Regular visitors to the site will know this, but I’m guessing that if you are reading this, you stumbled across us after a cheeky Google search!
I wanted to put together this article because, at the time of writing, the current top result on Google which answers this question is just flat out wrong!
For example, the author claims that left-handed guitars are strung upside down as standard, which is absolutely not true. Some lefty players will string their guitar this way, but they are in a tiny minority.
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The easiest way to think about this is to imagine a lefty guitar as being a mirror image of a right-handed guitar.
So, if you were to hold a left handed model up to a mirror, the flipped image in the mirror would be a right handed guitar.
An easy way to tell the difference between a left handed and right handed guitar is to hold the instrument up in front of you vertically and look at the strings.
A Lesson For
If the thickest string is on the right the guitar is a lefty. If it’s on the left then the guitar is a regular right-handed model.
When I’m in my local guitar store I also find that a good way to quickly scope out where the left handed guitars are is to look at the pickguards (if they have one). This is especially handy when browsing acoustics as left and right handed models can otherwise look virtually identical from a distance!
So let’s take a look at this in a little more detail and make you a bona fide expert. How can you tell for sure whether a guitar is left or right handed?
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I’ve been in this situation myself! Many years ago I bought what I thought was a cheap left handed classical guitar on eBay, only to discover that it was actually a right handed guitar strung upside down!
Hold the guitar vertically in front of you and look at the strings. If the thickest string is on the right the guitar is a lefty, and if it’s on the left it’s a righty.
As I mentioned above, one of the easiest ways to identify the orientation of a guitar is to look at the pickguard.
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On a left handed guitar, it is on the left, and on a right handed model it should be on the right (when facing you).
Another part you can investigate is the nut. This is the thin strip of material near the headstock end of the fretboard which holds the strings in position.
So if the thickest string won’t fit in its slot, and the thinnest string is rattling around in a wide slot, then this is a good sign that the guitar has been strung upside down.
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The previous owner may have flipped the nut 180 degrees (or installed a new one), so this method might not be totally accurate.
A better indicator might be the position of the strap pegs (the little metal feet that you slot your guitar strap over).
On most guitars, the rear peg will be in the center of the body, but the front peg will be on the top side.
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If the strap peg has been moved to the correct position by the previous owner, they may have filled in the old hole and refinished it.
The side markers are the little dots you’ll usually (but not always!) find on the side of your fretboard to indicate fret positions.
You will find these on the top side of the fretboard, facing you when in a playing position. If they are on the bottom side then your guitar has likely been flipped.
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When I bought my upside-down right-handed guitar it was the side markers facing the floor that ultimately revealed what the guitar actually was.
On an acoustic guitar, the saddle is the thin strip of material on top of the bridge on which the strings sit.
One of its functions is to correctly set the intonation on the instrument. To do this the saddle is set at an angle to slightly alter the length of each string.
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If it is the opposite way around, then that is a good sign that your guitar has been flipped. Check out the diagram above to see the correct angles on both left and right handed models.
If you’d like to learn why the saddle is angled like this, check out my in-depth scale length guide for an explanation.
A very small minority of guitarists play guitar in a left handed orientation, but with the strings upside down! I.e. the thickest string is nearest the floor when in a playing position.
Left Handed Guitarists Who Flipped The Instrument On Its Head
This is usually because when they started playing, they just picked up a friend’s right handed guitar, held it left handed, and stuck with it.
These players tend to have a mix of guitars, some being regular right handed guitars which they hold upside down, and some being left handed guitars which they string upside down.
This method of playstyle makes sense because it means that as a left handed guitarist, you can walk into a guitar store and play almost anything in the store (upside down of course).
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However, the downside is that there are almost zero learning materials available for this style of play. So, these players are pretty much on their own when it comes to figuring out how to learn to play!
In addition, the hardware on the guitar won’t be found in the intended locations, so might get in the way of playing comfortably.
Notice in the photo above how the guitarist plays very near to the bridge in order to avoid accidentally hitting his volume and tone pots!
Right Handed And Left Handed Vs Right And Left Hand Guitars
For the most part, no. Some brands might add a small up-charge for lefties of maybe 10%, but that also means your guitar is worth 10% more if you come to sell it later. It’s a moot point.
Far more right handed guitars are available than left, and more often than not your local store will only stock a small handful of southpaw models for you to try out.
This means that as a lefty guitar player you’re probably going to be doing a lot of your shopping online where the choice is much richer.
Left Handed Guitar
You’ll find that there are plenty of awesome left handed guitars to choose from – besides, just how many guitars do you actually need?
And when a brand doesn’t offer the guitar you want in a left handed version, there is usually a bunch of others who will offer something similar or even better.
In the 11 years that I’ve been running this site there has definitely been a rise in the number of left handed guitars on offer. Hopefully, this will be a trend that carries on in the years to come!
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So now that you know the difference between a right handed guitar and a left handed guitar, you might be wondering which of these two you should be picking for yourself.
Neal has been playing guitar (left-handed!) for over 20 years, and has also worked in various roles within the guitar retail industry since 2012. In his spare time he loves to travel, ride bikes, and suck at videogames. More Info
Sign up to get mymonthly email newsletter featuring lefty guitarnews and special offers!You can unsubscribe any time. For more details, review thePrivacy Policy.Playing a musical instrument is one of Americas favorite past times. With around 27 million Americans playing an instrument, it's no wonder so many people turn to instruments like the guitar to learn. But what happens if you want to play a left-handed guitar?
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Being a lefty has lots of benefits considering we make up just 10% of the population; you get special scissors, left-handed potato peelers, and the left-handed guitar. The problem is there just isn't that much information on how to play the guitar left-handed!
The last thing you want to do is just start trying to learn by yourself and make a fool of yourself in front of your friends. With that in mind, this article will give you all the information you need on how to play the guitar left-handed.
There has been some discussion about the benefits of being a left-handed guitarist. Many point out the fact that the left-hand side of your brain is widely regarded as the creative side.
Should A Left Handed Person Use A Left Handed Guitar ?
Whether this transfers over into being a left-handed guitarist is debatable, but for many using a left-handed guitar will just feel more natural. Learning guitar left-handed has some challenges, such as if you pick up your friend's guitar, chances are it'll be a right-handed guitar.
Many will ask, why not just learn right-handed? However, some of the greatest guitarists of all time, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Kurt Cobain and Tony Iommy were all left-handed guitar players.
When you start to learn an instrument, getting into successful habits and the right mindset can be one of the biggest challenges. These challenges can be much harder when you play the left-handed guitar.
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Why? Because the majority of guitar players around the world play the guitar the other way round, you'll often find resources like guitar tabs, and access to instruments wherever you go will typically be right-handed guitars.
If you ever have
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