a real shame as these are some of the best instruments I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing (and owning!).

All Music Man guitars and basses come with a quality hardshell case.

Axis Super Sport

The Super Sport is currently the only of the two Axis models available left handed. It takes all of the features of the Axis and adds a few upgrades for additional versatility. One of the most obvious differences between this and the Axis is that it ditches the locking tremolo for either a string-thru bridge or vintage tremolo.

• Body : Basswood with Flame or Quilted Maple Top
• Neck : Select Maple
• Fingerboard : Select Maple or Rosewood
• Pickups : DiMarzio Custom Humbuckers
• Tuners : Locking Schaller M6-IND
• Bridge : Music Man String-Thru or Music Man Vintage Tremolo

John Petrucci

Unfortunately Music Man has recently discontinued the higher-end left handed Ball Family Reserve (BFR) model, but we do still have the original signature guitar available to us. All options are on the table, however the lefty is only available with the piezo bridge.

It is available as either a 6 or 7-string model. Other options include a matching painted headstock and mother-of-pearl John Petrucci shield inlays.

• Body : Basswood
• Neck : Select Maple
• Fingerboard : Select Rosewood
• Pickups : DiMarzio LiquiFire and Crunch Lab Humbuckers
• Tuners : Locking Schaller M6-IND
• Bridge : Custom Music Man Floating Tremolo with Piezo

Sterling Bass

The left handed Music Man Sterling has a similar style to the StingRay, but is slightly narrower and shorter. Upgraded electronics include an active 3-band EQ preamp, a Music Man ceramic humbucker and a versatile 3-way switch.

• Body : Ash
• Neck : Select Maple
• Fingerboard : Maple or Rosewood
• Pickups : Music Man Humbucker or optional Dual Humbuckers or Humbucker/Single Coil.
• Tuners : Schaller BM
• Bridge : Standard Music Man

Stingray Bass

Available left handed in both 4 and 5-string versions, the flagship Music Man Stingray has got to be one of the most iconic bass guitar designs of all time. This unmistakeable bass has remained practically the same since it was introduced in 1976.

• Body : Ash
• Neck : Select Maple
• Fingerboard : Maple or Rosewood
• Pickups : Music Man Humbucker or optional Dual Humbuckers or Humbucker/Single Coil.
• Tuners : Schaller BM
• Bridge : Standard Music Man

Music Man Website

The Music Man website doesn’t make it super easy to quickly see which guitars are available left handed. Hidden away in the specification list for each guitar you’ll find a note on left handed options.

For more information:
Music Man Website