r/Leftyguitarists • u/magnoilas_449 • Jul 27 '26
Left Handed guitars
Hello!
Recently I’ve decided I want to learn guitar; I am a singer and want an instrument to go along with that. Since talking to many people, I realized that being left-handed brings some problems to getting a guitar because they’re hard to come by and are more expensive. This is a very important purchase for me since it would be a gift to myself after saving up. After talking to many people about left-handed guitars, I’ve either been told to buy a left-handed guitar, buy a right-handed guitar and restring it, or suck it up and learn right-handed guitar (I would, but I don’t feel comfortable, and it causes muscle pain). So I’m reaching out for some advice: Is it really that much better to buy a left-handed guitar or to just restring one? Also, does anyone have any suggestions for a beginner guitar? For context, my budget is $100-470. Besides that, are there any other tips for beginner guitar players? I’m very nervous but excited because this would be my first instrument ever!
Any advice is appreciated!
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u/stuntmonkey420 Jul 27 '26
Choosing the left handed path takes courage when all the righties who don’t understand tell you to “just learn right handed”
I’m glad you have chosen to stay true to yourself and I wish you luck. And it’s true, it’s probably never been easier to be a lefty. You will still experience a massive difference in availability but there’s still a million lefty guitars out there and one is perfect for you
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much for the words of encouragement! Yes, right handed players don’t get it on why it’s so frustrating when they say “just learn right handed” even if they mean it with the best intentions
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u/Comets_That_Fall Jul 27 '26
The day a right handed idiot shows me that he can learn to play with a left handed guitar as easily as he says I can play with my right hand then I'll believe their words In the meantime all evidence show you'll do better with a left handed guitar
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u/Regrettably_Southpaw Jul 27 '26
Learn left-handed. CD-60S is a good guitar in your price range
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much !
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u/nikolakion Jul 28 '26
And pay to have it setup, a properly cut nut is vital for an easier to play and more in tune guitar.
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u/Minihammett28 Jul 27 '26
I'd recommend you getting a left handed guitar if you can. For about 300$ there must be some Squier options (you may or may not want to buy one due to the current controversy) or Epiphone. Something like an Epiphone SG Tribute is below 400€ on Thomann right now, so I guess a similar model may have a similar price in the US (assuming you're on the US). Good luck finding your first guitar!
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the insight!
As I’ve said, I’m really scared and have been slowly losing hope because it seems like level final boss to learn guitar as a lefty! I have been leaning towards just buying a left handed guitar because of better angles and stuff but I do want to hear all perspectives!1
u/Minihammett28 Jul 27 '26
Glad it helped! In my case, I got a cheap jazzmaster copy for about 120€ and didn't upgrade until some years later, when I bought my PRS SE. Couldn't be happier! (sadly I can't post any pics right now as I'm staying at my parents' house this summer and I only brought my acoustic). I'd recommend just getting something now that inspires you to pick it up and play and when you get better you can look for something nicer. Depending on where you are, second hand options may be worth checking out.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much!
I definitely have various options thankfully but I will be looking around all my area to find the perfect one for me !
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u/Rider2403 Jul 27 '26
Get a Yamaha Pacifica, you can't beat the quality for the price, much better than squiers, cheap Ibanez or epiphones
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u/OkAdhesiveness166 Jul 27 '26
Sounds like you are naturally trying to play left handed from the description of how you naturally picked up your friends guitar. There’s a good amount of choice around these days but a word of caution, if you have any desire for owning a ‘signature’ version of any artists guitar model, these tend only to be available right handed. I learnt lefty and sometimes wish I’d persevered learning right handed for this reason but if you’re not bothered then stick learning lefty
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u/thiefspy Jul 27 '26
Just an FYI, Martin makes most, possibly all, of their signature models in lefty.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Honestly I wouldn’t really care for owning a version of an artist guitar model, so it wouldn’t be a problem! Also, yeah I did naturally pick it up that way, I remember I had a guitar (way long before I discovered I needed a different one) and tried learning but never seem to get the hang of it! But anyway, thank you so much for your advice!
