X-Ray Guitars : Left Handed Guitars

XRay Guitars is a custom guitar shop located in Michigan, USA.  They produce a small number of hand-carved designs including a highly detailed replica of George Lynch’s ‘Mr Scary’ guitar which is now available left handed.

After a number of requests from left handed customers the company has finally released a lefty version of their Skull & Bones guitar.  This model is based on the guitar that George Lynch played during his Dokken days, originally designed by Hollywood horror make-up artist Johnny Frog.

As each guitar is hand-carved they will all have their own slightly unique nuances. This would make a really unique acquisition for any lefty George Lynch and Dokken fans!

X-Ray Skull & Bones Left Handed Guitar

X-ray-guitars-skull-bones-left-handed-guitar-dokken-lynch-mr-scary

  • Maple or Alder body
  • Scale = 25.5″
  • Seymour Duncan JB Pickups
  • Genuine Floyd Rose Tremolo
  • Mother of Pearl Dots
  • Ebony Fretboard w/ Jumbo Frets
  • Hockey Stick Headstock
  • R2 or R5 nut
  • Neck profile is “C” shape
  • Push/Pull Pot for coil tap
  • Gotoh Tuners
  • RIP Headstone graphics on Headstock

Review : Planet Waves Auto-Trim Tuning Machines

I’m a big fan of locking tuners and try to have them on all of my guitars where possible, so when I recently received my new Gaskell AllRounder the very first thing I did was to upgrade the standard stock tuners.  D’Addario were kind enough to send out a set of their Planet Waves Auto-Trim Tuning Machines, and I was only too glad to give them a test drive!

These tuners are a little different to most in that they negate the need for string cutters by incorporating a trimming mechanism directly into the tuners themselves.  The design is so simple and innovative that they really don’t look any different to any other locking tuner on the market.  They come in either a 6 in-line set or a 3+3 set in a variety of different finishes. Read on to find out how the magic happens…

What’s In The Box?

Inside the beautifully designed packaging, the tuners are artfully displayed in their cardboard mount.  Underneath you will find six screws, and your nuts and washers, as well as a brief information pamphlet which details how the tuners function.

DAddario Planet Waves Auto Trim Locking Tuners Review

The packaging is a very elegant affair, clearly Planet Waves has also put a lot of thought into the smaller details such as this. The tuners themselves are incredibly solid and feel very well made – they also look fantastic!

Locking Tuners?  What Are They?

For those of you who are new to guitar and perhaps haven’t come across locking tuners yet, let me tell you that they are a godsend!  A large screw on the bottom of the tuner controls the height of a clamping pin inside the post where you thread your string through.  So the idea is that you thread the string through, pull it tight, and then tighten the screw to clamp the string firmly in place.

Luna : Left Handed Acoustic Guitars and Basses

Luna Guitars is based in Tampa, Florida and was founded in 2005 by designer Yvonne de Villiers.  The company mission statement is “to craft fine stringed instruments with artistic sensibility that are comfortable, affordable, and inspire people of all ages and walks of life on their musical journey”.

For a relatively new company the range of guitars is surprisingly already quite large, with a good range of acoustic, electric and bass guitars on offer.  Luna currently produces a range of 9 left handed acoustic guitars and 1 lefty bass guitar.

The brand also produces a good range of left handed ukuleles.

Luna are certainly a creative company, with most of their guitars featuring some type of intricate graphic design and/or a bold vibrant finish.  It’s great to see a brand offering some interesting designs to the often neglected southpaw market.  Also worth noting is that Luna joins a very small group of companies who offer left handed 3/4 sized acoustic guitars, including one for the kids that they can design themselves!

Luna Henna Oasis Spruce Left Handed Electro-Acoustic Guitar

Luna Henna Oasis Left Handed Acoustic Guitar Lefty

  • Laser etched Henna
  • Body: Folk
  • Top: Spruce
  • Back/Sides: Mahogany
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Preamp/Tuner: B-Band
  • Scale: 251/2
  • Nut: 111/16
  • Finish: Satin

 

Luna Fauna Dolphin Left Handed Electro-Acoustic Guitar

Luna Fauna Dolphin Left Handed Acoustic Guitar Lefty

Chapman Stick : Left Handed Guitars

The Chapman Stick was devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s and is a rather uniquely designed electric musical instrument.  The instrument, which looks like an enlarged guitar fretboard is usually played with a tapping technique which allows players to perform bass, chords and melody lines simultaneously!

The company offers all but one of their instruments (the NS model) in a left handed option and there is no added charge for the modification. Prices start at $1900 USD for the Alto Stick and plenty of custom options are available when ordering your own.

If you’ve never seen a Stick in action before, head to the end of the article to see Stick maestro Kevin Keith doing his thing.  For now, let’s take a look at the different models that are available left handed…

Chapman Stick 10-String Left Handed

Chapman’s 10-string stereo fretboard tapping instrument has evolved greatly over the years but still has the classic Chapman Stick sound. Each new instrument features their latest adjustable components for easy setup. A wide variety of ordering options allow you to customize your instrument with your choice of exotic hardwood laminates, tunings, string gauges, pickup configurations, MIDI, and even the inlay material.

