Conference napalm::guitar

    Very tough question to answer....
    * how many american $ is 3/400 pounds?
    * what kind of tone do you want?
    * what style guitar do you like? (shape/color/etc.)
    * what kind of amp/effects will you be using?
    * do you plan to keep the axe "forever" or resale and move "up" later
      on?                                            
    
    
    My humble opinion is, if you can afford one, buy a Gibson Les Paul.
    I don't think there is a better all round axe....
    
    You can find thousands of other people that will tell you to buy
    any number of other guitars.  Don't be afraid to demo guitars in
    stores. You MUST be happy with the feel and sound of your purchase,
    and mail order might be high risk.  Try out your friends' guitars,
    find out what YOU like...and good luck!
    
    Steve

    As a fellow UKer and the recent (like 3 weeks ago) owner of a Japanese
    Strat, if you're thinking of a Strat maybe my experience is worth
    a read....
    
    I wanted a US Strat. Had to be red and white with maple neck (to
    hell with the sound!!). Seriously though I wanted a red and white
    Strat for all sorts of nostalgic reasons.
    
    Should it be a Standard Strat (�425) or a Deluxe (�490). Advice
    I got was go for the Std unless you're into lots of extreme tremelo
    arm usage.
    
    I then got lots of feedback that said it's hard to justify a US
    Strat Standard when you can get a Japanese Fender Strat for �225
    or cheaper (see one for �189).
    
    This is in fact what I have got. A Japanese Fender Stratocaster
    Popular and its great.
    
    Of course you can go even cheaper and get a Squier Strat but I never
    tried one.
    
    Richard
    Basingstoke, UK
    

    More on Strats....the "jap strat" is priced at $279 in South Carolina
    American standard Strat is $579.  These prices are "list" and can
    be haggled.  I know someone with a Jap strat that he has modified
    with DiMarzio pickups and is very happy with a great sound and low
    investment.
    
    Since Gibson purchased Epiphone, Epiphone is producing "jap" versions
    of all the popular Gibson models.  They are priced about half of
    the Gibson counterpart. An Epiphone Les Paul Std is about $450.
    I have only seen brochures, but there's a note in this conference
    from some folks with experience...they seem to like them.
    

    I have a Squier Strat and it plays great.  The new ones aren't quite
    as good (the hardware isn't as good) but, then again the Japanese
    strats arn't as good either.  It seems that in the last 4-5 months
    lots of changes have taken place.  The Japanese strats I looked
    at last month looked worse than the Squiers!  It was almost like
    they were cosmetic seconds!  The only thing I don't like about my
    Squier is the pickups are kinda noisey but not too bad.  The neck
    is super thin and it plays well (IMO).  I like it much more than
    my Les Paul but, everybody has different taste.  I still consider
    sometimes selling the Les Paul to buy some nice pick-ups for the
    Strat.
    
    I wouldn't buy a guitar mail order though, Fender guitars don't
    seem to be like the most of the Japanese guitars, everyone of them
    seem different, again, my opinion.  Guitars really should be "tried
    for fit" before you get one.  Cost has something to do with it but,
    my Les Paul is worth more than my Strat but, I wouldn't get rid
    of my Strat for anything.  It fits my hand like it was made for
    me.  If you are worried about trying on eout in front of people,
    don't.  Just go sometime when the store doen't have than many people
    in it or go to one that isn't close to where you live (take a little
    drive).  You would be surprised how many people walking around in
    music stores can't play a thing!
    
    Try the Japanese strats and the Squier strats.  I wouldn't buy a
    Squier bullet though, they only have one tone pot, the plug goes
    into the pick guard and it has only 20 frets instead of 21.
    
    
    Don

    This has been mentioned before in this notesfile but is worth
    repeating.  There are a couple of other Japanese companies that
    make some very fine Strat copies.  Tokai in particular impresses
    me as making outstanding "vintage" copies; better than anything
    Fender has ever done in this category.  The Japanese for some reason
    are more hip to what makes a Strat good.  Quality does vary, so
    I agree wholeheartedly with "play before you buy".  They sell for
    around $300 in the States; at that price, you can even afford to
    think about upgrades to pickups, etc.  If you find a good one,
    and get past not having the Fender name on the headstock, these
    can't be beat.

    /rick

    Hi,
    
    I can relate to the problems of being a Lefty since I have been
    playing lefty for quite a while now.  Regarding your abilities and
    being embarassed in stores I would suggest not worrying.  Many people
    go into stores just to show off their latest chops.  I bought some
    of my older axes mailorder.  I would get frustrated when I went
    into a store found an axe I liked but couldn't find it in a lefty
    model.  But my last couple of axes were 'impulse' buys.  I found
    them hangin' in the store and it just clicked.  Also if you can't
    find a lefty of what you want in a store but can get it mail-order
    play test it righty.  
    
