Can An Acoustic Guitar Be Strung Left Handed?

Do you know only 10% of the guitarists worldwide play left-handed? You might be among them! You have to play left-handed with the neck in your right hand, right?

Can an acoustic guitar be strung left-handed? Do you need to install the strings opposite? Or do you just learn to play the chords with the strings as they come? So many questions pop up in your mind.

Read on to get all the answers.

The simplest way is to opt for left-handed acoustic guitar which is widely available nowadays.

On the other side, you can try to learn the right-handed guitar that way. Or, you can flip the right-hand acoustic guitar along with the strips.

Key Takeaways

Can an acoustic guitar be strung left-handed? Yes, you can play a left-handed guitar that way. Also, you may play right-handed acoustic guitars strung left-handed. The form is symmetrical if your acoustic guitar doesn’t have a cutaway.

String and nut replacements are often necessary for proper tuning and playing. So, pay particular attention while adjusting these parts. Playing the guitar with your left hand will require a different approach than with your right. You need two hands to play the guitar. Use one hand to pluck chords from the fingerboard and the other to play rhythms.

Can an Acoustic Guitar Be Strung Left Handed? (Explained)

There are distinctive models for those who play the guitar with their left hand. The lowest E string on a left-handed guitar is also the widest and is farthest from the right hand.

Even most right-handed guitarists pluck the frets with their left hand to form chords and blast out powerful solos.

The most common way to hold and play a guitar with the right hand is with the low E string, which is the first string on the left side of your body.

According to Jimi Hendrix, right-handed guitars were better built. However, these days, given computer numerical control (CNC) technology, left-handed guitars are just as good as right-handed ones.

4 Major (Visible) Changes In The Left-Handed Guitar

Let’s face it. Both right-handed and left-handed guitars are quite the same. However, you can see some differences. Let’s discuss about them.

1.      String Reversal

In a left-handed acoustic guitar, the largest string will be on the right side of the instrument.

If you play right-handed, it’s the other way around. As you have a totally different adjustment than the right-handed guitars, the low E string is now at the top of your guitar’s fretboard.

Obviously, the high E string is at the bottom. Starting with your low E key, the list goes up to B, G, D, A, and then your high E note.

2.    Guitar Design

The left-handed model will have a unique shape compared to a standard guitar. However, left-handed guitar designs are. Or, you can say it is a reflection of the standard guitar. The saddle angle, strings, and everything else are all in the other direction. For left-handed guitarists, this means they may use their dominant hand for strumming and their right hand for finger chords.

3.   Bridge And Nut Adjustment

The nut and bridge are modified to work with the strings inverted in the left-hand guitars.

Using screws or Allen keys, you can raise or lower the saddles of most bridges.

Most nuts are pre-slotted, so they don’t need any tweaking. Nevertheless, if you have problems with tuning or playability, you may have to tweak things a little.

4.   Internal Bracing Modification

Any changes to the internal support on a left-handed guitar would probably need to be made because of how the instrument works and the player’s tastes, not just because it’s left-handed.

Internal bracing mostly reinforces the guitar’s structural integrity and affects its tonal qualities. However, left-handed bracing does not make any difference, structurally or tonally.

The bass strings are not at higher tension than the treble. You might want to change the internal bracing if you’re having trouble with your left-handed guitar’s steadiness or sound.

Few Famous Left-Handed Guitarists That You Will Love!

Usually, like anything else, the guitar comes designed right-handed. But that couldn’t stop the left-handed legendary guitarists like Paul McCartney or Jimi Hendrix from setting a milestone for young musicians.

1.      Jimi Hendrix

This musician is renowned for his electrifying performance and outstanding playing style. His name has been an iconic figure in the rock music history book.

2.    Kurt Cobain

Being Nirvana’s frontman, he has been a successful audience captivator with his unique guitar performance and raw emotion.

3.   Tony Iommi

Iommi’s unique sound is more because he lost his fingers in an accident at work than the fact that he is left-handed, but his great collection of riffs does support the idea that left-handed players are more creative.

4.   Albert King

Like Stevie Ray Vaughan and all the other electric blues musicians who came after him, King may be the best string bender of every generation.

5.   Paul McCartney

This original member of The Beatles spells magic with his catchy bass lines. His magnificent performance helped change the direction of popular music, inspiring future generations of musicians.

We have some more amazing left-handed guitarists as well.

• Dick Dale
• Elliot Easton
• Elizabeth Cotten
• Al Mckay
• Otis Rush
• Kenneth “Babyface” Edmond
• Jimmy Cliff
• Bobby Womack
• Eric Gales
• Tim Armstrong
• Maria Taylor
• Michael Angelo Batio

Left-Handed Acoustics Are Fun!

So, now you know—can an acoustic guitar be strung left-handed? You can learn how to play a right-hand acoustic as a left-handed one or modify the orientation of your right-hand guitar to a left-handed one.

However, if you’re just starting out, you may find it easier to swap out the nuts and strings. Professionals should work on more experienced players’ guitars, especially when the instrument is expensive.