How to Convert a Right-Handed Guitar to a Left-Handed Guitar

Would you like to convert a right-handed guitar to a left-handed guitar? This is an easy conversion to do, but you'll need to do more than just change the strings. While I believe that it's better to just buy a quality left-handed guitar, maybe you've found a right-handed guitar that you really like. Perhaps you're a lefty just dabbling in guitar playing and not yet ready to make an investment in a left-handed guitar. Most left-handed guitar and bass players are faced with this dilemma.
When I was learning to play, I didn't have a lot of money to invest in a high-quality guitar, so I went to the flea market and purchased the cheapest guitar I could find, a twenty-dollar acoustic. Even with its standard setup, the action was terrible because the neck was warped. The strings wouldn't stay in tune. In short, the guitar sounded like a dying animal. But I converted it to a right-handed guitar by flipping the strings. I didn't bother to change the nut or the bridge, and this was part of my problem.
Eventually I swallowed my pride and visited a music store. Their luthier looked at it and shook his head. He said it would cost a couple hundred dollars to make it sound really good, but for about forty he could make it serviceable. I went with the latter option. In addition to doing the work, he explained what needed to be done to convert a right-handed guitar to a left-handed guitar.
This works for acoustics, electrics, and electric basses. The materials required to convert a guitar are new strings, a tuner, and wood glue. You may also need a blank nut, a screw driver, sandpaper, and a truss rod adjuster. A string winder is a handy tool to have as well.
First you need to remove the old strings. Once the strings are off, remove the nut (the little thing at the top of the neck). You may need to pry this out with a flat screwdriver. Once it's out, scrape out the crusty glue with a screwdriver or some sandpaper. Add a little bit of fresh glue to the nut and replace it with its direction reversed. The nut has a groove sized for each string, and if you don't change it around, there will be play in the little strings and the big strings won't seat properly.
If something happens in this step, for example the nut breaks or the angle causes the strings to sit too low to the fret board, you'll need to file your own nut. You can have a guitar shop do this, or you can purchase a file and do it yourself. Plenty of video tutorials are available.
For electric guitars, you might want to reverse the directions of the pickups. To do this, usually you just need to unscrew the pick guard or pickup frames. Be careful not to lose the springs that allow for height adjustment. Once your glue dries, go ahead and install your new strings. To keep your nut from flying away, don't tighten the strings to full tension until all six strings are on. Use your tuner to get close to the correct pitch. Stretch your strings a bit as you tighten them up.
After they're installed, play for a while and give them time to go to their length. Once this happens, it's time to set your intonation. Maybe you'll be lucky and you won't have to set it. To check intonation, you compare the pitch at the twelfth fret (octave) with the pitch of an open string. They should be the same.
On acoustic guitars, you may need to alter the bridge to ensure correct intonation. Sometimes this is just a matter of getting a blank and filing it down. If you are converting an expensive guitar (not recommended), take it to a luthier and let them do it.
For electric guitars and basses, this process is much easier. The string saddles are usually adjustable with a Phillips screwdriver. All you need to do is adjust them until the pitches of the twelfth fret and open string match. Always use a tuner for this process, and don't forget to re-check the open-string tuning every time you make an adjustment to the string saddle.
That covers about everything you need to know about converting a righty guitar to a left-handed guitar. For more information about left-handed guitars, check out the resource box below


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Left-Handed Acoustic Guitar - Right Way to Play Lefty

By Brian Jr Green   

Paul McCartney---the music icon is a left handed guitarist. This is a proof of the fact that being a lefty can not stop you from becoming a successful guitarist. True that from finding the right guitar to getting used to a playing position becomes a bit more difficult for lefty players, it is ultimately your talent and dedication that can take you to the top. Taking guitar lessons is as easy for the lefties as it is with the right handed students. Moreover with so many online stores out there, left handed guitars are easily available these days.
Left handed versus adjusted guitar
Some instructors maintain that it is better to readjust an acoustic guitar to suit the needs of lefty players. This helps in finding out the best quality instruments, maintain these school of teachers. But with acoustic guitars, this kind of customization is not only difficult, but expensive as well. To suit it to the needs of lefty guitarist, you have to first string it backwards. Then the bridge and nut of the guitar would have to be replaced too. As you continue to play it with a pick, the body of the instrument may get maimed.
A left handed acoustic guitar is an easy solution to all these problems. These days you can get lefty's acoustic guitars from the leading brands like Fender. Thus buying an acoustic guitar specially made for the southpaws make a better solution than readjusting a right handed guitar.
Where to find
You can buy left handed guitars from the local stores. But buying online is the best option. There are a number of websites that directly cater to the lefty's clientele. InstrumentPro, musiciansfriend.com, ZZounds, Woodwind and Brasswind are some of the online stores that stock huge amount of left handed acoustic guitars. Buying online is not only most convenient, but it also saves a lot of you money.
However it is recommended that along with the instrument, also consider buying left handed thumb picks and a range of chord and instruction books.
While buying an acoustic guitar to suit your left handed acoustic lessons, choose from the leading brands such as Fender, Hohner, Daisy Rock and Dean. In most of the cases, you won't have to pay any extra shipping charges.
If you are a beginner, you can set out a budget of $200 to $400 for getting a good quality guitar. As you progress on your lesson, you can consider investing in more expensive brands like Washburn or Gibson---it may cost you anywhere between $1000 and $1,200.

Brian Jr Green is a guitar expert. For more great information on Left-handed Acoustic Guitar [http://www.only4guitar.com/left-handed-acoustic-guitar/], visit http://www.only4guitar.com.

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Guitar lesson: Can You Play Classical Guitar Without Nails?

By: Peter Edvinsson

Most classical guitarists use a lot of time polishing and grooming their right hand fingernails. In order to play with nails you have to have good nails and working with them a lot. Is it possible to play witout nails? Let's take a look at no nail playing!

Angel Iglesias, a great spanish guitarist touring Denmark round 1953 played with nails in the same way as Segovia, Llobet and Barrios did. Some guitarists at this time played with their fingertips.

Another great Spanish virtuoso who toured Denmark in periods, Francisco Alfonso, (whose father studied with Tárrega) used only his fingertips. The differences of their tone quality was described by people who had heard them both:

"Alfonso's tone was unusually beautiful, round and soft while Iglesias' was harder and somewhat sharp."

Personally I have played classical guitar with nails and without nails and I can see some advantages from playing without nails:

1. You will come nearer your guitar through the contact between your fingertips and the guitar string.
2. You can play with your fingers on electric guitars without the risk of damaging your nails.
3. Playing guitar without nails will force you to play with the highest degree of articulation and concentration.
4. You will be able to play piano properly without disturbing nails.
5. You will get a soft and beautiful tone on your guitar if you consistently work on it.

Pujol a guitarist who played without nails wrote, "the flesh best transmit the feeling of the soul...such an unresponsive medium as nails interferes, somehow with the direct contact of the artist's sensibility to the string."

The art of playing without nails must be developed. You have to work with your tone as much without nail as with them. If you have used nails and start to play without nails you will feel uncomfortable before getting used to the different technique involved and before you develop callouses on you fingertips.

As times goes by you will improve your tone through your harder fingertips and your better articulation. You cannot be sloppy in your playing with this technique.

Even if you will go back to playing with your nails again you will see an improvement in you playing due to a better technique.


Author Resource:->  Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com/

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