Review : Gaskell Classic Left Handed Guitar

Today’s post is a guest review of the Gaskell Classic I guitar by Alan Williams, who has recently taken the reins at Gaskell’s new European division.  This very guitar is available to try out or purchase, or alternatively those in Europe can contact Alan directly for other available options and pricing.

Higher quality images of this guitar (and others) can be found on the Gaskell Europe Facebook page or on the main Gaskell website – links at the end of the article.

Gaskell Classic Review by Alan Williams

Gaskell Guitars build only left handed guitars.  That’s got to be good news for us lefties who have every reason to feel unloved by the mainstream manufacturers.   I don’t know about you, but this hits me every time I read a review – go down to the “left hand available” and find a stark “No” staring back.  Most makers do a token number of “easy call” models as lefties and a few are now offering a wider selection, but there are almost no other companies who offer only guitars for us southpaws.

Gaskell Classic I Left Handed Explorer Guitar Lefty

NAMM News : Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang Guitar

NAMM is just a few days away now, and another juicy piece of news has recently emerged.  Fender recently released a signature Kurt Cobain Jaguar, and now it seems they will also be releasing a Kurt Cobain Mustang!

This new guitar will be on offer in three different finishes, and each will be available left handed.  The finishes are Fiesta Red, Sonic Blue, and Lake Placid Blue w/ stripe.

Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang Left Handed Guitar

Inspired by his arsenal of modded guitars, the new Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang takes you back there, with highly distinctice features including the classic 24” Mustang scale length, an angled single coil Mustang neck pickup and ferocious Seymour Duncan JB humbucking bridge pickup mounted directly to the body.  There are dual on-off/phase in-out switches for each pickup, a polyester-finished alder body and an adjustomatic bridge with dynamic vibrato tailpiece.

Fender Kurt Cobain Signature Mustang Left Handed Guitar Lefty

Mensinger : Left Handed Guitars Part1

Mensinger are a custom guitar and bass company based in Poland who produce some absolutely stunning handcrafted instruments.  Every guitar they produce is available left handed and each one is fully customizable within reason at very agreeable prices…

Because every single instrument is hand-made, Mensinger encourages you to look at the standard instruments as a starting point for your own dreams and ideas.  If you see something you like, get in touch with them and they should be able to modify any model to suit your exacting requirements.  For a custom, hand-built guitar the prices are incredibly affordable.  If you like a model as it is, check out the main distributor (link below) for current left handed stock.

The Mensinger site is currently only available in Polish, so I’ve tried my best to give an adequate brief description of each model.  You’ll need to ensure your browser has some translation software built in before venturing over to the Mensinger website! Let’s take a look…

Mensinger Arcadia Left Handed Guitar

Mensinger Arcadia Left Handed Guitar Lefty

The Arcadia features a design which is completely unique to Mensinger.  It comes with a 24 ¾ inch scale length, 24 fret mahogany neck and flame maple topped mahogany body.  The Haussel pickups and high quality hardware complete the package.

Mensinger Joker Lefty Guitar

Mensinger Joker Left Handed Guitar Lefty

Review: RJL Carbon Fiber Guitar Picks

A quick review of some interesting boutique picks from RJL Guitars. These unique plectrums are 100% made from carbon fiber!

Warwick : Left Handed Bass Guitars

Take a look at the left handed bass guitars available from German brand Warwick. Almost all Warwick basses are available left handed!

National Reso-Phonic : Left Handed Resonator Guitars

National Reso-Phonic Guitars was founded in California, USA in 1989 by Don Young and McGregor Gaines.  They are a builder of resonator guitars, including other resonater instruments such as mandolins and ukuleles.

In 1990 the company opened a factory in San Luis Obispo, California which currently churns out over 1000 guitars per year.  They also offer a repair service which is capable of restoring almost any National guitar to its original condition.

