One of the burdens associated with being a left handed guitar player is reduced choice when choosing your next instrument. In general it’s not a huge issue as there are plenty of great options out there, but sometimes you can’t help but wish that certain dream model you lust after was available lefty!
Have you ever wondered why some companies make seemingly all of their guitars as a lefty option whilst others are happy to make none at all? Have you ever wondered how certain brands decide which guitars to make left handed? Well this article is for you!
Last month I emailed around almost every big name guitar company asking them “Why don’t guitar manufacturers produce their entire product line with a left handed option?”. The obvious answer is cost and lack of demand but I was hoping they could elaborate a little more on this – and boy did they!
A big thanks to all of the companies who took the time to reply to my question. The responses from each brand are listed below – any who are missing either weren’t able to supply any detailed information or just flat out ignored me. I’m guessing the companies who didn’t reply were perfectly aware of their discriminatory ways and didn’t want their name to appear in any articles on the topic.
I’ll keep this introductory piece short as there are many responses to look at and as such this article will be a big one! I had originally wanted to comment on each individual reply but the size of the article would have snowballed! Let’s dive in…
Tom Anderson Guitars
First of all let may say how impressed I was at the level of customer service received from Anderson Guitarworks. Not only were they the first to reply to my email (literally within minutes!), but it was Tom Anderson himself who took the time to answer. Out of all of the replies I received his was probably one of the most useful in answering the big question. Here’s what Tom had to say…
“ I can only speak as a small manufacturer and not all I say would apply to a larger company.
We offer most everything we do left handed at the same price as right handed even though in most cases the outsourced parts cost more because we buy them in smaller quantities. I always felt bad that lefties had to pay more for the same product, but i’m sure if I had to justify to bean counters we would not make them.
For all the in house made parts, which is most of the guitar, it really isn’t any harder to make right or left handed parts if the tooling is made to do both. There lies the rub. It is often hard to justify the time spent on a fixture or program you’re only going to occasionally use. If you were talking about high production you could be talking about much more expensive tooling that might be even harder to justify. Of our 800 or so guitars a year that we make, only 30 or so are left handed.
The other x factor about anything you don’t do often or make lots of is that it usually takes longer to do everything when you have to “relearn” every time you do it. So the labor of a left handed guitar is higher to go along with the potentially higher material costs. “
Vigier Guitars
“ What you write is correct; the main reason why all models are not available left handed is simply the lack of demand.
When we create a model the research cost must be sprayed over the number of instrument sold. If the amount is small, then it makes it impossible to recover these costs.
Other problems are parts, for example, the bridge, have to be made specially and it cost a lot to make small series.
Another aspect to take into consideration is the manufacture tools. Even if today one part of the production is made with a CNC, a lot of tools must be specially designed per models, which increases the price, if you cannot spray the cost over normal sales it makes it impossible to produce.
Finally when we decide for a left hand model, it is usually because we think this model will fit most of the musician. “
Cort Guitars
“ Basically it is down to cost and demand. Manufacturers need volume in order to produce economically. All CNC machinery and tooling has to be set up completely differently when making LH models. The cost is higher on electrics and basses than acoustics as the bracing pattern and bridges just need to be reversed.
We choose the most popular models RH to make LH but usually restrict colour options due to small demand. Cort try to manufacture all LH models 3 times a year in order to produce the quantity.
Production costs are generally 10% to 15% more for LH models.
However, large manufacturers like Cort (we are actually the biggest with nearly 20% of world sales) do realise that LH players do offer a market area worth providing for and will offer LH models in pretty much everything as long as the Distributors in the various countries order in large enough quantities usually a minimum of 60 to 100 pieces. “
Fender Guitars
“ You’re absolutely correct, costs and demand are both of the reasons why we don’t make many left handed guitars. When we go to build our left handed guitars, the whole factory literally needs to be shut down and re-tooled. The machines that cut the bodies, necks, and pick guards all have to be reprogrammed to do so. Even some parts of those machines need to be changed.
