Black guitars are the scourge of the left handed guitar player – at least in my opinion they are. And judging by the feedback I get from you lovely readers I think that it would be fair to say that the majority of you feel more or less the same way. Every time I post a new article which features the token range of black left handed guitars I will get some type of comment along the lines of “oh great, just what we need, another black guitar!”.
This curse is unique to left handed guitarists as while right handed players can more often than not pick and choose from a variety of finishes, we lefties are quite often presented with black as the only option. Walk into any small music store and more than likely you will only have a couple of black Strats and perhaps a few budget black Ibanez to select from – who wouldn’t get annoyed by this?
Thai food might be your cuisine of choice, but eat it every night and you will eventually grow tired of it right? Well this is exactly how I feel about black guitars – they are force fed to us by so many big companies that I am now completely underwhelmed by them. For the first five years of my guitar playing career I exclusively owned black guitars because of a lack of other options, and as a result I wouldn’t touch one with a bargepole now. It may be a safe and inexpensive choice for these brands to make, but good god it’s also a boring one.
A Reflection On You
As far as I’m concerned your guitar should reflect you, it should be an extension of your personality. Black is dull and gloomy. Are you dull and gloomy?
Let’s take a look at a few synonyms that a thesaurus might spew out when you plug in the word ‘black’…
atrocious, bleak, depressing, depressive, dismal, dispiriting, distressing, doleful, dreary, foreboding, funereal, gloomy, horrible, lugubrious, mournful, ominous, oppressive, sad, sinister, sombre
Pretty uninspiring right?..
Don’t get me wrong, I think black guitars can look fantastic – they just need a little help to become less uninspiring. For example, the body could have a trans-black finish with a beautiful wood underneath, it could have a less common matte black finish, or it could have some white binding to help set it off. It’s the dull as ditch-water, plain gloss black guitars that I despise wholeheartedly…and unfortunately this is more often than not the sole option available to the oft forgotten southpaw guitarist – at least until you are willing to shell out more serious money…
Forgettable
One goal of paramount importance when playing live is to be MEMORABLE. If you’re standing in the back in your black clothes and black guitar you’re not making much of a remarkable impression as far as appearances are concerned. Hell, if the lighting at the venue is poor people might not remember you at all when the gig is over…
Misjudged Sales Results
I also feel that it can skew the manufacturer’s perception of market interest. If you bring out a black left handed guitar and it doesn’t sell well you might assume that the demand just isn’t there and discontinue the model. If that same guitar had been made in a color less despised by lefties it could have made all the difference and sold by the bucket load. The point of view of the southpaw guitarist can differ greatly to that of a righty player – the brands who realise this are the brands who will have loyal left handed endorsers.
Do you agree with me, or am I alone in my quest to inject some color and interest into my guitar playing career? Leave a comment below with your own opinions. Are you bright and colourful, or dark and mysterious?
Black is just plain ugly and scratches way too easy. Ugh!