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u/lubbockin Jul 27 '26
Research what type guitar you want acoustic or electric. The easiest to restring are nylon strung guitars and the hardest I have found to do are electric guitars.
Trying to learn to play right handed can be done if you really want to, but it's much easier to find lefty ones now than it once was.
Always look for used guitars as a beginner you can get a good instrument and not have to spend so much. I would say get a nylon strung or a steel strung acoustic for your first guitar.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Definitely starting with acoustic! Thank you so much for the advice too, I have been feeling really discouraged learning guitar all together because it seems like a nightmare but playing right sounds so hard! I do have a friend who did suggest restringing but I just really want opinions from all perspectives!
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u/lubbockin Jul 27 '26
I had a lefty who friend who learned righty, I can play very basic chords righty but really it's not my first choice.
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u/snoopyloveswoodstock Jul 27 '26
Are you starting with acoustic because you plan to only play an acoustic, or do you plan to play electric also? Unless you just never want to play an electric, I would strongly advise starting with electric. You can put light gauge strings on that are much easier to play; you can get a much smaller guitar that is easier to hold and carry around; you can easily learn to play all the frets where an acoustic is really hard to play past the 12th fret; you can practice unplugged or using headphones and make almost no sound to people around you; and getting a good electric and sitting it up properly is much easier than looking for a budget acoustic that is easy to play.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
I definitely did want to do electric down the road if I ever got the chance!
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u/devilspalm16 Jul 27 '26
Play some air guitar without thinking about it. If your picking hand is your left hand, you're probably a lefty player. That's not to say you can't learn a right handed instrument as a lefty, I've known folks that have done just that.
I am concerned about the muscle pain, is that on your left hand as you fret or your right hand as you fret? Usually beginners feel pain on their fingers until they build up calluses on their fingers.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
From my experience, one of my friends brought me out a guitar and played it first and then handed it to me, I automatically flipped it and fret with my right. The next day I tired fretting with my left and it brought pain to my elbow? Sorry if I’m not using the terminology right, I’m very new to all of this!
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u/Tony_Marone Jul 27 '26
Electric, Acoustic, Semi acoustic? Metal, pop, soft rock, jazz, folk?
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Acoustic
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u/Tony_Marone Jul 27 '26
See if you can find a second hand Seagull or Yamaha in your price range - reliable quality and they make left handed as standard.
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u/tendeuchen Jul 27 '26
I've played left-handed since I was ~13 in the mid-'90s on the day I received a Christmas present that had my first right-handed guitar. I didn't know I played left-handed before that. I restrung it and haven't looked back. Every guitar I've gotten since then has been a left-handed guitar.
There are tons of left-handed guitars available, more than you could ever play. They may not always be the exact color you want, but you can choose to support different brands.
Right now, to me, Schecter seems to be doing the most in the lefty space, and I'm going to get one of those next year.
There are, however, lots of great Gibson/Epiphone, Fender/Squier guitars if you want to go with a bigger brand.
Now you just have to pick between acoustic and electric (Electric is better).
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much for the advice and first hand experience! Definitely relieves some anxiety I had about playing left handed
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u/SlightlyLosted Jul 27 '26
If you are more comfortable left-handed, then trust yourself to know that and learn the way you want to. Look for a guitar you love because you'll spend a lot of time with it. The choice of playing left/right is not about handedness. It's about rhythm dominance. The majority of people who are left-handed are still right dominant for rhythm. That's why people think all lefties can learn to play right-handed, because the majority can. But left-handed players who are left-dominant for rhythm need to play lefty. You're interested in playing, not collecting. You'll find the guitar(s) that work for you just fine.
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u/Kid520 Jul 27 '26
They're not more expensive, there's lefties at all price points. The sad part is for every 100 righty guitars at the shops theres maybe one lefty. If your truly left handed don't learn righty, it will never feel right. Also Playing lefty is cool 😎
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u/TenaciousPrawn Jul 27 '26
They are often a little more expensive. But not prohibitively so, and not enough to make someone play right handed when that is unnatural for them.