Once they are built, they will go to our warehouse and if they are not sold right away, it costs us money to keep them on the shelf in the warehouse. In other words, it wouldn’t make financial sense to build “x” amount of guitars and have them sit on a shelf for “x” amount of time. We try to look at market demand and see what lefty players would use the most. “
Larrivee Guitars
“ For us the issue is a non-issue because we offer everything we make in a left handed version, regardless of expense and without additional cost. We believe that anything else is in essence discrimination. For some models the cost is huge! And we’ll literally spend 2000-3000 dollars to make one $2000 instrument. With Larrivee, lefties usually just face a larger delay than their right handed counterparts. This is because right handed models are stocked, where as the lefties often have to be pulled from production to ensure a fresh un-aged guitar.
Acoustic non cutaways are extremely easy to make lefty, because no special tooling or minimal tooling is required. Cutaway lefties require new tooling to be built for the cutaway. The tooling is usually in the form of CNC jigs, or medium density fiberboard jigs.
Electric lefties are far more challenging because we don’t manufacturer all the parts ourselves. We have limitations of other manufacturers. For example, potentiometer manufacturers do not manufacture long shaft lefty pots, so we have to custom make the pots. Also plastic injection mold companies don’t want to make lefty knobs, etc. We had to do A LOT of research and duplicate left handed versions of ALL of our jigs. It was a $30000 endeavour.
Mandolins we also extremely complex because of their 3d curves. “
Takamine Guitars
“ The answer I’m sure you’ll be getting or have gotten already from most manufactures regarding the availability of lefty models is mostly down to the cost of production and the fact that there are more players out there righty than lefty, or at least willing to play a righty model. Lefty guitars require a different string setup between the nut and bridge. Also, as many acoustic guitars are a cutaway body in today’s markets, this means added costs of production to replicate these cuts ‘flip-flopped’ to the other side.
I’m not sure of the exact difference in costs since all of that is on our factory level, but as far as choosing which models are offered in leftys, it is based on the more popular and standard righty models. Many manufacturers that offer customized models are generally more adapted to produce any lefty model imaginable, but it is at the custom outfitted price. “
Martin Guitars
“ I cannot speak for other companies but Martin Guitar does offer our entire product line left handed at no additional cost.
The things we change on the body to make a guitar left handed are reversing the bracing on the top, reversing the pickguard on the top, reversing the cutaway on the sides, and reversing the saddle on the bridge.
On the neck we have to reverse side dots and slot the nut for left hand playing. “
Schecter Guitars
Schecter couldn’t offer me much information because apparently customer service can’t forward an email to someone with the know-how! Hehe. Anywho Schecter are so good to us lefty guitar players I had to at least show they replied!
“You are correct in guessing that cost of production versus demand is the number one reason. Schecter is proud to offer more left-handed versions than many other companies, due to our commitment to providing more options for our customers despite the added cost. “
Godin Guitars
“All our guitar bodies are cut using computer controlled machinery. The computers must be re-programmed to cut left handed models. On acoustic guitars, all the internal braces have to be reversed. Electronic parts and smaller parts such as nuts and saddles must also be reversed.
We only offer basic models in LH versions as basic models are usually our best sellers. That’s why we don’t offer any high-end LH models.
For us to produce our entire line in LH versions, we’d have to increase the price tag of all our models (including non LH models) to cover for the expenses. It’s not something we wish to do at this time.
Another concern is that our factories are currently at 100% production, so producing more LH guitars would slow down the production of other models. “
So there you have it guys, some replies from some very big players I think you’ll have to agree.
What can we take from this? It certainly seems that being a lefty acoustic player isn’t nearly as big of an issue as being a left handed electric guitar player. Most of the mainly acoustic companies who replied do seem to offer the majority of their line as a left handed option. I know for a fact that Taylor shares the same business model but unfortunately they did not have an email address for me to contact.
Electric guitars are a lot more restricted due to their more complex hardware and designs. In the case of Fender, the entire factory has to be shut down in order to re-tool for left handed models – mental! You just can’t argue with cold hard facts – the demand is much less and the cost is high. Until newer, more efficient production methods can be introduced we’ll just have to make do with what we’re given! Ah well, certainly saves on G.A.S right? 
Okay, that’s enough reading…hope you found some of this informative!
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent article guys and i was surprised so many took the time give such detailed replies. When a business takes the time to look after a minority that is a mark of respect and they are making it their personal responsibility to give us the same opportunity to enjoy their products as everyone else. Loyalty is hard to earn. Schecter has mine. Thanx for the brilliant article LeftyFretz.
