I have an in bits squier strat, affinity, china , right hander. My niece has taken an interest in the guitar and currently has a symmetrical acoustic that she tinkers on.
Apart from just stringing the thing upside down, do you think she would cope ok with it? I think the body would be ok for her.
What about the nut? Assume it may need a recarve.. Anything else?
Funds are tight and its a birthday pressie and have 100 max set aside for local tech to set up, put back together with some alnico pups spare and do any necessaries.
Or would people advise just to cut losses and get an actual left hander for her.
TIA
Swill.
Dont worry, be silly.
Comments
The nut probably ought to be replaced. That way, the widths and depths of the new slots will not be affected by the old slots. (The stock Squier Affinity nut is almost certainly plastic. Change handedness and material at a single stroke.) GraphTech TUSQ would be my choice.
Alternatively, consider pre-owned LH examples of, for instance, the Yamaha Pacifica and Cort G series. These are well-built and easy to upgrade in the future as funds allow.
The change from nylon strings to steel could come as a shock. Introduce your niece to this gradually. Hopefully, she is willing to suffer for her art. If not, it may be necessary to sink to the depths of Bass Ukulele!
My son has been playing a Squier Mustang for the last 20 months. He has just turned 10 last week. He doesn't last even 10 min with an LP (Gibson or Vintage) and even a partscaster Tele doesn't get worn for long.
With the Mustang 30min guitar lessons (or practice at home) are no problem. He can also carry it to school or a friends house.
There are 3 Mustangs on Gumtree at the moment, all under £120 (seems a bit high - they cost that new...).
Didn't Albert King play with the strings reversed? I think Doyle Bramhall does as well.
I think you'll need to hear from some left handed players about what is best.
Ddigger said: She is 17 and a bit of a tomboy. she built a 911 lego last week and as said above, loves the fact that her guitar could be a hendrix one. This one nice and light.
Ill do some pics when done. Hoping she becomes the gowers version of avril lavigne.:)
Although,I expect teenagers say something else.
I think you’ve done the right thing by providing her with a lefty-strung guitar. It took me 30yrs of playing upside down and dealing with the inherent frustrations to bite the bullet and start relearning with a conventional lefty guitar. If I’d known all the stuff you guys were doing was that easy I’d’ve done it years before.
There are other issues, controls, whammy bars, etc. but she’ll find her way through them, with the added satisfaction of knowing that she’s going through the same process as Hendrix and Cobain (as well as some longer-lived inspirations).
All the best.