    Good Luck
    Joe O'Connor-another-lefty-who-has-been-there

    	If you've not been playing very long I'd encourage you to play
    right handed.  Steve Morse (another famous lefty) plays right handed,
    I do, and many lefties do, without problems.  When just starting out
    it ALL feels odd, so doesn't make any difference, but can sure ease
    the road in later years.
    			[Mike_M]
    

    I suggest NOT to switch to playinhg righty.  I have students who are
    lefties, and they progressed quicker as laefties than they did trying
    to switch.
    
    Tokai and ESP make lefty strats, and Ibanez and Gibson have been
    putting out lefty models as well lately.  You should be able to find
    the sound you want in a left-handed axe.
    
    Buck 

    
    Well, it's kind of hard to test this idea of which way they learn the 
    quickest.  If a person has already learned something left handed, they
    might be able to then learn to do it "righty" much faster, because they
    already have the concepts in mind.  The experiment becomes "contaminat-
    ed".  You just can't do a memory dump and try it the other way.  Also,
    if the left brain - right brain stuff is correct, one way might be
    inherently faster because the side receiving the most stimulation
    might be getting more "neural exercise", and develop a more direct and
    comfortable path to the learning center for that type of activity....
    Just an idea.
    
    
    Guy

    I don't remember if anyone mentioned them, but I've seen several lefty
    Squire Strats around lately.  I noticed them because they were very
    pretty.  These models are relatively inexpensive.
    
    Greg 

    >>I suggest NOT to switch to playinhg righty.  I have students who are
    >>lefties, and they progressed quicker as laefties than they did trying
    >>to switch.
    
    	If you're just beginning it's not much of a switch.  You'll have
    a lot more trouble in later years with being a left handed player than
    you ever would from playing right - handed.  This decision will lock
    you into never borrowing someone else's axe on a moments notice, never
    reading chord diagrams correctly etc...
    	There's a left handed flatpicker out of Denver that plays pretty
    well, but I certainly don't notice that he has any advantage over 
    those of us that learned right handed. (and that includes speed,
    tone, touch, timing, taste, and tuning).
    	This is always going to be a personal decision.  I made mine
    years ago, and I encourage my students the same way.  
    
    

    I believe you make your left-vs-right decision based on what feels
    the most comfortable to you, not on the equipment that's available.
    
    I write left handed, but play a right handed guitar.  There's a large
    faction of people who think that the people have the handedness of
    guitar playing backwards.  That is, that right handed people should
    play what is normally regarded to be a left-handed guitar and vice
    versa.
    
    That opinion (which has been discussed in here before) is based on
    several observations about efficiency (most of the coordination
    in "right handed playing" is in the fingers of the LEFT handed -
    the right hand does very little) and the observation that the
    percentage of virtuoso guitar players who play "right handed guitars"
    is significantly higher than the percentage of left handed people.
    
    I once read an incredible book on left-handedness - I'll see if I can
    find it in the library in case anyone would like to read about it.
    
    	db

    
    
    It is juju the one who asked for help, and I seem to have opened
    up a left V right argument.
    
    Basically when I have ever tried my guitar upside down, my wrist
    in my left hand (fretting) has the most extreme difficulty in laying
    a finger over the strings for a barre chord and just tends to lock
    up at an awkward angle. I cannot even get my hand around the neck
    properly to apply pressure and if I can barre a chord, the main
    finger is at an angle to the fret of about 45 degrees.
    
    To sum up, I have difficulty even holding a guitar the right handed
    way and certainly feel I could not play without breaking my wrist.
    Is this unusual in itself. Even at the ageof 5 immitating with a
    tennis raquet, I was left handed, and could now not even think of
    a right hand guitar and learning that way.
    
    What are the differences between single coils and humbuckers. Having
    tried out a few guitars recently, all I noticed, apart from the
    tone, was that I could hear more squeaks and mistakes on my friends
    washburn les paul copy than on another friends stratocaster.
    Would a strat be wiser? I play mostly chords, just stringing them
    together or very limited picking type play, rather than going in
    for soloing sort of lead style.
    
    I am not bothered particulaly about the tone, except that I do not
    want a thin, clangy tone as in my present guitar.
    
    Finally, thanks for the help so far...
    
    Do keep sugestions rolling in... they are helping to clarify what
    I want out of the guitar, and being helpful to my odd require ments
    that magazines ect seem to miss out.
    
    juju
    xxxx
    

    I made my decision based on the fact that I wanted my most dexterous
    hand (left) to finger the strings. if I were a right handed person
    I probobally would have learned to play "lefty".  But I consider
    that most of the guitar players in the world play lefty as the more
    complicated part of playing is done with their left hand. So who
    is really playing "lefyt".
    
