Are You Ambidextrous?

[tbeltrans]

i never thought of left-handed guitars!?! guess i thought you just put strings on in opposite direction.

Acoustic and classical guitars are braced differently for the bass string side and the treble string side. The nut and the saddle are shaped to handle appropriate strings. All of that needs to be reversed for a left hand guitar.

Also if the guitar has a cut away to reach the higher frets, that will be on opposite sides for left and right hand guitars.

If the guitar has a pick guard, it will be on opposite sides of the sound hole for left and right hand guitars.

Acoustic guitar with cut away and pick guard:

Right hand guitar...




Left hand guitar...



A relatively new feature on modern acoustic guitars is a bit of arm rest in which the top part of the guitar that the player's picking hand arm goes over will be much more rounded than the rest of the guitar's edges. This will also be done on opposite sides for left and right handed guitars.

So, in reality, left and right hand guitars are completely different instruments and just putting the strings on in reverse order may work, but not properly at all. Many years ago, there weren't many (if any) left hand guitars, so left handed players did reverse the strings because that is all they had to work with. Jimi Hendrix simply turned a right hand guitar upside down and essentially played it backwards.

By the way, a classical guitar is a traditional instrument and it uses nylon strings. What is referred to as an "acoustic guitar" or "flat top guitar" has steel strings. There are "Crossover guitars" that have similar dimensions as compared to an acoustic guitar, but with a slightly wider fretboard to accommodate nylon strings which move much more than steel strings when plucked or strummed.

Edit: There are two primary ways to play guitar. One is with a pick and the other is with the fingers. Those who play with a pick prefer that the strings be closer together, which fingerstyle players want the strings farther apart, Classical guitars are generally played with the fingers and the strings are quite wide apart. Most electric guitars are played with a pick and the strings are generally closer together. With acoustic guitars, it varies depending on the model and target audience for that model.

Tony

 

[wcwbf]

Acoustic and classical guitars are braced differently for the bass string side and the treble string side. The nut and the saddle are shaped to handle appropriate strings. All of that needs to be reversed for a left hand guitar.

Also if the guitar has a cut away to reach the higher frets, that will be on opposite sides for left and right hand guitars.

If the guitar has a pick guard, it will be on opposite sides of the sound hole for left and right hand guitars.

Acoustic guitar with cut away and pick guard:

Right hand guitar...


View attachment 160999

Left hand guitar...

View attachment 161000

A relatively new feature on modern acoustic guitars is a bit of arm rest in which the top part of the guitar that the player's picking hand arm goes over will be much more rounded than the rest of the guitar's edges. This will also be done on opposite sides for left and right handed guitars.

So, in reality, left and right hand guitars are completely different instruments and just putting the strings on in reverse order may work, but not properly at all. Many years ago, there weren't many (if any) left hand guitars, so left handed players did reverse the strings because that is all they had to work with. Jimi Hendrix simply turned a right hand guitar upside down and essentially played it backwards.

By the way, a classical guitar is a traditional instrument and it uses nylon strings. What is referred to as an "acoustic guitar" or "flat top guitar" has steel strings. There are "Crossover guitars" that have similar dimensions as compared to an acoustic guitar, but with a slightly wider fretboard to accommodate nylon strings which move much more than steel strings when plucked or strummed.

Edit: There are two primary ways to play guitar. One is with a pick and the other is with the fingers. Those who play with a pick prefer that the strings be closer together, which fingerstyle players want the strings farther apart, Classical guitars are generally played with the fingers and the strings are quite wide apart. Most electric guitars are played with a pick and the strings are generally closer together. With acoustic guitars, it varies depending on the model and target audience for that model.

Tony

duh! duh! duh! on me! i need ice for the lump on my forehead! of COURSE there's a difference cuz of shape of instrument.

i had a fall at work that busted up my left humerus... very impressive scar from shoulder to elbow. never got 100% back. shoulder probably about 70% reach. developed carpal tunnel..... surgery didn't fix it and now have little feeling in left hand.

was teacher aide with special needs HS students. i USED TO be able to reach across a table and write something simple... upside-down/backward/with left hand. can't do that anymore. i know i used to be able to button with either/both hands. "hired" a student to button/unbutton cuffs and roll sleeves.

you may not think you're ambidexterous, but think about what do can do with your non-dominant hand or with one/either hand. i used to be able to take the cap off a sharpie with one/either hand... not now.

 

[tbeltrans]

duh! duh! duh! on me! i need ice for the lump on my forehead! of COURSE there's a difference cuz of shape of instrument.

i had a fall at work that busted up my left humerus... very impressive scar from shoulder to elbow. never got 100% back. shoulder probably about 70% reach. developed carpal tunnel..... surgery didn't fix it and now have little feeling in left hand.

was teacher aide with special needs HS students. i USED TO be able to reach across a table and write something simple... upside-down/backward/with left hand. can't do that anymore. i know i used to be able to button with either/both hands. "hired" a student to button/unbutton cuffs and roll sleeves.

you may not think you're ambidexterous, but think about what do can do with your non-dominant hand or with one/either hand. i used to be able to take the cap off a sharpie with one/either hand... not now.

I do know what it is like to not have the use of an arm and hand. Fortunately for me both times it was my right hand, but not having both hands is quite limiting.

One time I broke my right wrist while working as a machinist refurbishing those 60 foot pipes used in oil well drilling. I wore a cast on that arm for the longest time, much longer than a good clean break. I permanently lost much of the rotational movement of that wrist but have learned to work around it. I can tell when the weather is changing.

The other situation happened in Vietnam. Enough said.

So I do sympathize with you. As for the lengthy guitar description, I didn't mean it to make anyone feel stupid. I appreciate when those who actually know something (posts by 911 and asp3 are consistently good examples of that along with some here who actually work in the medical field), are willing to share, so I thought I would do my part here. Hopefully it is useful to somebody.

Tony

 

[Patch]

"Everybody is born left-handed. They remain that way until they commit their first sin. Very few of us left!" (The lady who has put up with me for 55 years would argue the above!)

I write and eat left-handed. Play golf, throw a ball, etc. right-handed. Most anything, I can accomplish ambidextrous. Growing up hunting, I often had the old Ithaca Model 37 pump shotguns. Bottom ejection. I would shoot left-handed a while and then change to right-handed. Made no difference. Pounding nails... whichever hand picks up the hammer. I do not have what one could deem a "dominant" hand.

 

[Aneeda72]

Yes I am.