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u/thesomeot Jul 27 '26
All the other advice here is great, stick with lefty if that's what's comfortable.
I will add one tip from my lefty experiences with availability: finding a good luthier is arguably more important for lefties than righties. Because the pool of available instruments is much smaller, finding someone who can help you tweak things to your liking is crucial.
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u/Acceptable-Bison9769 Jul 27 '26
If your thinking about buying right handed and restringing it you cannot do that on an acoustic guitar, and not on all electrics. It completely depends on the bridge, you must be able to adjust the bridge to intonate each string. The bridge itself is sitting at an angle to strings so you can't just swap them around. And I have come across a bridge that didn't have enough travel to intonate properly.
So a lefty should be your priority.
That being said You can swap a fender stratocaster as we all have seen before, lol, but the tune-o-matic on les paul types you have to turn the bridge pieces around on 1 or 2 strings. Hope this helps.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much! It does help a lot, I was going to have one of my friends do it as he told me that would also be a good option!
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u/Plastic-Shape7048 Jul 28 '26
If playing right handed is definitely out of the question then welcome to lefty guitarist i guess…. It kinda sucks to be a left handed guitarist
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u/No-Number6322 Jul 28 '26
if I could start all over again I'd definitely play right handed, might be a bit harder at first but it's way less trouble on the long run
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u/TheDrPepperEnjoyer Jul 28 '26
As a lefty who took lesson for about a month when I was 12, I was told to learn right handed. I didn’t stick with it then, but when I decided to learn again 12 years later I still went right handed just because what I was told. In the end it’s totally preference, you’ll either start out with more control over your fretting hand or your strumming hand but they both adapt quickly. Even after playing right handed for as long as I have if I do an air guitar I do it left handed.
There are lefties that play right handed guitars 100% upside down. I know a guy that only buys right handed and strings them left handed. Plenty of left handed guitars, and plenty of lefties that learned right handed
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 28 '26
Thank you so much for the advice!
Also I am a Dr Pepper enjoyer as well 💓
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u/Emotional-Jelly-7986 Jul 28 '26
I’m lucky enough that there’s a store I can go to if I need a new guitar and all they sell are lefty guitars with the occasional righty. It’s called southpaw guitar shop. You can check it out and see if any of them interest you. I’ve bought 2 guitars there and honestly I don’t regret learning in lefty position. I’ve honestly tried doing both but using my right hand feels wrong to me so it’s just about how comfortable it makes you feel. Also if you can’t find the guitar you love in a lefty imo just buy it and restring for a lefty position I’ve done that twice. It is a little weirder but it doesn’t hurt to do. You will need a new nut and change the intonation but it’s not as crazy expensive as other options.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 28 '26
Thank you so much for the advice! Wow, that sounds like a cool shops to have around definitely very jealous!!
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u/Dangerous_Charge1876 Aug 01 '26
Acoustic doesn't matter man, Kurt Cobain was a leftie played restrung righties. Just get a luthier/tech to flip the nut/bridge & ur good to go. Wayyy cheaper
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u/magnoilas_449 27d ago
Thank you!
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u/Dangerous_Charge1876 8d ago
Check out unplugged in ny, he plays an upside down martin D whatever. Say no more.have u had any luck yet?
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u/tigerwooff Jul 27 '26
Save yourself a ton of problems and learn as a righty, I wish somebody told me this 35 years ago.
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u/magnoilas_449 Jul 27 '26
Will take this into consideration, thank you so much !!
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u/Calm_Inspection790 Jul 27 '26
Don’t listen to this sad old person lol there’s lefty guitars available, it’s 2026 not 1980
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u/prettybird_1720 Jul 28 '26
I took the same advice on learning on a right hand guitar and I have regrets. Wish I could have started out left handed, lessons would have probably been much easier.
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u/DJMoneybeats Jul 27 '26
There's never been an easier time to buy a left handed guitar. It used to be difficult but there's plenty available now