National Reso-Phonic Left Handed Guitars

All National guitars are available to order left handed at no extra charge.  The exceptions are the Resolectric, Resotone and RA3 models.  Take a look at a very small sample of the guitars available from National below, but be sure to take a look at their website to view the full range.

national reso-phonic left handed resonator guitars lefty

A small sample of left handed National guitars

National Website

The National website is quite basic in design, but I like the fact that it displays every guitar on a single page, making it very easy to quickly see what is available.  Each product page includes a series of beautiful high-resolution images of the guitar.

Information on left handed models is very well hidden on the site.  To find out if a guitar is available lefty you’ll need to click the ‘specs’ icon on the guitar’s individual page.  It would be nice to have this information a little more visible, or perhaps as an entry in a FAQ.

Review : Slick Grip Guitar Picks

I seem to be on a never-ending quest to find my ideal guitar pick lately, and this month has been no different.  Recently I picked up some interesting plectrums from a new UK based company called Slick Grip…

These six picks utilise a unique design which is supposed to help wick away moisture and keep the surface nice and grippy.  As grip is something I have trouble with I was only too eager to give these innovative Slick Grip picks a good test run.

What’s In the Box?

As soon as I received the package in the mail I could tell that this was a company who put a lot of thought into how they present their product.  The picks arrived in a black branded envelope, and the bright pink Slick Grip logo instantly alerted me to what the package contained.

Inside the envelope the attention to small details continued as each pick was safely nestled inside its very own individual packaging!  A thick piece of foam houses each pick, which is then cradled by a piece of card and then finally wrapped in a sheet of plastic.  It’s a very neat little design and instantly gives the impression that these are more than your average-joe picks.

Slick Grip Guitar Picks Review Plectrum

The range comes in a variety of sizes from 0.45mm all the way up to 2.0mm.  The different thicknesses are color coded which makes them very easy to distinguish from each other.  Take a look at the close-up image at the end of this article to see exactly what pick sizes are available.

The Design

If you take a look at the image below you will see a detailed graphic of the pick design, which is displayed on the back of the packaging.

Sandberg : Left Handed Guitars and Basses

Sandberg Guitars is a manufacturer of guitars and basses and was founded in 1986 in Germany by Holger Stonjek and Gerd Gorzelke.  The company is named after their first workshop which was located on Am Sandberg – a street in Ehmen, Germany.

In 2010 Sandberg started to produce their own electric guitars, however they are mainly known for their range of bass guitars.  They are also famous for their innovative product design and unusual building materials.

Sandberg produce all of their guitars in a left handed version, with the exception of the Panther bass series which is a righty exclusive for the moment.  Take a look at a few examples below…

Sandberg Left Handed Guitars and Basses

Sandberg left handed guitar bass lefty southpaw

The image above shows a small sample of a few left handed Sandberg guitars and basses.  Various different finishes and other options are available, so make sure to take a look at the Sandberg website to see exactly what is offered.

Sandberg Website

The Sandberg website employs a clean but functional design. There is no mention of left handed models on the individual model pages, however they do state in their FAQ which models are available to order left handed – good times.

Tokai : Left Handed Guitars and Basses

Tokai is a Japanese manufacturer of guitars, founded in 1947 by Tadayouki Adachi.  They produce a variety of different guitars and basses for all price ranges, and also currently build all of the solid body guitars for Fender Japan.

Tokai are famous for coming under fire from some of the bigger USA brands after making their own replica guitar designs which were said to be every bit as good as (if not better than) the guitars they were modelled after.  These guitars, such as the ‘Love Rock’ models are now widely referred to as ‘lawsuit models’ and are very highly sought after.

Luckily us left handed guitarists aren’t left out of the loop as Tokai offer every single one of their guitars in a left handed version at no extra charge!  You will need to most likely special order your guitar however.

Tokai Left Handed Guitars and Basses

Left Handed Tokai Guitar Bass Lefty

This image represents a small sample selection of Tokai guitars and basses, so make sure to take a look at their website to see the full range of available guitars.

Tokai Website

As far as I can see, Tokai have two main websites – the Japanese one and a UK one.  Neither make much mention of left handed options, so I was surprised to discover that they in fact offered all of their guitars in a lefty model.  Customer service at the UK website was incredible, I absolutely recommend getting in touch with them if you have interest in their guitars.