There was actually a lot more than that Wayne, it's just that most of them weren't able to give much more reason than higher costs. I was especially impressed by Larrivee's reply, they really seemed to feel strongly about discrimination against lefties, it was also Matt Larrivee who took the time out to reply which was really nice.
Anywho, definitely some interesting reading! I certainly learned a lot through reading their replies.
Good read Mr. LeftyFretz!!
Thanks Mr. Chuck!!
The problem is that it's a circular, self-fullfilling prophecy. Less guitar options available causes many lefties to then opt for learning guitar right-handed, which then reduces the market further and thus reduces the options further.
Plus, some of these are design issues also. Really, there are only a few small things that are different between the RH and LH guitar and with a small amount of ingenuity they could probably avoid the whole "having to completely re-tool" argument.
Absolutely Chris. Another factor in reducing demand is the internet. Kids who want to learn to play head over to a forum, ask for some good left handed beginner guitars and then are bombarded by righties telling them to play the wrong way around for the sake of a little extra choice. It's the most frustrating thing to happen across.
With the exception of a handful of guitars I'd love to try but cant, i'm super happy with the choice available to me though. We have literally thousand of guitars to choose from and if a few small minded companies don't want to throw us a bone I will gladly take my business elsewhere.
Have to certainly agree. I think many lefty's who learn right handed start off extremely confident with the ease of forming chords, but especially those wanting to learn technical playing often give up due to lack of control in their picking hand. I'm a lefty, and recently picked up a Schecter Tempest Custom left handed; and love it. IMO Schecter is a phenomenal choice if your looking for a lefty guitar and can't afford to get up in into 4 digit territory. Larrivee had a great answer that really shows the passion behind the guitar company, as opposed to the greed of some of the others… I don't personally think there is that many lefty's too choose from, at least electric, as least in comparison.
Also,
Neal, I think another problem with lefty guys learning righty is Guitar Centers and similar stores not stocking anything in lefty version. Every Guitar Center I have ever been to is all the same. You stare at that huge wall of beautiful guitars and try to avoid dragging your eyes to the lefty "corner" where you will almost always find some cheap Epiphone LPs, an Ibanez, and a few Mexican Strat's in a couple colorways. The problem is that some of the guitars on that fancy wall are actually offered in a lefty version, but you wouldn't know it without doing your research. None of the stores in my area carry Schecter's in lefty form, nor do they advertise it, or advertise being able to get you one. I found one lefty in the humidity treated acoustic room. It was a used Washburn. I know that Takamine makes a few, and Martin and Taylor make everything in lefty, so you would think they would have at least one on display.
I completely agree, depending on the style of the music you play it is arguable that the picking hand has the harder job. I'm a big fan of technical playing and there's just no way I could develop the degree of accuracy that would be needed to pick with my right hand proficiently. In my case my dominant hand NEEDS to be the picking hand.
I'm lucky in that I live in a big city with tons of music stores, but the one I go to is the biggest in the UK – I'd hazard a guess that they have probably ~50 lefty guitars in there. I spoke to the the manager at the store and he told me he always tries to have plenty of leftys in stock because they sell FAST. So i'm lucky in that regard, but to be honest I very rarely buy guitars from a store – most of mine come from eBay. I like to think of eBay as a free way of trying out different guitars
It's also a wicked place to find out which guitars are available lefty, for example I found out Parker made a small run of lefty guitars recently, I had no idea but found out thanks to the bay.
At the end of the day, i'm a pretty positive guy – I love being a lefty player and I'm more than happy with the selection of guitars available to me. Right handed players are spoiled beyond belief, but I cannot think of another instrument with such a rediculous range of options available. Lefty players who whine about lack of choice just have to open their eyes (or check out the left handed database here!
) Personally I don't know how right handed player's cope with such a disgusting number of instruments to choose from, the G.A.S must be insane 
Excellent article, wish all companies had the same mindset as larrivee!
In my opinion, the larger problem is not at the manufacturer’s level, but at the storefront. Stores do not order left handed guitars – especially high-end lefties – because they sit on the wall for years sometimes. Due to the lack of product diversity, and the idiots Guitar Center and Sam Ash employ, new guitarists are encouraged to learn to play right-handed.
