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need left handed acoustic - any suggestions?

emily18emily18 Posts: 489
edited June 2008 in Musicians and Gearheads
I neeeeed a new acoustic because mine sucks to high heavens. I'm left handed and my limit is $300 because unfortunately I'm extremely broke. Any suggestions?

Oh and is there even such thing as a left handed epiphone hummingbird??? Because those things are gorgeous (even though I have no idea how they play so I shouldn't really be obsessing over it..) but I can't find a left handed one for the life of me.

Thanks :)
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Comments

  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    The southpaws on the board will have better info for you, so take what I say with a grain of salt...

    But if it was me, I'd buy a righty acoustic and have the pickguard replaced, at least if you can't find a proper lefty in the first place. Really, acoustics are ambidextrious except for the pickguard... the exceptions are cutaways, acoustic-electrics with preamp controls, or acoustic-electrics with side-body output jacks.

    These guys should be on your radar:
    http://www.southpawguitars.com/

    Edit: I suppose the first thing I should've asked is, What's wrong with the guitar you have now? What kind of guitar, and what problems are you having?
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • lostdawglostdawg Posts: 109
    As much as I like to look at the guitars at Southpawguitars.com and drool, I could never buy a guitar without holding it in my hands. It can be verrrry frustrating to find something decent lefthanded! My first acoustic was indeed a right-handed model that was "fixed" for me...switched the nut, and re-routed out the bridge so the intonation would be right. I have a Washburn lefty that I like very much now- and I would suggest staying away from the cheap Ovations that are sold at places like Guitar Centers. You can get a used righty for a song(no pun intended!) that some kid got for Christmas and never played and get it switched by a competent guitar tech for less than a new lefty....good luck and don't give up!
  • emily18emily18 Posts: 489
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    The southpaws on the board will have better info for you, so take what I say with a grain of salt...

    But if it was me, I'd buy a righty acoustic and have the pickguard replaced, at least if you can't find a proper lefty in the first place. Really, acoustics are ambidextrious except for the pickguard... the exceptions are cutaways, acoustic-electrics with preamp controls, or acoustic-electrics with side-body output jacks.

    These guys should be on your radar:
    http://www.southpawguitars.com/

    Edit: I suppose the first thing I should've asked is, What's wrong with the guitar you have now? What kind of guitar, and what problems are you having?

    Ahh thanks for that website!

    My acoustic is just a general piece of crap. It's neck is a mile wide, action is about 3 feet high. Seriously. It's ridiculous. We tried doing whatever we could to it but there's just no hope for that thing :(
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Quite the reunion going on here tonight!
    Lostdawg! Emily 18, Casper Leblanc/ Pearlwax!

    Well, Emily, like Lostdawg said,,,,, try for a righty and convert it to left if you can't find a lefty. That is if you're looking for a regular one and not a cutaway.
    Sometimes you can just flip the nut around and use it, but if the slots are cut on an angle, you may have to replace it, as well as the saddle. If you're getting a cheaper 300 dollar guitar, you would benefit by replacing the nut and saddle with bone anyway. Bone is harder than the plastic nuts and saddles on lower end models, and it's the number one thing that will make an acoustic sound better along with new strings.

    Good luck Emily!
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • kitfookitfoo Posts: 125
    Ah, the right handed solution to a lefty issue. Switch the strings and you'll be ok. Wrong. There's more to it than that. On an acoustic, you have to switch the strings, the bridge, and nut. (If it has one) If a qualified professional does it, it'll run you at least $50.

    Your best bet is to look on Ebay or craigslist for a lefty. If you come into some cash, Martin will make any model in left hand for no extra charge.
  • frenchsfrenchs Posts: 34
    As the poster above said... switching a righty over involves the bridge, nut and strings.

    At the $300 price point you can probably find something with solid back, sides, and top which would kick some serious ass. Just take your time, play whatever you can get your hands on, and buy what sounds the best.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Yup, you'll have to switch the nut and saddle like the poster addressed three and five up. :D


    Emily!

    Here's another consideration for you:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/YAMAHA-ACOUSTIC-GUITAR-LEFTHANDED-FG-200-1970S_W0QQitemZ280235575932QQihZ018QQcategoryZ155298QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

    Yamaha built some nice acoustic guitars in the 70's. They were nice wood and well built. They are aging nicely and their tones seem to be getting better.
    I have one, and I've had quite a few go through my hands fixing them up for people.
    If you look around some used shops and get a feel for the necks and the size, you may do well! They're pretty easy to convert over to lefty except for the pickguard.
    I fully believe, Emily, that you have the spirit of adventure and we need to find something unique and some damn pickguard isn't gonna stop you! :D
    One thing to watch is that the front spruce soundboard sometimes bellied up and messed up the action. You probably wouldn't want one of them, although that's fixable, too.

    Look for the FG series. FG 180 and FG 200 are pretty good.
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • emily18emily18 Posts: 489
    who's_pearljam? wrote:
    Yup, you'll have to switch the nut and saddle like the poster addressed three and five up. :D


    Emily!

    Here's another consideration for you:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/YAMAHA-ACOUSTIC-GUITAR-LEFTHANDED-FG-200-1970S_W0QQitemZ280235575932QQihZ018QQcategoryZ155298QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

    Yamaha built some nice acoustic guitars in the 70's. They were nice wood and well built. They are aging nicely and their tones seem to be getting better.
    I have one, and I've had quite a few go through my hands fixing them up for people.
    If you look around some used shops and get a feel for the necks and the size, you may do well! They're pretty easy to convert over to lefty except for the pickguard.
    I fully believe, Emily, that you have the spirit of adventure and we need to find something unique and some damn pickguard isn't gonna stop you! :D
    One thing to watch is that the front spruce soundboard sometimes bellied up and messed up the action. You probably wouldn't want one of them, although that's fixable, too.

    Look for the FG series. FG 180 and FG 200 are pretty good.

    thanks, I've heard some nice things about yamahas so I'll have to look at those more...

    Ahh and now my serious search begins :D
  • JonnyPistachioJonnyPistachio Posts: 10,217
    I got a generic Epiphone acoustic lefty about 5 years ago at a guitar center-like store. I paid about $200 foir it, and it's still my favorite guitar to play.

    good luck!
    Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)
  • emily18emily18 Posts: 489
    went for an ibanez PF5LECENT :) should be arriving soon

    thanks for all your help :)
  • lostdawglostdawg Posts: 109
    emily18 wrote:
    went for an ibanez PF5LECENT :) should be arriving soon

    thanks for all your help :)

    Good luck with it! Let us know how much you love it!
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