Chapman Stick 10-String Left Handed Lefty

Chapman Stick 10-String Grand Left Handed

The wider fretboard of this 10-string stereo Stick model provides more room for the fingers. Center-to-center string spacing is .350″ as opposed to .315″ on the standard 10-string Sticks. The space between the two groups of strings is also wider, at .500″ instead of the standard .430″.

This instrument is meant to accommodate those musicians with larger hands and fingers, and those who want more of a guitar-like string spacing. It’s a step in the direction of the SB8 (Stick Bass), which spaces all eight strings uniformly .400″ apart, measured from center to center of each string. The SB8 has the typical Stick stereo placement of strings into two groups of four, but the string spacing is uniform all across a single sequence of perfect fourths. The Ten-String Grand, on the other hand, preserves the wider physical gap at the center between the two groups of strings, as with other Stick type 4ths/5ths tunings.

Chapman Stick 10-String Grand Left Handed Guitar  Lefty

Manne Guitars : Left Handed Guitars and Basses

Manne Guitars was founded in 1987 by owner Andrea Ballarin in Schio, Italy.  The company philosophy is that “there is always a better way to do it”, and it is this mindset that makes them strive to produce better and better instruments.

The brand produces a range of uniquely shaped body designs as well as a selection of some more traditionally styled guitars.  All of the guitars produced by Manne are available to order left handed.

I have listed a small sample of Manne’s guitars and basses below as there are too many to list in a single article.  I encourage you to head over to the company website to see exactly what is available.  Keep in mind that Manne Guitars is a custom shop and as such, all guitars can be specced to your exacting requirements.

Manne Left Handed Electric and Acoustic Guitars

Manne Left Handed Guitars Lefty Custom

Review : D’Addario EXP Strings and Planet Waves Pro-Winder

D’Addario very kindly sent me a sample of their new EXP coated string range as well as a pro-winder from their Planet Waves brand.  I am a long time user of both of these companies so I was only too happy to test-drive a few more of their excellent products!

For those who aren’t in the know, Planet Waves is also owned by D’Addario.  I was sent a set of super light (EXP120) and regular light (EXP110) strings for electric guitar, and a set of light (EXP16) and medium (EXP17) strings for acoustic.

D’Addario EXP Coated Strings

I’ve been using D’Addario’s EXP range of strings for probably a year or two now, and they are superb!  These strings do cost a little more but they come with a special coating which should hopefully extend the life of the strings quite considerably.  If you’re like me, get fairly sweaty during a good guitar session and never bother to wipe down the strings afterwards, these are absolutely ideal.  I used to be able to turn a set of strings brown within a couple of weeks, but with these I can easily stretch them out for months of use if need be.

D'Addario Coated EXP Strings

Fair enough if you play live or do session work you will want a fresh set of strings on for each and every gig, but for home practice these EXPs will keep you going for longer without sacrificing tone.  A further bonus on the electric packs is the extra high-e string that comes bundled inside – something that you see less and less of these days.

Will you notice the coating on the strings?  Sure, at first.  As you make your first bend you will be able to feel the string grind against the fret, but this is only temporary and will quickly disappear as you continue to play.  Once you’ve worn off the coating beside the frets the EXP’s feel like any other set of regular strings.

The strings come with colored ball-ends to allow for easy identification and are packaged in a sealed bag to keep them factory fresh forever.  If you go through strings like nobody’s business I would absolutely recommend test driving a set of these strings out, both for acoustic and electric.

Planet Waves Pro-Winder String Tool

If your guitar doesn’t have locking tuners then a good string winder is a complete necessity.  It will shave minutes off of your restring time and saves a lot of  unnecessary strain on your wrist.  I’ve been using a Planet Waves string winder for nearly 10 years now and it’s still going strong!  This winder also features a string-cutter to help speed up the removal of old strings and tidy up the new ones.

ReadHow often should I change guitar strings?

D'Addario Pro-Winder NEW vs OLD

Flatline Guitars : Left Handed Electric Guitars

Flatline Guitars was founded by owner Rick Lockhart with the aim of building guitars that look like they were retrieved from the window display of a guitar store in a bygone era.  Each guitar is handmade and setup at the Flatline Guitars workshop in Washington, USA.

Flatline will make any of their guitars in a left handed version at no extra charge.  A lefty model will need to be assembled from scratch and the build time should run you roughly 6-8 weeks.  I’ve been really impressed with this company – beautiful guitars coupled with a lefty friendly attitude, and I’ve got to say, a fantastic price for a handbuilt USA guitar!

Let’s take a look at the left handed guitars available from this USA brand…

Flatline Delta T Left Handed Guitar

A players best friend. This guitar sings with vintage tone from the rich and warm sounding neck pickup and a very hot bridge pickup that provides tone somewhere in between a twangy single coil and a ballsy P-90. It features a simple control group with a three way toggle switch, master volume and tone. This simplified electronic setup allows the true tone of the guitar and pickups to shine through and it loves to naturally overdrive tube amps.

Flatline Delta T Left Handed Guitar Lefty

  • Modern C-shaped maple neck with satin finish
  • Kluson tuning machines
  • String through body
  • Vintage bridge with six saddles
  • Lollar Special T Neck and Bridge Pickups
  • Single volume and tone control
  • 3-way toggle switch
  • Colors : Caddy Red,Vintage Butterscotch,Two-tone Sunburst,Vintage Blonde
  • Optional Bigsby Tremolo (add $150)