    Jim
     

    
    If anyone is interested, I have finally splashed out the �'s and
    got myself an instrument of quality. I wanted somthing nice sounding
    and good to play. I even conquered my fear of playing in a shop.
    
    However, I did end up paying a bundle, but at the mo seems worth
    EVERY penny spent. This day at work has been the longest period
    seperated from it so far. 
    
    It is true, that even if you are a relative beginner you can appreciate
    quality and sense "the instrument that is right for you". 
    
    I have bought a Gibson S.G . lh in cherry red. 
    
    Plays to me at least, better than les paul customs and strats. 
    Feels nice, sounds nice. No regrets about splashing out those tons
    of money. 
    
    juju
    xxxx
    (VERY Happy owner!)
    

    Congratulations!  I doubt that you'll regret your decision.  The only
    guitars I've ever felt bad about getting were the less then top quality
    ones. 
    
    Greg

    
    Funny that,
    
    I paid bugger all for my Vantage guitar, and it plays fantasticly.
    I couldn't part with the thing for no amount of money and its not
    a particuly popular or old guitar. Its just gorgeous.
                                                         
    -Tony

    
    But Tony, find me a stunning range of used LEFT Handed guitars to
    choose from, and I will follow you blindly. In my chase for a second
    hand guitar, took me from Brighton to Doncaster. Finally I decided
    that I was not going to find what I wanted second hand. Did vantage
    guitars make many left handers? I seem to remember that you stated
    somewhere that they are hard enough to find anyway. Lefthandidness
    really does ristrict the choice unless you buy without seeing first.
    
    juju
    (is this revenge for the MRS reports)
    

   <<< Note 1392.18 by SUBURB::COLEJ "PsychoCandy.....My Psychocandy....." >>>

>    But Tony, find me a stunning range of used LEFT Handed guitars to
>    choose from, and I will follow you blindly.

    At the Guitarist magazine show in London yesterday I noticed a shop
    called ... 'Lefties' ... with only l.h. guitars. I imagine they
    probably advertise in the mag.
    
    Graham

    Never seen it in Guitarist before, but do I get an address here
    anyway, even if it is a bit late !
    
    Thanks.
    
    juju
    xxxx
    

    
    RE:  Lefty Guitars
    
    People, you've got to remember, just about ALL guitar manufacturers
    make left hand guitars, not too many don't make them.  It's just
    that the music stores don't stock them because there isn't much
    demand for them, so they have to be ordered.  Maybe a shop like
    "Lefties" might be better if you absolutely need to see and play
    the lefty before buying it.  I would imagine that you could just
    try out a regular guitar stringed lefty to see if you like it, then
    order the left hand model of that guitar.
    
    Mr. Ed...that Kubucki Factor Bass looks better and better everyday!

    
    Juju...
    
    As the Vantage I have is the shape of an SG, you could have re-strung
    it backwards! All you would have to deal with it the different
    positions in the pots.
                        
    Na na nana na !! 8^)

>>  I would imagine that you could just
>>  try out a regular guitar stringed lefty to see if you like it, then
>>  order the left hand model of that guitar.
    
	I always want to play any guitar before I buy it. There tends to
	be major variations from one guitar to the next. Some sustain
	better, some necks feel different, etc.  In general, most companies
	who make guitars for lefties shut down thier normal right handed 
	model production line for a week of so & make left handed models,
	then restart the right handed production line. So ordering one
	may result in a wait of a year or more. Also, the people making the
	guitars tend to set them up poorly because they tend to be used
	to making right handed instruments. Also, there is a tendancy for
	poorer Quality Control on the left handed models, simply because
	they don't do it that often. So in general, if you can find one
	in a shop some place, and try it, you are much better off than
	ordering one. The necks may be cut differently on a right handed
	guitar than a left handed one, so restringing to test the feel
	may not accomplish anything.

	As a side note, Stewart Mcdonalds now sells left handed Strat/Tele
	bodies (About $80.00 US), as well as left handed necks (about $90.00
	US), so you might want to look into this as an option & consider
	building your own guitar.

							Jens

    
    Tony, I was always under the impression that bridgrs and top nuts
    were built/cut differently and that upside down guitars will suffer
    duff intonation ect. 

    
    Well, you'd have to re-assemble the bridge (easy) and if the strings
    didn't fit the nut properly you'd hav to get that done too (not
    much to get a new nut fitted).
    
    If you really like a guitar, why not take the trouble ?
                                                 
    -Tony (who was disgusted to see Yngwie Malmsteen play a left handed
    strat, strung for a righty whilst playing a Hendrix tune - bleck!)

    There are some guitars that have the bridge placed at an angle, these
    wouldn't work out flipping it over.
    
    Greg

    
    Anythings possible if you love the instrument.