Expert: Joe O'Neill - 10/5/2009

Question
I'm a 54 yr old lefty thinking about learning how to play.
I've looked online and noticed there's not many lefty
guitars without paying $400 or more. Let me add that I
am talking about an acoustic. Some possibilities are the
Dean TS2, Ibanez SGT120LNT, Takamine G340LH and Oscar Schmidt
OG2CE. Any suggestions about those or any other guitar Joe?
Thanks for your help.  

























































4400

Answer
Kevin - You're correct. Left handed acoustics can be somewhat expensive. If you are a newbie player, my advice would be to purchase a right handed acoustic and change the strings around for left handed play. The vast majority of new guitar players quit within 3 months. Some lose interest, some are overwhelmed, some have little time to practice....there are many valid reasons. Even to this day, after many years of playing, all of my acoustic guitars are right handed instruments. In my case, I don't change the strings when I flip the guitar around. Left handed guitars may often be costly, but on the flipside, they don't hold value like the right handed guitars. They're harder to sell, as there are not as many lefties as righties. At least
if you buy right handed and flip strings, you can sell it and upgrade when it's been determined that you will continue on with this instrument. $400 should get a good acoustic. I would never buy a guitar at a music store, but I do support them on all othe musical components. Their markups are just to high. I utilize Ebay or Craig's List or word of mouth from friends. Much more for the dollar, although I suppose there is some risk. I'm 54 now and I just bought my first bass guitar (through Ebay), paid less than $400, but valued at $800. Acoustics I would consider would be Takamine, Martin, & Ovation. If you are new to this, make SURE the guitar has good action and the strings are set close to the frets. Cheap guitars are difficult to play, as the beginner's fingers hurt when attemping to push down on strings because they are set up too far from the frets. And I tell everyone, commit to 3 months, learn to play A, B, C, D, E, F, & G. This will quickly give you the ability to play thousands of songs. When you can play a song, chances are you will continue to play. Practice 30 EVERYDAY minimum for that first 3 months. I wish you success. Joe