Keep in mind that some right-handed guitars also sit on the wall for years, but there is enough product variety and unit movement that store managers don’t notice it as much. A right-handed guitarist walks in to a store and has a wide range of guitars to chose from, while the lefty might be stuck with the poorly set-up, black-lacquered Squire or Epiphone.
I started building electric guitars several years ago because I was fed up with what was available. I build all my guitars from scratch; however, there is quite a variety of do-it-yourself kits out there now that even someone who is a relative novice can assemble a reasonably good guitar. That level of construction requires broadly the same skills required to do basic set up and maintenance. Let’s face it: as lefties, we’ll never have a decent-playing instrument if we’re not competent at working on our own instruments.
Stores may THINK that left handed guitars will sit on the wall for years, but in my experience this is simply not the case – at least when it comes to nicer guitars. My local guitar store is one of the biggest in the UK, with over 1000 guitars on display. The have a large selection of high end lefties – Suhr, PRS, Tom Anderson, Gibson, Fender, MusicMan etc etc because they know from experience that they sell like hot-cakes. I think it’s just the case that when a nice lefty pops up, the southpaw player feels compelled to grab it before it’s gone and the opportunity is missed! As you say, many of these big store are run by idiots. If only they had a little experiment and actually advertised their lefty guitars online I think they would be surprised.
A few months ago I was looking for my first 7-string and wanted to try a cheaper Schecter, however my store didn’t have any. I asked them about it and they told me almost every lefty Schecter 7 they get has sold within 24 hours of coming into the store. They have a real-time stock system and post the latest left handed guitars on their website, so when something nice comes in people know about it!
I don’t agree with your point about never having a decent-playing lefty without building our own at all. They may be a little harder to find sometimes (or take a little longer to order) but I feel spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing guitars.
I agree strongly with the discrimination issue, and think it is the major factor in LH production. The nonsense about tooling and shutting the factory down and increased cost is just so much B.S. That’s all self-justification for the “I can’t be arsed” attitude, from the factory floor to the music store door. My belief is, “You’re a guitar company. You make guitars. I have money; cash in my hand. Make me a guitar.” And they won’t! If I’m a customer and you refuse to service me just because you don’t want to be bothered, that’s discrimination. And it’s accepted only because we put up with it, and that’s how it’s always been.
Imagine if Fender said, “We only make guitars for white people”; or if Gibson refused to sell to women. Why should *we* be treated any differently? It costs too much? Everything costs something, from design, to fabrication to promotional materials. When a company [u]gives[/u] product to a rich musician then spends a few million on publicity, don’t come crying to me that it costs to much to make a few left-handed guitars. Boo-hoo!
If your business is making guitars, then make guitars. Otherwise, make washing machines. I can’t think of any other industry where nearly 10% of the potential customer base is discriminated against and allowed to get away with it.
As you can see, I take a very militant attitude about this issue.
Great article, and great comments. This is precisely why I decided to turn my frustration as a lefty with never any choice in store into the idea of a lefty only store Left Hand Bear. Our challenge now is to get the support of lefty guitarists and to stock up over the next few months with all the guitars that lefties want.
With XLG in the USA, and Left Hand Bear over here in the UK/Europe things are definitely looking a little brighter for the lefty guitarist! I’m excited to see what the future brings with LHB
I have been playing left handed since 1964. I have spoken to many US guitar stores about left handed guitars. The answer I get is similar to what has been noted and I agree that it is discrimination. I am very tired of hearing not enough demand from stores that don’t stock them.
I have suggested to different manufacturers that Maybe if a small retailer (or a large one, for that matter) would stock more left handed guitars if the manufacturer kept a database on which store had which product and assisted in the sale of the particular guitar. In the 70′s Fender, Gibson and Martin had 15% overcharge for lefties in the color that you wanted. When I speak to dealers now they tell me that a different color is a custom shop option. Recent case in Point: I won a BC rich Eagle Right handed. I called BC rich to find out if they made it in lefty. Customer service sent me to marketing so they could tell me that that model was not made in lefty. I could however get their custom shop to do it. I asked the price. somewhere over $3000.
The eagle was made in Korea and sells retail for $950, $599 street. I am familiar with CNC technology. Manufacturing the Eagle in left handed is reversing the Programs 3 axis orientation. and building a new jig for the machine. Hell I would even consider paying the 15% overcharge like I did for my 70 Guild Starfire 5. My belief is that Being left handed means value added to the manufacturers. My 98 Am Standard Strat came with right hand knobs and a right hand whammy bar. My 88 Ibanez RG550 also has right handed knobs, and a 560 neck with a black (not Yellow) peghead. and they are not making the 25th anniversary version in Left handed at all. Both companies certainly produce enough guitars to justify economy of scale for Pots and plastic knobs that are left handed. SO I say ok Charge us 15% and give us a real lefty.
This sight was certainly an interesting random find for me. Here I was ready to move from novice acoustic to novice electric and I had my eyes on a specific brand and model. I assumed all I had to do was order the unit in LH. I’m not feeling very well suddenly.
I recall having trouble as kid trying to find the type of left handed baseball glove and had to make do with what was available. No such problems in that industry today.
I begin my search as of now for a hollow-body LH electric manufacturer so if anyone can point me in the general direction it would be appreciated. As a beginner I’m not prepared to go high end on this.
If you want to sign up on the forum and ask there i’m sure people could give you a few suggestions. Off the top of my head you might want to check out Hagstrom, Framus, Ibanez. There are a few more options if you want a semi-hollow.
Very Interesting article thank you, I have only been playing a short time and have taken up what I would loosely call playing a guitar at a late stage in my life I usually end up just compromising and buying a right hand guitar and change the strings around, I do have a left hand Vintage v300 which is nice to play, but recently I’ve been looking for a a cutaway electro classical with a narrower nut width but virtually no one makes one in a left hand model for the price I want to pay(around £300 ) so I find this very frustrating to be honest I was fantasising before coming across this web site about going on the UK Gov site and proposing a petition to be signed to to compel companies who make over a certain volume of products to make so many left hand items as I think in this politically correct society we live it is discrimination against left hand people and effecting their quality of life (a bit daft I know but when you see some of the lame things that have been proposed and made law) If enough sign (1000,000 is it ? we might be in with a chance.
Mike from the Midlands
30 year lefty pro here… Hi everyone and greetings from Los Angeles!
Fantastic article. This whole thing has always been a real drag. I’ve seen a couple of folks mention Schecter… I have to mention Fender! I’m a Fender junkie. A 30 year Fender junkie. I’ve always had amazing service from them, I mean they’re such a huge company. For example, I’ve emailed them about a discontinuation of Stainless Bullets strings in the .008 set and they wrote me a kind email right away (they make their own strings in the US!). Same with a forum issue. Same if I ever called (since the ’80s – always great service)… I love them.
Being a Strat player, they offer most of the US series (and Mex series, and Fender Japan series!) lefty, but with limited color combinations on the, say, ’62 reissue or the Deluxe (they have a wide array on the US and Mex Standards and they do special runs of limited edition colors – check ebay for Fender Left Strat FSR – beautiful guitars)… I really wish they would do some more finish options on those. They have over the years so they’re out there though. The Custom Shop will build anything lefty – as customized as you can think of… I’ve priced some stuff but always end up changing out everything on standard US models for the most part anyway as I’m really particular about what I like these days.
In regards to the “just play righty” thing, sorry folks, but some of us lefties aren’t all that ambidextrous. Guitar is all about your expression; I don’t see the point in even playing if you’re compromising that natural connection right out of the box…
Lastly, you all might think this is funny… When I was little and getting my first electric there was this music store that was having some kind of deal on a Fender amp if you bought a Strat… I immediately asked “do you have any left handed ones?”… I’ll never forget it… The guy said “what, do you want to be a freak?”… The first thing I thought to myself was “..like Jimi Hendrix or Paul McCartney you mean?”…. Idiot…
Great site and thank you!
AS matter of interest Lag the french guitar maker do quite a large range of left hand guitars at a reasonable price to sell in the UK and they seem to be gaining popularity in the US
They make a left hand electro classical cutaway for around £240.00 also steel string acoustics.
I keep meaning to add Lag, they do have a great selection. The first time I saw a Lag electric it was being played by a Marshall rep who is also a lefty (Chris George). He has a beautiful spalted Imperator.